A Garden Neglected Still Brings Joy

Between vacation days, rainy days and sweltering heat, time spent in the garden has been minimal.  I'm very thankful for the rains we've been getting as that eliminates the chore of hand-watering every day. ( Irrigation for the back garden is certainly on the list for "someday" improvements.)  Since being left on its own, the garden has grown a bit wild.

Some nice surprises have shown up among all the wildness.  Bromeliads that were damaged by the cold this winter seem to have recovered quite well and are blooming now. 

While visiting a public garden on vacation I purchased a little sign that fits perfectly here.  It reads, "I don't remember planting this."  Really, that sign will fit in many places here at My Garden Path.

My little spot for catching the eastern sunlight always challenges my camera abilities.  One day I'll be able to capture the light just as I see it, I hope.

The rain barrel is finally getting some camouflage from the star jasmine and blue plumbago.  Every winter the barrel is left standing exposed and ugly.  I tried ripping out the plumbago and jasmine with the idea of planting something like tea olive which would give year-round coverage, but I dawdled and they grew back.  I love the plumbago when it's blooming but this winter I'm going to regret my laziness.

The newer version of flowering maple that was planted under the big oak is about three feet by three feet now and seems to be  staying smaller and bushier than the tall one I have in another bed.  Love it.  It blooms constantly and, while blooms are not always open all at the same time, it makes a lovely backdrop for the bright coleus planted in front of it.

Sweet almond is perfuming the yard.  This bush is now a small tree.  I have it in quite a bit of shade which I think is keeping it spindly.  But, it has really grown tall.  It's hard to get a photograph of the whole tree as it disappears into the background due to its slender, open branched form.  Bees of all types love it but so do stink bugs.  Maybe the sweet almond fragrance will make them smell better when I squish 'em.  

This is the time of the year when I slow my gardening efforts.  Morning hours are still enjoyably spent outside but heavy digging and planting is not on the agenda.  

In-between

While the garden is between frosty weather episodes these flowers have brought their joy.

Lovely lavender only grows well here during the cold season. 

Once the humidity of a Florida summer cranks up it wilts and withers,but now, it is spiking up beautifully.

A reliable bloomer most of the year, African iris is sending up shoots of new buds. 

Sweet Alyssum and Belinda's Dream mingle their perfume adding a sweet scent to the morning walk-about.

With a scent that is a little less sweet and a little more peppery, the White Out rose is doing her best to provide wintery white blooms.

Smelling like almond cookies baking in the oven, the sweet almond bush is loving the cold. 

(While tender potted plants and seedlings have been brought into the protection of the porch and a few in-ground tropicals have been covered with old quilts, the above flowers have been on their own.  Other plants left unprotected have already turned brown and begun their winter hibernation.  It's nice to have a few things doing well in the winter garden.)

Fragrance in the Garden

As I take my morning walk through the back garden to check on the ripening of the grape tomatoes, fragrance is in the air. 

Japanese Honeysuckle, lonicera japonica,  gives off the sweetest perfume which is why I bought this plant on purpose without knowing its invasiveness.   I haven't had a problem with it being overly agressive yet as I just bought it in April.  I understand from reading, after the purchase, that it is spread by the berries it produces.  So, it probably will be pulled and replaced.  Probably.  Oh, I hate this.  Maybe I will just quit reading up on plants, or maybe I will only buy plants I have read about and know what to expect.

Jasminum nitidum, Angelwing jasmine, grows as a shrub at My Garden Path.  These flowers are lightly scented, not as strong as some other jasmines.  It usually makes it through our winters but this year it is starting fresh from the roots.  This is the cover for one of the rain barrels so I hope it grows fast!

Of course, my lovely roses are full of sweet, fragrant blooms that flavor my morning walk-through with delight.

The African Blue Basil is just starting to bloom.  I keep this in a pot so I can protect it in winter.  It is perennial but not at all cold tolerant.  Does it ever smell wonderful even with just a few beginning blooms! The leaves have a fragrance just as other basils do but it's the flowers that really put out the fragrance. 

Lovely Mirabilis jalapa, known as four o'clocks because of the timing of the opening of their blooms, greet me along My Garden Path at 9 o'clock AM.  My plants are as mixed up as their caretaker can be, I guess. 

There are several fragrantly blooming shrubs in my garden.  These have all been added just this spring.

Osmanthus fragrans, Tea Olive has flushed with blooms for a second time since being planted.

The Sweet Almond bush, Aloysia virgata, is blooming in dappled shade even though it is supposed to like full sun.  I'm hoping it will be happy here as I really don't have a large area for it anywhere else.  I really want to put a bench or chair here so I can enjoy the vanilla almond scent while watching the grands at play. 

These buds haven't opened and released their fragrance yet, but I  wanted to include this lovely native shrub in this post.  Simpson's Stopper, Myrcianthes fragrans, is growing in semi-shade in my boggy area.  So far, it seems like a happy shrub.  This shrub is actually very pretty and is a great wildlife attractor.  Plans are for more of this shrub to be planted along the fenceline in this area. 

Oh!  I almost forgot the grape tomatoes!  There are just enough ripe ones to use for a salad tonight.  These are the first ones ready.  I'm hoping they will stand up to the heat that's already here and keep producing.  It seems that this might be a short tomato season for me.