Anita's Garden Corner

Spring Has Sprung

Pardon the cliché, but that is what the weather has been doing here for the past 2 months--springing back and forth from cold to warmth and back to cold every few days. Finally, we seem to be stable in spring. Luckily, this past winter we did not have any hard freezes, so I didn't lose any plants, but the swinging temperatures left a lot of confusion. Blooms have been sporadic.

I did lose 3 rose bushes in my island in the front yard but not to the weather. One was expected, but 2 were broken by careless roof workers when we had the roof replaced. To replace them, I was lucky to find my favorite Mr. Lincoln rose bushes at a local garden event: the Botanical Fest at Florida Institute of Technology. This is held every year on the FIT campus, featuring dozens of vendors of orchids, citrus, tropical plants and roses. I bought three Mr. Lincoln. I also found Heritage roses at our local Lowe's! I bought a rose-colored bush and a lavender. They haven't bloomed yet but there are quite a few buds. Maybe this week. This is what the rose island looks like now.

My vegetable garden is planted .On the left side are 3 tomato plants (1 Better Boy, 1 Early Girl and 1 Rutgers). I'm trying new varieties this year. Accompanying them are 2 cayenne pepper plants, 2 parsley and 2 zucchini. The zucchini are on the right side, close to the fence. As usual, I added yellow marigolds in the garden to help with the nematode problems we have.

I am always on the lookout for different plants that will bring color to my gardens. Recently I found a tri-color ginger. The leaves are red on the back, cream and green on the top, for a grand array of color. I planted 2. The larger one is in the southeast corner of the yard, between the snow bushes and in front of the garden statuary. I am excited about the results when it grows to full size (about 2 ft.). This is what it looks like now (in the front).

Right now my front yard is blooming well, especially the azaleas. They are in different stages though. The bush next to the screen started blooming in December (one or two) and gradually worked up to the full bush. Others just burst in bloom in a matter of days. Same with the back yard (bottom).