It's January?

This is the warmest January we've had in several years and the garden is loving it!  There are plenty of growing and blooming plants to enjoy  for the first winter in recent memory.  A few overnight freezes did take down some of the most tender tropicals but they will return as soon as we experience reliably warm weather.

Alternanthera dentata 'Purple Knight'

Now is the perfect time to do all those gardening jobs that require heavy physical labor.  The temperature is cool enough that the gardener won't melt while shoveling amendments into the soil yet warm enough that there will be butterflies and other garden creatures to provide companionship.

Orchard Orb Weaver

Several late winter blooming shrubs are still holding on to their budding flowers.  A few of their branches were nipped by the cold but there is hope in my heart that this will be the year I can see them in full flower.

Eranthemum pulchellum 'Blue Sage'

This January's garden has plenty of foliage left in it unlike the last few years.  This is partly because of the mild weather not killing everything but the hardiest evergreens down to the ground and partly because more cold-hardy plants have been incorporated into the beds to give winter structure.

Odontonema callistachyum 'Purple Firespike'

Having most of the garden spared from the ravages of winter is a wonderful treat to enjoy.  Along with that enjoyment comes responsibility however.  There is more to trim, weed, edge and feed.  Less down time for the plants means less down time for the gardener.

It's wonderful to be back to year-round gardening in central Florida!

Silver Threads in the Garden

This spiny orb weaver, Gasteracantha cancriformis, is a most welcome spider in my garden.  On this particular morning, the sunlight was just right for capturing her lovely web.  The intricacies of this creation are amazing.

She eats mosquitos, flies, moths, and other flying prey that are trapped by her web.  The tufts of silk on the supporting strands are flags to warn away birds and other larger animals that might break her web.  The spiny orb weaver is a pretty spider with her orange spines and black and white spotted crab-shaped body. 

The supporting strands of this web are woven between the lower branches of the oak tree and the top of the butterfly ginger, a distance of at least four feet.  The center circle is about eighteen inches in diameter.  It's like having custom-made mosquito netting that is perfectly suited for the shady corner garden.

Oh yes, this beneficial spider is welcome to make her home here at My Garden Path.

The Bug Expedition

(click to enlarge picture)


We have been bug hunting.  We have been unable to ID the bug on the rose petal in the upper left corner.  Can anyone help us out?  A resource we like to use is BugGuide.  We haven't been able to make a determination on this guy though. 

We had a great time watching dragonflies flitting about, letting the ladybug crawl up our arms, observing the intricacies of the orchard orb weaver's web, and gently 'petting' the cloudless sulphur caterpillar. 

No bugs were killed on this expedition.