Ahhhh.....The Garden Sighs With Relief

How wonderful it was to hear the rain coming down on the garden last night.  This morning brought happy scenes to view.  The Perennial Peanut and Pink Guara have both  weathered drought conditions well and have bloomed in spite of being dry.  Even drought tolerant plants appreciate a little rain though and I think they looked just a little lovelier with the moisture. 

A native groundcover that is starting to spread beneath the oak is Ruellia caroliniensis.  More blooms greeted me this morning after the rain than in the last month.  This is the first year for them in my garden.  They seemed to go dormant after December until about February.  Since this was a mild winter, I'm wondering how they'll do long term.  I was very happy to see them reappear and to find some seedlings along with the original plants. There is a lot of bare ground left for them to cover.

Coming around a curve in the path, I noticed that the Pinecone Gingers are looking better with some hydration.  All the gingers have been suffering in the drought but they have held on and I'm hoping for lots of blooms once the rains begin.  The ground orchid, Epidendrum ibaguense, is stretching toward the sun in its mostly shady location.  It has grown more stems and I think I might move a few sprigs to a little sunnier spot. 


I am so thankful for this rain event as it has renewed and refreshed a garden that was getting quite crispy around the edges.  

Under The Oak Tree

The southeast corner of the backyard garden is under the shady canopy of the large oak tree as well as the shadow of the wood fencing.  Pockets of sunlight appear in different areas at different times throughout the day.

Still on the east side but closer in toward the tree, new plants have been added to fill in the area where the wedelia ground cover once was growing.  The tallest plants are about two feet tall right now, but there are several which will be gaining height to add much needed layers.

Lots of low growing ground covering plants are planted on the north side of the tree.  This is the view we have from our back porch. 

There is a fairly good mix of cold hardy plants such as flax lily, holly fern and walking iris to keep the area from being too bare when the various clerodendrum, coleus, and caladiums disappear for the winter.  Where are all those caladiums I planted right after removing the wedelia?  Maybe I've been digging around too much and displaced them. 


Three oakleaf hydrangeas were planted on the southside of the tree to give some height and background.  These blooms are just beginning to open.  Hydrangea quercifolia is a native plant that fits in well with a natural woodland setting. 

Another native plant just added is this ground cover, Ruellia caroliniensis.  I'm hoping this native wild petunia will spread and help cover the areas between the other plantings. 

Up against the trunk of the old oak are clumps of different types of bromeliads.  The roots of the oak tree make it impossible to dig deep planting holes so these epiphytes fit perfectly. 

I just enjoy the sunlight shining through the leaves.  You never know when a stray sunbeam will show up.

On the west side of the tree I tried to mirror the planting of the east side.  There is another flowering maple, wormwood, firespike and a new reed-stem epidendrum planted on the outer edge of the circle where it can get some stronger sunlight.

With a mix of old and new, native and Florida friendly plants, I am eager to see how this woodland garden grows up.