New blooms in fall

Finally there is a change in the weather patterns and somewhat cooler temperatures are prevailing.  I spent 2 hours working in the gardens this morning and the air was actually comfortable.  First on the to-do list was pruning the roses.  That accomplished, I moved on to pruning a small topiary by the front door.  This is a plant that I had had potted on the screened porch of the front door and didn't do well: one side died.  I moved it to the garden that runs in front of the house.  After a year or more, it is finally filling out and requires trimming.

Weeding was an afterthought as I moved through the gardens.  Funny how only certain areas had weeds while the rest was weed-free. 

Next on the garden chore list is fertilizing and mulching.

Besides the weather change, Fall brings flowers on some species.  Several trees in the neighborhood are blooming now.

               

 

The ixoras in the front yard have been blooming all summer and are still full.  Although not blooming, the magnolia has been growing well so I have high hopes for a better Spring than last.  I had a surprise while weeding.  In one garden where I had had hanging baskets of flowers, the baskets are long-gone but they left seeds behind that are now growing and flowering on the ground.  I'm letting them stay to spread as ground cover.

 

In a month, the roses should be blooming again.  There have been sporadic blossoms over the hot, hot summer, but they jump to life again with the cooler temperatures.  They won't get much rain, but the sprinklers take care of the water needs. I hope to have good photos of their blooming.

 

That's all for now.  Happy gardening.

 

Anita

What price summer?

In more than 30 years in Florida, I don't remember a summer, especially August, so continuously hot.  My garden upkeep has been sporadic at best, starting about 7 or 7:30 a.m. when I feel up to it.  I try to stay in the shade and if the sun makes its searing heat felt, I quit. 

That's what happened this morning as I made my way to the vegetable garden that sits in the NE corner of the back yard.  I laughingly call it a garden because the truth is it is a jungle right now.... or was until I tamed it.  There was no sign of the pepper plants that were the last to bear.  I had pulled the dead tomato and parsley plants at least a month ago, as they had faded and collapsed in the unbearable heat.  But I'll tell you what didn't collapse:  weeds!  crabgrass!  Johnson grass!  and more!  I was certain frogs and snakes had moved in but happily saw no sign of them.

It took a shovel to begin loosening the root systems before pulling anything.  That's why my hands gave out after two hours.  Some of the roots were 8 inches or more deep. 

I'm sorry to admit the garden is only 90% weeded because I couldn't bend or pull another stalk.  Plus, the last section was squarely in the sun.  Yes, I know, that was a poorly planned attack on the weeding.  I should have started on that end. 

Once finished, I have a quandary about how to keep it weed-free over the winter.  Does anyone have any ideas?  The last time I tried a black cloth weighted by mulch there were still some weeds growing through it by the spring. 

The summer has not been all bad, however.  Some of my flowering plants have done well, blooming frequently:  the dwarf powder puff and the ixora are very colorful now.  The roses bloom sporadically.  The most prolific and unusual have been the snow-on-the-mountain bushes.  As if their new leaves aren't colorful enough, the bushes have sprouted their flower stalks, putting a halo of pink across the top.   Below are the newly planted bush and the mature plants, both in bloom.

             

 





When you live up north, gardeners typically spend their winters dreaming and planning their gardens for the spring.  Just the opposite is true here in Florida; at least for me.  I already have ordered some beautiful red star lilies I want to plant near the front door.  And since my honeysuckle is nearing its demise, I'm considering what other vining plant(s) I could replace it with. 

That is all I have to add today.  I hope your gardens grow well.

Anita

Is Summer Over?

I can't say we really had Spring this year.  My last post talked about the new growth of so many of my plants; within 2 months the plants are showing summer stress, especially the roses and tomatoes.

Tomatoes ready to pick--early June

First harvest -- June

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 We had a fairly steady harvest every few days for a month, but only two green ones are left and no further flowers showing.  Normally this stage doesn't happen until mid-July, but unusual high temperatures early in the season have shortened our growing season.

One plant has enjoyed the high heat, though, and that's the Queen of the Nile lily.  One of four plants I have is a good producer and put up two stalks this year.  It's in the pool garden.

Queen of the Nile

I have younger plants outside the pool area which have doubled in size but no sign of flower stalks yet.  Hope springs eternal in the garden.

I did some pruning of bushes and trees early this month, but Mother Nature apparently decided I needed more.  My husband and I came home from a weekend in Jacksonville (celebrating our grandsons' birthdays) to find a large branch of the ash tree lying on the ground in the backyard.  There had been strong, gusty winds the night before and the branch just snapped.  A few weeks before, the oak tree in the front yard lost a few branches, too, but this was a first for the ash.  Unfortunately, the garden below has been left in a lot more sun, which doesn't bode well for the azaleas.  Only time will tell.

An update on the magnolia in the front yard. It has recovered from early insect damage and finally has grown new leaves.  Last night I noticed a flower bud, so there is hope again for more. I saw at a medical pavilion what my tree could/should look like and I keep trying to channel those images to the tree.  Don't know if that works, but I've tried everything else.

I'd love to see pictures of your gardens, especially the ones up north.  I miss so many of those flowers.

Have a great summer.

Ciao,
Anita

Spring has sprung!

After the coldest March, I believe, in Central Florida records, the plants around the Barrett house are celebrating the arrival of warm weather with wonderful growth.

First are the tomato plants which have doubled and tripled in size.  Flowers starting forming two to three  weeks ago and now we have tomatoes of various sizes.

One of the plants had holes in the leaves last week but a thorough spray for chewing insects seems to have curbed that.  The only other problem I'm having now are the weeds.  A new variety has joined the other typical weeds and they are much harder to dig up.  Mulch doesn't seem to prevent them and I suspect may be the origin of some, especially the new weed. I spent an hour this morning digging and pulling the weeds until the heat and sun chased me inside.  I may have to start doing my gardening before breakfast to avoid the problems I encounter with too much sun and heat.

Another successful plant in that garden is the Italian parsley I planted last summer.  It not only weathered the cold winter but has continued growing to an unbelievable size, about 2 feet high and 3 feet wide..

Beyond the vegetable garden, you may remember that I added new snow on the mountain plants last month.  They are doing well, but the previous plants are even better.  At left is an image of the plants I pruned last month -- they already have the beautiful new growth.

newly pruned snow bush

unpruned snow bushes

 Nearby (right) are the plants I haven't pruned.  I love the many shades of red, pink and white on the leaves. Even better, they can be seen from our breakfast room, which is delightful.

 Above, I couldn't resist snapping a shot of my second favorite rose, the Don Juan, that is on our trellis.

Finally, my husband, Jim, decided he wanted to try to grow some pepper plants from seed.  He harvested the peppers a few months ago and planted them in an egg carton.  So far there are 6 plants poking their first leaves above the dirt, as you can see in the photo.  The other photo is the originating rejuvenated pepper plant -- the original leaves and stems died back over the winter but new growth appeared and is doing well so far.

That's how my gardens are faring this spring.  How about yours?

Ciao,  Anita

It's Spring!

There have been just enough warm days in the past 2 weeks to get me in the gardening mood.  Witness to that is the shopping I did at Lowe's Garden Center and South Brevard Nursery a week ago.

Although I didn't do much in the gardens over the winter, I spent quite a bit of time just pondering the garden spaces -- what was missing, what could/should be removed, what I could plant.

First was what could be removed.  Weeds always.  Then the blue wonder I added to the gardens last spring performed beautifully into the fall but had so overgrown their spaces by then they were no longer attractive and nearly overpowering the bushes.  I imagined the roots of all the plants were fighting for water and fertilizer.   So the blue wonder was the first to go. And in at least one area, I saw that there now was room for a snow-on-the-mountain bush.  The others I have been growing have done so well, I have high hopes.

 Above left is the full snow bush I hope to duplicate on the south garden with the new plant at right.  And I've added another in the garden behind the pool.  The view from the patio should be lovely in a year or two when the new plants are the same height and color.

Moving to the front of the house, I added a new rose bush, Double Delight, (right) to the rose garden, filling a space left after pulling out more blue wonder.  The scent is strong, a welcome addition to the other heavilyscented bushes.

Wanting more color closer to the house, I made use of the space left by removal of the dying boxwoods and planted different-color moss rose (portulaca) along the walkway.  I also added a shepherd's hook (left) for a hanging basket of impatiens.
 

I also planted my vegetable garden last week, with tomatoes, parsley, cilantro, and marigolds.  I'll have photos next time.

Happy Spring, everyone.    May flowers always bloom in your garden of life.

Anita

 

March....really?

I seemed to have spent the winter in limbo somewhere.  I know I didn't do much gardening except to plant some Thai peppers.  I received a call from my favorite nursery, South Brevard Nursery, in November (I think) asking if I was still interested in Thai peppers.  I had left a request with them last spring!  I rushed to their location in W. Melbourne and took home four tall, rather straggly plants.  But they all had peppers or flowers on them.  Jim has been enjoying their unique taste ever since.  I thought we might lose them twice when night temperatures were forecast to go below 40 degrees (a no-no according to the nursery people) but I covered them up and they were not affected.  Last week I noticed new flowers on the plants, so we're hoping they will continue to grow.  The only hitch in that could be this weekend.  Another cold front is swinging through Florida and again temperatures in Palm Bay are forecast below 40.  It's a waiting game.

I usually try to plant my tomatoes the end of February or early March but will wait another week or two for warmer days and nights.  My biggest concern these days is where to plant them.  I'm afraid my regular garden needs a rest from tomatoes and I'm not sure where else I can put them.  I'm thinking of the area next to our bedroom on the south side (where the boat and car used to be stored) but I still have the problem of no sprinklers in that area.  If I do go there, I may try redirecting the closest sprinkler head to that area, plus put a soaker attachment on the hose to use twice a week.  We'll see.

Our weather has been so crazy with its ups and downs week by week and even day by day.  I was sure my flowering plants would suffer, but was I wrong! 

 

This is the azalea in front of the house, the first to start blooming, and it's now fully covered in huge pink blossoms.

 

For the first time in many years, all my azaleas are blooming at the same time, and in my side garden in the back yard, all the bushes are blooming together!

 

 

From the back corner, the snow bushes are begging for a pruning they have grown so tall; a ti plant beautifully red; a salmon red azalea; dwarf powder puffs; India hawthorne at left with white flowers; pink azalea along the fence; pink knockout rose on left; another hawthorne in front.  You might note a skinny trunk in back which is the holly tree, growing tall but not very wide, and the wider trunk in front at right which is the ash, wider spread to provide shade for those azaleas. 

 

I have nothing to report or show of my magnolia other than it is still alive and seems to be growing, but very slowly.  I haven't given up on it yet.

 

My rose bushes in the front yard didn't mind the weather changes and have bloomed all season.  So did the ixoras, even the new ones I planted last year. 

 

So you can see there hasn't been much to do for the past 4-5 months.  But now it is back to weeding marathons because the weeds have loved the warmer temperatures. 

 

More later, when there is more to tell.