My Garden (Psycho) Path

My Garden Path started out as a circle around the big oak tree in my backyard.  Over the last few years that path has sprouted tributaries that meander off in other directions to allow access to the ever expanding garden.

This cute little sign was made by Darla from More Family and Flowers.  It is so fitting for the path in my garden, not the gardener.  Take a look at Darla's new website From Our Hands to Your Home - Handmade and Vintage and see what other treasures she has there.

Taking a walk around My Garden Path I can't help but revel in all the summer foliage.  Most of these plants will be in their glory for just a few more months.

All the different leaf sizes, colors and textures are what the late summer garden is all about.  There are a few stray blooms here and there but most are resting until cooler temperatures prevail.

That doesn't mean there isn't color in the garden.  There is a lot of color in leaves of differing shades of green, purple, red, pink and even striped and spotted.

The boggy area has finally lived up to its name.  The recent daily deluges are keeping these plants, which like wet feet, very happy.

The path may wander and be a bit unorganized, but it allows a view of the garden from many different perspectives.  Thanks for walking along with me today.


(Don't forget to check out Darla's new website.  It's a fun concept of "haggling" for your price and there are some very interesting things available.)

New Blooms and Re-Blooms

Now that it's late summer in the garden, many flowers have faded but many more are just coming into their own.  The heat of August is intense and we have had little rain but certain flowers seem to love just those conditions.  Monarda punctata is one that likes it hot and dry.  It should continue to bloom right on through September.  Planted in front of the vegetable bed, hopes are high that the fall garden will benefit from the many bees that come to visit this plant whose common name is Spotted Horsemint. Butterflies love this one too. 

As she has done all spring and summer, Belinda's Dream is flushing with blooms.  The foliage has stayed beautiful with absolutely no spraying.  The bush has grown from a small 18" high to 30" in height.  Of course, I've been deadheading and cutting blooms for indoor bouquets which has kept the bush nice and tidy.  The typical pattern is for three buds to be grouped together on one stem. 

Sometimes a grouping of plants just works.  This one has done well in a partially shaded corner next to one of the rain barrels.  Blue Plumbago, Plumbago auriculata, blooms much more profusely when grown in full sun but it fits nicely here growing long, gently arching branches.  The clusters of blue flowers show up well against  the red blooms of the miniature climber, Rosa 'Red Cascade,'  in the background.  Dracaena deremensis 'lemon lime,' is growing in a container nestled in among the branches of the Plumbago.

A new addition to the sunny part of the backyard garden is Tecoma alata 'Orange Jubilee.'  More cold tolerant than the more common Yellow Elder or Tecoma stans, this sprawling shrub's foliage will serve as winter interest against the fence.  During spring and summer the orange trumpet shaped blooms attract bees, butterflies and hummingbirds.  (I've only seen one hummingbird this summer and it was sipping from the tall red pentas.)

A re-bloomer in the garden is the Loropetalum chinense var. rubrum.  This shrub has proven itself cold hardy, heat tolerant and a beautiful bloomer. 

Many colors of  Pentas lanceolata are blooming in the summer heat. These butterfly and hummingbird attractors never stop blooming except when frosty temperatures arrive. They rebound quickly from a central Florida winter most years. January 2010 was an exception.

Tiger Swallowtail

Impatient gardener that I am, I purchased several new Pentas to fill the bare spots in the garden until some of the older plants returned.  That wasn't  entirely a bad thing to do.  A new color, cranberry, was added and it has proven to be a butterfly favorite.  Pentas are so easy to grow.  They are drought tolerant and bloom continuously without needing any extra fertilizer.   They fill in and add color to both shady and sunny areas of the garden. 

The late summer garden is going strong even through hot, humid days and nights.  Cooler temperatures will be coming though.  Evidence is in the buds forming on the fall blooming red firespikes, cassias, and forsythia sage.  There is always something going on in the garden.