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.  

Ginger Snap

Heat, humidity and heavy rainfall are the conditions that the gingers love.  That's just the kind of weather we've been having around My Garden Path and the many types of gingers grown here are thriving.

Hedychium 'Sherry Baby'

The butterfly gingers, bloomed a few weeks back.  Both the peach colored and the white are very heavily scented and fill up the back garden with sweet perfume.  The bloom cycle only lasts for two weeks and that makes it all the more special.

Hedychium coronarium

The pinecone gingers are doing very well down in the boggy area.  They are spreading happily and sending up those interesting blooms.  The blooms are actually small flowers that pop out of the "cone" when it is still green.  As the cones turn red I like to cut them to use in flower arrangements for the house.

Zingiber zerumbet

There is a creamy substance inside the cones that has a sweet smell and gives these gingers their other nickname, 'shampoo ginger.'

Costus barbatus

I'm so happy to see the Costus returning after being killed to the ground this winter. When winters are mild this ginger will stay green and then bloom in early spring. The blooms are tall red towers that last all summer. Even without the flowers, the velvety soft leaves and spiraling stems make this ginger a favorite of mine.

Alpinia zerumbet


The shell gingers bloom in the spring in heavy dripping bunches.  The solid green takes the sun well at the edge of the bog garden but it was hit hard this past winter with frost.  The variegated version loves the shade and wasn't fazed in the least by either of the past cold winters.  I have divided both of these gingers and spread them in front of the fence to give more background to the other plantings.

Alpinia zerumbet 'variegata'

Another ginger that I have divided and spread around all over the shady area is a beautiful 'hidden' ginger.  I divided and moved the clumps last fall.  This spring when I expected to see fuchsia blooms I was very disappointed.  No blooms on any of the plants this year.  I'm hoping they just need to get settled in after their move and that they will all bloom this coming spring.

Curcuma zedoaria

All the gingers in the garden have sweetly scented stems and rhizomes as well as beautiful blooms.  It's the leaves that I love though.  Some disappear for the winter, some stay right on through the cold season, but they all lend tropical flair to my summer garden.

A Morning Look at the Garden

Lately there has been little time to spend in the garden.  What time has been available has been spent watering drought thirsty plants.  This morning I took some time to observe my garden in anticipation of having an entire day tomorrow to spend caring for my favorite place to be.

The crinum 'Ellen Bosanquet' has sent up a scape of beautiful pink flowers.  There are three of these planted at the foot of the Raja Puri banana tree.  (Note for tomorrow:  The bamboo could use a little trim to keep it from covering up the banana tree.)
 

Oh my goodness!  There are bananas!  These are the first bananas ever at My Garden Path! 

A quick walk over to the circular path around the oak tree allows for a beautiful view of morning sunlight shining through all the colorful foliage of coleus and caladiums.

This is a really tropical looking spot along the path.  The pinecone gingers have grown quite tall and are already forming pinecones. 

Over in a sunny area the white guara is putting on quite a show.  I've never seen it so thick before.  Usually it is quite spindly and thin.  I like this new look.

Little green bees with loaded pollen pockets are enjoying the guara too.  This morning there are many of them and some honey bees too enjoying all the flowers.

One of my favorite things about walking through the garden in the morning is the way the slanting eastern light backlights the normally dark, shady corner. 

I'm looking forward to spending tomorrow outside for the day.  There is much tidying to be done and fertilizing with fish emulsion and compost.  The roses need their monthly Mills Magic application.  A passing rain shower would be a nice occurrence. 

Whatever your weekend plans may be, I hope they include some time in your garden. 

Sitting in the Shade

With the cooler temperatures that have come about since the beginning of September, sitting in the shady part of the garden is once again a pleasant way to spend some quiet time.  Cool is a relative term I suppose.  The daytime highs have been in the mid to high eighties with night temperatures being in the mid seventies. 

So many of the plants in the garden are enjoying this time of year as much as the gardener.  Sitting here,  I notice the Curcumas are as tall as the six-foot fence.  The Butterfly Gingers and the Pinecone Gingers are nearly as tall.  Since all of them will be going dormant for the winter season, I want to sit and appreciate them for all they are giving to the garden right now. 

Persian Shield, Forsythia Sage, Shrimp Plants, how many of these will last through this winter's cold spell?  Past years have seen these plants going semi-dormant but not disappearing altogether.  That is, past years not including the most recent.  Oh how I fear the corner becoming nothing but oak leaf mulch as it was this past January through March.

Some plants were added to give the area at least a minimal amount of green this winter.  Cast Iron plants are cold hardy and several clumps have been placed throughout the corner plantings.  Both Variegated and Green Liriope were planted as a border to define the area.  Two Holly Fern were placed within the corner plantings as well.  But what about the Schefflera, the Bleeding Heart Clerodendrum, and the Cat Palms?  How will they react to a cold winter blast?

Ah, well, this is the best time of the year for this area of the garden.  This shady corner has been growing in beauty all summer and now has reached its peak.  Seasons change and so will the garden.  Everything that seemed gone forever in January has returned with enthusiasm. 

The huge live-oak that gives the area its shade will stand strong through the cold continuing to provide cover for all the birds which frequent the feeders and birdbaths during all the seasons of the year.

Providing feeders with fresh seed and birdbaths with fresh water ensures that these colorful visitors will stay around through all the seasons.

Now is the time I have been given to enjoy this spot.  The scent of the Butterfly Ginger blooms, the ripening beauty of the Pinecone Ginger cones are only available now, in this season.  The buds on the Forsythia Sage promising yellow spires of blooms, the reddening bracts on the Red Shrimp plants are only for this time. 

As I continue to sit in this special corner of my garden, I realize I'm learning to listen.

"So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom."

Psalm 90:12

Early September Color

This time of year there is plenty of color in the garden.  The Pentas lanceolata provide dots of color in red, pink, purple and white. 

The view from the backporch is always filled with butterflies sipping from the clusters of blossoms.

Pinecone ginger,  Zingiber zerumbet, blooms are turning red now and soon will be incorporated in arrangements for Thanksgiving and Christmas get togethers.

Lots of color greets anyone coming through the entryway garden.   The Caladiums are still growing well and the Impatiens have just exploded with growth.

The cranberry colored Pentas that are part of the new front flower bed are butterfly magnets.  The grandkids and I watch dancing butterflies from the front windows.  I enjoy the Plectranthus 'Mona Lavender' which has been producing purple plumes since Spring but the butterflies don't pay any attention to them.   

While the red shrimp plants,  Justicia brandegeana, are making me wait for blooms, the Justicia brandegeana 'Fruit Cocktail' are bursting with buds.  They are another butterfly favorite especially of the Giant Swallowtail.

When the light is just right, green can be bright and beautiful.  The normally shady back corner glows in the sunlight of early morning.

Without a doubt, the showiest flower of the season is the Red Firespike, Odontonema strictum.  This cold sensitive shrub is killed to the ground every winter but grows back by summer to a height of six feet.  The many large spikes of tiny trumpet shaped flowers are very attractive to butterflies and hummingbirds. 

There is a lot of color in early September here at My Garden Path.  New buds are forming on many plants promising color will continue for months to come.