Red Riot

Red in my garden is a welcome accent against all the shades of green foliage.  From flying creatures, flowers and foliage, red is a color that catches the eye.  Anyone know the name of this colorful flying insect enjoying the Sweet Almond?

Stopping to smell the Louis Philippe roses I realize even their scent is connected to the color red.  Their smell reminds me of cherry flavored candy.  Is it just because I'm seeing cherry-red that I imagine this?  

The Bottle Brush tree is blooming away now that it has reached a height of ten feet.  I have been happily watching its red blooms attract hummingbirds and bees.  

Accent foliage of magenta red hues really pops against the shades of green in the shady tropical corner.  Blood Leaf Irisine  has made it through even our colder winters.  This year, with the mild winter temperatures, it has remained a small bush and with its spring growth I can see it becoming an even larger presence.  

First time in a long time the Ti plants have shown height as well as their lovely colors.  The background of white Caladiums is early in appearing too.  Love this spring!

My favorite cardinal family is still nesting in the azalea bushes and visiting the feeders throughout the day.  I love the flitting flashes of red they bring to the garden.

Bluebird of Happiness

Bluebirds are associated with happiness and contentment in life.  I'm certainly happy to have this charming couple visiting my garden this spring.  I hope they make their home here. 

They have been visiting every day, making quite a show of catching bugs.  As I go about pulling weeds and other garden duties this cheerful pair seem to enjoy my company as much I enjoy theirs.

There is much to be happy about in the garden these early days of spring.  Along the sunny side of the back fence the new 'Julia Child' rose is blooming  in floribunda bunches.  I have been looking for this rose ever since I saw it at Bok Tower gardens.  It gets good reviews from Bok Tower and from other central Florida gardeners.


My happiness with the floribunda  rose, 'Scentamental' is probably going to be short-lived.  I know he's wrong for me, but I don't care.  I love him.

Seedlings in the sunny patch that is now a rose garden have been springing up and starting to bloom.  Blanket flowers, guara, hollyhocks, and alyssum have all re-seeded from last year's plants.  Yay!  Belinda's Dream provides lots of happiness in this spot.

Tall red pentas and more blanket flowers are coming back in front of the bamboo on the sunny west side.  A few sunflowers were added.  Butterflies and bees have gradually been coming around to visit them. 

There is more guara happiness along the path leading to the pot of bright orange geraniums.  Those geraniums were a Mother's Day gift from my daughter-in-love.  I'm very happy to see them blooming and rejuvenated with the spring weather.

What could be happier than little green sweat bees buzzing around sunflowers? 

And, finally!  Blooms on the bottle brush tree this year! 

"...happy is that people, whose God is the LORD."

Psalm 145:15

Reworking the Sunny Corner

This corner in the backyard adjoins the bed along the chainlink fence.  It is an area that receives mid-day to afternoon sun.  There was a golden dewdrop, duranta repens planted in the back corner with a multi-color lantana, lantana camara, across the front.  The golden dewdrop was killed to the ground in January just as it was last winter.  It was decided that another butterfly and hummingbird attractor that could make it through cold weather was needed instead of the golden dewdrop which was relocated to a less prominent spot. 

 

A three feet tall red bottlebrush tree callistemon citrinus was planted where the dewdrop had been.  This specimen will be full of bristly red blooms very soon.  Butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds all love them.  Since this small tree will be green during winter as well as summer, it will provide some privacy screen to the chainlink fence area.  When it achieves its full height it will be around 12 feet tall.

 

Beautiful blooms are imminent.

Blue-eyed grass is a native plant that grows in damp open fields.  This corner should be a perfect spot for it.  Placed as a border grass in front of the bottlebrush its sweet little blue flowers add interest to its lush greenness.

The lantana was also killed to the ground but it was left to come back between the border of blue-eyed grass and the bottlebrush.  Should it not make it back to the land of living plants it will be replaced most likely with a mixture of red and white pentas. 

The sunny corner package.