As the Season Changes

Blue Ginger
Dichorisandra thyrsiflora

The end of the week heralds the official beginning of Fall.  The garden is beginning to show its Fall colors already.  Since the trimming has gotten away from me, the Blue Ginger is blooming underneath the overpowering branches of Purple Firespike which won't bloom until late winter.

Flowering Maple
Abutilon

Flowering Maple has bloomed pretty much non-stop since Spring, but seems to have more blooms than ever now that the nighttime temperature has dropped a bit.

Forsythia Sage, Salvia madrensis and Red Firespike, Odontonema strictum

My favorite Fall flowering combination is this Red Firespike and Forsythia Sage blend.  The butterflies and hummingbirds love these two as well.

I have noticed more buds forming on other Fall blooming plants which are nice to see as many of the Summer bloomers are closing up and fading away.  I love witnessing the changes of season in the garden even though, here in central Florida, those changes are very subtle.

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.  

Hot Color for Hot Days in the Garden

All the orange in my garden is turning up the heat.

Crossandra  'Orange Marmalade'

Flowering Maple

Tropical Milkweed

Blanket Flowers

There are lots of Blanket Flowers here along the Path

Marigolds

It takes strong colors to not look washed out in the bright summer sunshine.  These flowers can take the heat of a Florida summer and reflect it back in gorgeous color.  

Blooms!

Blooms greet me everywhere as I walk through the garden these days.  Even though conditions are quite dry, the temperature has remained cool enough to encourage flowering. 

Easter Lily, Lilium longiflorum

The Easter Lily didn't open its buds until after the holiday, but these sweetly scented white flowers are welcome whenever they decide to blossom.  This specimen was received as a potted plant last year and was planted in the ground after it finished blooming.  The leaves totally disappeared and the plant was forgotten until a few green sprouts showed above the mulch in early spring.

Yarrow, Achillea

White flowered yarrow was planted in the fall.  Its ferny foliage stayed green all winter long and then this spring it began to multiply all over the rose bed.  This is the first bloom which appeared right on schedule this May. 

Brazilian Plume, Justicia carnea

Brazilian Plume is a fantastic shade flower.  For some reason, this winter wasn't as hard on it as last.  These small shrubs are still much smaller than in past years but they are back and blooming. 


Flowering Maple, Abutilon

I picked up two of these flowering maples from the clearance rack at one of the big box stores.  No information tags came with them.  They grow more compactly than the one I already have planted by the rain barrel.  The flowers are a different color too.  These bushes are about 2-1/2 feet tall and as wide, full of buds and blooms.  They sailed through winter. 


Cuphea llavea

These little cupheas are another clearance rack find.  They bloom constantly.  If they behave like my 'candy corn' cuphea, they will die back in winter but return in spring.  But, they may turn out to be an annual.  If so, they were worth the discounted price.



Stoke's Aster, Stokesia laevis

 The native Stoke's aster is quite happy in a partly sunny area to the side of the rose garden.  These have only been planted since early spring so I don't really know what to expect from them.  I had another plant that was sited in a sunnier area and it bloomed well until last month when it suddenly died. 

Coral honeysuckle, Lonicera sempervirens

The little coral honeysuckle purchased from the county jail plant sale for $1 has finally bloomed!  I planted this one last fall when it was only a foot tall and it has covered an obelisk that is five feet tall.  No blooms appeared until this week.  I've been worried all spring that it was not really coral honeysuckle.  But, it is!  Yay!

Blanket Flower, Gaillardia pulchella

Native blanketflower is still flowering.  Some of these are reseeded from last year's plants and some are a hybrid I purchased earlier this year.

Rain Lily, Zephyranthes grandiflora

We did get two inches of rain this past weekend.  I guess that was enough to trigger the rain lilies that live at the edge of the non-boggy bog garden.  While that rain event was quite welcome, the garden and I can't wait until the regular summer rains begin.

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. 

Oak Tree Circle Re-Do

While enjoying the wafting scent of the tea-olives, my youngest garden helper and I began pulling out Wedelia trilobata from the circular bed surrounding the big oak tree in the back garden. 

This ground cover is now considered a category II invasive for the central Florida area.  Even though I've always liked the cheery yellow flowers, I decided it was time for this pest plant to go. 

Since the Wedelia was brown and crispy after our winter freezes, it was pretty easy to pull up. This job needed to be done before warm temperatures and spring rains brought it back to life. Even so, I'm sure I'll be pulling sprigs out all through the spring and summer.

When the Wedelia was originally planted, it was not considered an invasive. In fact, it was recommended to me by a landscaper. Part of the problem with this plant is the ease with which any part of it will root. So, as I was keeping my patch trimmed up and disposing of the trimmings in the yard waste, I was contributing to the spread of a pest plant. All the ground cover we pulled up this time was disposed of in the trash not the recycled yard waste.

The now blank area was filled with a few newly purchased plants such as Holly Fern and Indian Hawthorn.  These particular plants were chosen for their cold hardiness.  Other plants were divided from existing clumps growing in other areas around My Garden Path.  The pink edging will be pulled out as it is no longer needed to contain the Wedelia.

Bromeliads, Flax Lily, and Flowering Maple were some of the plants added from existing sources in other parts of the garden.  Caladium bulbs will be planted later this month to fill out the area. 

(The plants which are designated as invasive in Florida can be found here.  This is an ever changing list so it is a good place to check periodically.)

My Favorites....This Month

December 2010 Favorites

This has been a busy month filled with Holiday activities from beginning to end.  Time for the garden has been short around here.  Most of the garden activity has consisted of bringing potted plants and newly rooted cuttings in and out of the house and back porch.  Watching the weather report has also taken up a lot of time here at My Garden Path.  There have been a few shining stars out in the garden this month in spite of my neglect and I certainly want to give them credit for the great job they have done keeping my garden from being just one big brown patch.

The two camellia bushes have been blooming all month providing lots of color and shiny green leaves.  I am seeing that I need to add more of these to my garden.  The roses have shown how much they love the cooler drier air by blooming profusely. The honeysuckle was purchased this spring just for it's cold hardiness and it is rewarding me by not only keeping it's leaves but also putting out wonderfully scented blooms.  Of course, the Christmas cacti shone bright this month.  It always amazes me how they bloom right on time.  I'm only showing the creamy white one but there are two other colors in my collection, a fuschia and a red.  The two big surprises have been the red shrimps and the flowering maple.  Both have been blooming since October and neither have been fazed by all the freezes we've experienced this month.  I will definitely be adding more of these.  Since they are easy to root from cuttings they'll even be budget friendly. 

Drop by Simply Susan's blog to share your December favorites.

Happy New Year!

Selective Sights After a Cold Winter's Night

The garden thermometer under the big double-oak showed 29 degrees this morning at first-light. 

Smiling Pansies

As a native Floridian who has never lived anywhere else, I remember cold winters like we have been experiencing these last few years.  However, I had been lulled into forgetfulness by the decade or so of milder winters occurring prior to 2008.

Bamboo, Multiplex 'Fernleaf'

I've lived on the same piece of property for 25 years now.  When the children were still small my gardening efforts were limited to a few hedges of ligustrum, viburnum and lots of azaleas.  All of those plants are cold-hardy and have never been fazed by winter.

Budding Azaleas


A few hibiscus bushes and pass-along bromeliads were in the landscape but I don't remember winter ever ravaging them like it has recently.

Native Saw Palmetto

The last four years have afforded a slower lifestyle that fueled a new interest in gardening.  Yep, just in time for a cold winter cycle to hit.



Flowering Maple

All the beautiful tropicals and butterfly nectar and host plants that drew me that first spring of 2007 gardening have taught me much.  Old stand-by plants once considered "boring" are now appreciated for the structure they provide during just such times as these.

African Iris

Oh, the tropicals and other tender perennials will always be loved and grown in this garden, but more thought is being given to a reliable frame-work to define the garden during the dormant months.

Shrimp Plant

This thought began after last January's eleven days of freezing temperatures.  By April, the thought was hidden beneath the exuberance of seeing those tender plants returning.  Soon, the thought of providing a form that would be cold-hardy was completely forgotten, or at least, ignored.



Sasanqua Camellia 'Yuletide'

A few reliable garden residents are rewarding my initial effort and refueling my resolve to follow-through better this next gardening year. 

My blog title says "Learning and Growing in a Florida Garden" and, albeit slowly, I am.