Storms, rain delay garden updates

    

The magnolia is blooming again and the ixora filled with flowers.

As much as the gardens and lawn need rain, the drenches we have had lately put a damper (yes, that's a pun) on my plans for planting and seeding.

I decided a few weeks ago that I would start replacing the St. Augustine grass with Zoyzia.  I had hoped to put down sod in the larger bare areas and plugs in smaller ones.  A search of nurseries and garden centers came up empty. One center declared they could order the sod but the order had to be a minimum of one pallet (400 square feet) for more than $200.  I wasn't prepared to uses that much sod at one time, nor spend that much.  Further investigation showed that I could use Zoyzia seed, which Scott's provides in a seed-mulch combination.   That will allow me to test grow it in limited areas before I commit to more.  My daughter is planning to replace her entire lawn with sod in the spring and I may be able to piggyback on her order for a small quantity if I like my experiment. 

The major planting quandary I've had -- filling the space left by removal of the magnolia -- has been decided.  I am taking another chance on a Japanese maple, a brilliant red color, of course.  It is a Web order and I should have delivery by next week.  Our weather will be cooler then and probably drier.  To avoid daily hose treatments, I will be using a slow-drip product requiring filling only about once a week.

I want to add pansies to the gardens for winter color but was told at my favorite nursery, South Brevard Nursery in Melbourne, that November was the month for pansies, so I will have to wait.

The storm that passed through our area a week ago knocked several branches out of my big oak in the front yard plus dozens of smaller branches.  I wouldn't attempt to count the  twigs and leaves.  I still have two broken but hanging branches that are too high to reach, even on a tall ladder.  I hate having to wait for their inevitable fall, hoping they don't hit people or cars.  I also lost a big branch from the ash tree in the back yard -- the first time that tree has been struck. 

After the storm, I had to get up on the roof to check for branches there and the status of the gutters.  I knew we had a problem on one gutter because I could see the small branch wedged in the corner that was causing a big waterfall onto the patio.

As I suspected, branches of various sizes littered the roof.  The gutter I knew I had to check was worse than expected.  A bunch of small branches were wedged in  and blocked leaves from washing away.  Not even a leaf blower (which I frequently use for leaf removal) would clear it all so hand removal was necessary.  Fortunately, the rest of the gutters were nearly clear, just a few leaves. 

I wish I had finished my drainage project before all this rain but I wasn't sure what and how I would do it until last week.  It may become a dry-season project. 

That is how my garden grows for now. 

More later.

Hot summer slows garden work

I haven't written anything new here for a while because there wasn't much to tell over the summer.  My garden efforts were primarily keeping plants fertilized and gardens weeded.  I had to do the work very early in the morning before the heat overwhelmed me -- usually only about an hour's worth.  Because of those conditions, I wasn't very inspired to think of future projects.

But, YEA!, fall is here and the mornings are cooler.  I spent an hour and a half today weeding and fertilizing, plus pruning the juniper and podocarpus on the north side of the house. 

One of the sad results of the very hot summer was the decline of the transplanted magnolia in the back yard.  You may remember that I had moved it from the shaded corner to a sunnier spot on the south side.  Its reluctance to revive and show new growth convinced me to pull it out last month.  So now I am on the search for something else to fill the spot. 

I am also waiting to find a new Mr. Lincoln rose bush to replace one in the front yard.  The tree trimmer (man) took down a large branch that unfortunately hit the old bush straight on and broke the trunk at or below the ground level.  There was no salvaging that plant.  The bush next to it onlly suffered one broken branch which I considered part of my fall pruning.

With the advent of October, I pruned all my rose bushes for their semi-annual trim.  There is new growth on all of them now so I anticipate another flowering winter season. 

The cooler fall weather has apparently made all the plants happy as they are filling out and blooming more now.  Even my magnolia has one ready to burst open and another soon behind it (see below).

The biggest success has been the large ixora under the maple tree.  It has succumbed to the freezes the last 2 winters but recovered and filled with flowers (also below). If we don't have another freeze, it will continue to bloom all winter.

That's all for this update.  I should have more as the fall progresses and I plan more projects.

Blooms in heat

My husband gave me a huge bouquet of red roses today to celebrate our 42nd anniversary.  They are lovely to look at but have no scent.  I think it's a crime that the marvelous scents of roses have been bred out of the flowers.  Fortunately, I just have to walk out the front door of my house to be transported by that heady aroma. 

Here is a look at one of my roses in bloom:

It's a Chrysler Imperial.  There are three blossoms on my Mr. Lincoln, the branches stretching nearly 5 feet high, about eye level. The Knockout roses are full of blooms too.

Despite the incredible heat, the roses are blooming more this summer than in several past years.  Perhaps I've been more diligent about fertilizing and dead-heading the blooms.   The only disappointing factor is that the blooms don't last more than a day in the heat and humidity.  But neither do I.

I was reading another blog about growing roses and the writer recommended a climbing rose called Stormy Weather.  It's purple and strongly scented.  I will have to research that one to see if it will do well in this area.  The Nelson nursery specializes in growing roses on root stock for Florida so that's a place to start.

Keep cool, my friends. 

Summer doldrums, rain

My garden corner activities have slowly wound down as the temperatures have gone up, but fortunately, my major projects have been concluded.

The sidewalk extension is done and I am loving the extra space and ease of transition from yard to driveway.  I did find the tumbled glass I wanted to fill the spaces, in a lovely combination of white and peachy pink pieces.   Photos are below, taken from below the path, looking toward the house, and at top, looking toward the street.  The color combination is not visible, unfortunately. 

                   

The rains we have been experiencing have done wonders for the grass and all my plants.  The grass plugs I planted in the front yard are finally filling in the bare spots.  My rose garden, which had gone into rose hibernation with the high temperatures a month ago, have been restored and they are in full bloom again. (The photo below doesn't do them justice.) Even my magnolia in the front yard has erupted with new flowers. Nature is wonderful.

 

The only problem with the rain is that it has come in fierce downfalls that have overloaded the gutters, causing waterfalls over the edge and creating drainage issues.  I have spent several mornings restoring ground levels and adding splash blocks.  

The vegetable garden finally died out and I spent another morning pulling out dead plants and weeds.  I think I'm going to improve the ground with a heat treatment for the coming season.  The baking of the soil supposedly will kill weed seeds and roots as well as nematodes, which I've had problems with in the past.

That's the update for this month. 

Labor breeds labor?

Don't you love it when your plans come together and you can yell, SUCCESS!   That's how I felt last weekend when I changed a few sprinkler heads and they are now working as planned.  I have a couple more to replace in the back yard, but the front yard should be thriving again soon, especially if the rainy season kicks in soon.  So far, only areas north and west of us have been getting any of the forecast rain.

Perhaps it is the constant reconstruction that has been going on in my house the last 3 weeks (bathroom renovation), but I got the bug to start my own garden renovation.  Some years ago I had added a brick path the length of our driveway so that anyone exiting the car on the passenger side didn't have to step into the grass.  My new project is widening the top of the path with similar bricks and blocks.  Part of the reasoning is that a boxwood bush near the path was half dead and I also found myself cutting through that garden strip to get into the yard and/or the nearby rose island. 

The project first required pulling out the boxwood and a couple of dwarf liriope (which I transplanted) and then digging out the dirt.  I filled a 40-gallon bucket to start.

Yesterday I bought the 12" stone blocks (with a brick pattern) and decorative edging so today was labor day.  Have you ever tried to fit square, or linear, stone along a curved edge?  There are corners and spaces left but all the pieces were in place in about 2-1/2 hours.   At that point my back was yelling at me to stop, so I did. 

Some of the dirt I dug up I spread around bare spaces in the yard but I still have most of that 40-gallon bucket left.  I may just dump it in the vegetable garden for a change in its composition.

The gaps in the brick addition I think I will fill with colored glass stones.  If I can find them.  I'll be hunting online later to see if local stores have them.

Tomorrow I will be back in the gardens planting more blue daze ground cover.  The ones I planted a week or two ago are thriving so I have several more places I can put them.

That's all for now.  Keep smelling the roses to sweeten your life.

Love/hate relationships with sprinklers

This has been the week of the sprinklers.

I realized last week that a sprinkler in the front, southwest corner of the yard was puddling -- a usual sign there is a cracked or broken pipe below.   Not only that sign, however, because at a spot about four feet to the south was a large bubbling source of water.  Could it be emanating from the aforementioned sprinker?  It was time to get to work.

Digging out a sprinkler head anywhere is no easy feat after up to 30 years of root growth in the soil.  After digging and chopping through probable maple roots, I unearthed the pipes almost a foot below ground level.  As suspected, the fitting over the lower pipe had cracked.  That was a a reasonably easy fix.

When I turned on the sprinklers for that section, however, the water pressure had not changed and the secondary bubbling was still active. 

I had considered that might be another buried sprinkler there as there had been last year up the slope on the same side.  Finding that break had taken 2 days of digging and I envisioned the same difficulty.  One dig with the shovel, however, uncovered a sprinkler head lying on its side (not my doing). 

Further investigation revealed the pipe on which the sprinkler had previously been attached was now beneath an oak tree root at least 2 inches in diameter.  Remember the 30 years' growth?  When the sprinklers were laid, that tree was a sapling.  And, in fact, the sprinkler was/is at best on the property line, if not actually over it.  For that reason, and the difficulty in getting beneath that root, I decided to simply cap the pipe.  That involved a trip to Home Depot to get a cap, of course.

Cap in hand, I tried for nearly half an hour to screw the cap on.  The difficulty was the root above it.  The cap was a hair too tall to fit directly over the pipe.  I finally resorted to enlisting my husband's aid to saw through the root.  Success, the cap easily twisted on.

Another check of the sprinkler action in the section showed the leaks were stopped: Full water pressure was restored and reaching the two areas of grass that had died.  Perhaps now the new grass plugs will take hold. 

I have hope.

I will have further sprinkler maintenance as my lawn mower (man, not machine) is having difficulty maneuvering his machine over/around some of the heads, so I'll be digging again.  But not this week.

Below is a glimpse of the hanging baskets flanking the gardenia in the long garden of the front yard.  I used hot pink portulaca to replace the waning pink petunias (which still show a little color on the ground).

Living life and loving it; I wish the same for you.

A flurry of flowers

Cooler morning temperatures have enticed me into the gardens again.  That and a stroll through Lowe's garden center where color catches my eye at every turn.  Looking at my gardens with a designer's eye, I realized there was a lot of open space around my plants in the fence garden (south side).  Pleased with the growth of the blue daze I planted in the rose garden, I decided to add some to the magnolia area a few weeks ago.  They are doing quite well in the back near the fence (so are the pink begonias in front).  The magnolia itself has put out some new leaves on existing branches but no new buds have grown on the bare stems although they are there.
  

As a result of the blue daze growth, I decided to add more along the length of the garden, snaking around the existing plants.  The little blue flowers are a nice contrast to the green leaves and red flowers of the knockout roses, powder puff flowers and caladiums.

I then decided to add a few to the SE corner area.  They flank the powder puff in the middle, and are in turn flanked by the red caladiums there and the snow bushes on either side.



That trip to Lowe's also resulted in my bringing home another canna.  It's one of a tropical series in a lovely shade of pink.  I'm sure it will do as well as the others I planted more than a month ago.

Other successes in my gardens (seen below) are the snow bushes behind the pool, the blooming Lily of the Nile (all my lilies now have flower stalks rising), the trellissed roses, the clematis now intertwining both high and low with the honeysuckle, and my vegetable garden.  We have started harvesting tomatoes and peppers.

         

 

  

It's not hard to see where my retirement passion lies.  But I am a fair (cool) weather gardener and I do not relish the coming of the five- to six-month hot, humid Florida summer. 

It's almost time to fertilize the roses.  Be sure to fertilize and nourish your dreams, too.



I didn't realize how long it had been since my last posting.  My excuse is I've been very busy working in my gardens and lawn, sandwiched in between traveling, a visit from my sister-in-law, preparing for a bathroom renovation, and all my regular activities.  Who said retirement was all rest and relaxation?

Repairing the lawn has been a major focus over the past month.  I planted St. Augustine grass plugs in two bare spots on the front lawn.  Keeping them watered has been a chore.... dragging out the hose and standing for 10 minutes or so at each site.  That may not sound difficult, but when your joints don't tolerate the inactivity, it hurts.

In the back yard, I expanded the area needing sod in front of the screen door.  I added 12 more squares and have had to keep them watered as well.

More pleasant has been the addition of other plants.  I decided to add ground color around the transplanted magnolia.  There is now a circle of pink begonias around the trunk and blue daze ground cover (small round leaves with small blue flowers) behind, next to the fence.   With the pink powder puff nearby that I planted 2 months ago, there should be ample color as they grow and fill the space.

I tried to do the same color-fill in the opposite corner (SE) where I had planted the arborvitae.  I love the look and shape of caladiums so I planted one each on three sides (each is a different variety but all are red).  The outside edge/corner was still looking bare because the ixora I planted 2 years has not grown at all (it froze over the winter).  So I opted to dig it out and replace it with another snow bush since
my other ones are thriving. 

Other additions include several more cayenne peppers and two Thai pepper plants. 

I'm happy to report that I picked the first ripe tomato from one of my plants.  It was so delicious, eaten without embellishment.  Another is ripening, just orange right now.  And all the tomato plants are showing fruit, so I'm hopeful for a bountiful crop.

Also blooming is the magnolia in the front yard.  At one point, four flowers were open at once.  Below is a sample.  And there are many more buds on the tree.

That's all for now.  Be sure to stop and "smell the roses" each day.

Color all around

I can report all is well in my garden corner as the new plants settle in and begin new growth.  The calla lilies especially are standing tall and have new leaves and flowers (see below).

All of the rose bushes in the island are thriving and several blooming.  I planted a new bush today called Double Delight, which has a creamy white base and red-tipped petals.  That makes 10 bushes in the island, which is perfect for the space. 



Another plant I added to the island, though, is a Blue Daze (to the right and front of the fountain).  I love the contrast of blue flowers with the red and pink roses.  Below is a closeup of the new rose bush with the blue ground cover next to it:

I thought this would be the end of my planting this season, but I have discovered a small flowering tree that I would love to have somewhere in the yard.  It's common name is Yesterday-Today-and Tomorrow because its small flowers open as purple then gradually fade to pink and then white.  It has been grown successfully in Orlando according to another garden blog, so I am on the hunt, both for the tree and a site in my yard for it.

I'll let  you know if I'm successful with that.

More later....

More color for the gardens

Last week began the marathon of planting at the Barrett "estate."  I say that laughingly because I was asked one time if I had a gardener!  Yes, me, I explained.  I couldn't tell if the question was one of praise or slur at the condition of things in the yard.  Last week I certainly felt like a gardener.

Somehow I managed a span of four hours nonstop as I planted three dwarf powder puffs, a gardenia, tomatoes, peppers, canna lilies and calla lilies, and transplanted an arborvitae and liriope grass.

The arborvitae fills the spot left vacant by the transplanting of the magnolia two weeks ago.  I searched and searched for a tree (preferably blooming) that would grow well in a shaded corner.  That proved fruitless other than tropical plants, which I didn't want.  I realized finally that the arborvitae that I had growing in a pot in the back corner was doing well in the shade and, once in the ground, should thrive and spread to fill the space. 

The gardenia replaces the nearly dead azalea in the garden in front of the house.  I had expected a major effort to dig out the roots, but it was easier than I thought.  Perhaps that accounts for the dying plant.  The gardenia looks small now, about 2 feet high, but I know they can grow quite large if left to spread, which I will do for a few years.  

The air in the front will be resplendant with roses, magnolia and gardenias, but probably not all at the same time.

The canna and calla lilies were impromptu buys, as I was caught by their beautiful color and foliage.  The red and pale yellow cannas are on the south side of the house, which failed to produce the mail-order lilies I planted as bulbs last year.  I seem to recollect they were not appropriate for our zone but I had hopes to succeed anyway.  I take chances like that but this time it didn't work out. 

The calla lilies are planted on the north east side of the house, near the pool pump.  It's a small garden that features dwarf bougainvilleas that bloom nearly all year long.  But that is just half the space.  I'm hoping the callas like the site and will spread.  They are red and pink  -- like nearly everything else in my gardens.

I continued the planting today with a Knockout rose bush in the rose bush island in the front yard.  I realized I have space for one more, so that will be added next week.  The other planting was another powder puff.   This one is in front of the arborvitae, providing color against the green bush and brown fence. 

I'll start taking photos as the plants get rooted and show more color.

That's it for now.

Moveable gardens

     I've only taken a few small steps on the road back to gardening, but they have energized me for more.

     My husband says my gardens have wheels because I have little reservation about moving plants or trees that don't thrive where they are planted.  And I don't mean plants in pots.

 After another round of leaf raking on Saturday, I decided I would move that woebegone magnolia in the back yard east corner.  I've been keeping track of the available light there and concluded there just wasn't enough anymore to satisfy a magnolia.  I extended the western end of the garden along the fence and replanted it there.  It is near the ash tree, but the ash doesn't leaf out for another month and it's quite tall so the magnolia for now will get sun in the morning plus all afternoon.  Even when the ash is in full leaf, the canopy is not dense and there will still be dappled light early.  I soaked the magnolia roots for 24 hours and have given it a dose of Miracle-Gro Quick Start.  I'll follow up with daily watering as I did with the magnolia I planted in the front yard last year, which by the way is looking good.

     Near the new location of the magnolia is a camellia I was sure had died in the drought last fall.  I don't know why I had left it in the ground then, and I thought I would pull it out now but amazingly I discovered a few new leaves sprouting, so its demise has been reprieved.

     My task today and tomorrow is to research and find a small tree for that back corner that will thrive in the shade.  And then tackle the weeds that thrive in every type of light, soil and moisture.  Is that fair?

     More later...

Familiarity still has surprises

     Walking the same path nearly every day may seem boring to some, but the magnificence of God's work always excites me.  Keeping an eye on the flora of the neighborhood frequently uncovers surprises: a new bloom, a hawk on a utility wire, the swoop and cry of an osprey, the robins enjoying the warming weather, or a new nest. 

      I have my eyes on a new nest to discover who is the builder.  Back in December, in a tall tree that had lost its leaves, I noted remnants of a squirrel nest .  Squirrel nests are identified by the branches of leaves that form its shape (birds don't use leaves) and squirrels around here are constantly reconstructing them.  I thought no more about the abandoned nest until several weeks ago.  Passing by the tree on my walk, I noticed the nest had grown.  A closer inspection revealed that it wasn't a squirrel nest but a bird's nest.  Within a week, it had nearly doubled in size.  I haven't seen the constructors yet -- the tree is several blocks away so I cannot give it constant attention -- but I'll keep looking on my walks.  Here is the tree and nest -- the green leaves are on the trees behind.  The twigs are more evident in the second photo, taken at dusk.

Closer to home is a firecracker plant that neighbors have been growing for several years.  This year it has grown even bigger and I love the look.  I was unsuccessful in growing the plants myself, so I have to be content with enjoying them from afar.

That's all for today.

Surprise in the garden

Supposedly the danger of frost has passed for Central Florida and I am happy to be able to get back to my gardens.  Today I spent pruning the roses although it was somewhat difficult.  They are all showing amazing growth with quite a few new buds.  Those I left for pruning after they bloom.   The surprise I got were the dewdrops edging the leaves like a row of pearls.  Below is a sample.

The pansies in the rose garden have fared well over the winter.  Here is one of my favorites:

Another surprise were the blooms already on the powder puff bushes.  Obviously, the cold snaps didn't affect them.  I did find some damage to the snow-on-the-mountain bushes, but there is also new growth so the pruning should be beneficial. 

I still haven't decided what I'm going to do with the stunted magnolia.  The leaves look healthy and there is some sign of new leaf growth, but only the ends of the few branches. Otherwise, it is just not growing and filling in .  I can't give it more sun in its current site, which is why I'm considering moving it.  I only have a week or two to transplant for optimum results, so I must decide soon.

More later....

Hurry, Spring

It's time to resurrect the garden corner.  Other than raking leaves, there hasn't been much to do in the gardens during the past few months.  But I've been doing a lot of thinking about what I will do in the spring.  Some of my ideas include removing the nearly dead azalea in front of the house and filling the void with the stunted magnolia from the corner of the back yard.  It's evident that corner doesn't get enough sun for the magnolia.  The front yard offers more, and the new site is near the magnolia I planted in the fall, which, by the way, is hearty and showing new buds through all the branches. 

The break in the weather -- high 70s for a change -- is just what I needed to jump-start my garden genes.  I spent 2 hours this morning digging out the many weeds in my vegetable garden and reinforcing the fence line where the neighbor's dogs try to dig under.  I was happy to find last year's parsley is still growing.  I will add fertilizer in a few days and that will be all until I'm ready to plant: tomatoes, of course, and cayenne peppers, plus perhaps a new vegetable.  

While I was outside, I also pruned my holly tree.  It had a side branch that was shooting up and competing with the leader.  I checked many of my other plants and was pleased to see that there didn't seem to be much freeze damage, as there was last year.  Moreover, I've been blessed with roses, honeysuckle and bougainvillea blooming continuously.

That's all for today.