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.