Welcome to my zone 9 garden. My roots are deeply planted in the sandy soil of sub-tropical central Florida, where the summers are long and hot, but the rest of the year is paradise!

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

My Favorites...this month!

(Click on the photo to enlarge it for better viewing)


At long last, spring has arrived -- HURRAY! I don't know about you, but I'm totally delighted to feel the warmth of the sun on my face and see the return of colorful flowers to my garden. Now, the fun begins!

Let's see...some of my favorite (mostly blooming) plants for March are.....

Well, the first photo (top left) is not actually a blooming plant, but its shape reminds me of a HUGE flower. As you can see our collard greens thrived during the long, cold winter. They're such good comfort food on chilly nights. Next, are some beautiful purple (a color I'm beginning to like very much) tulips. Now, I know you're thinking tulips in Florida...right? Just because we can't grow them doesn't mean we can't have tulips. Every spring I purchase a pot of them to enjoy and then compost the bulbs. These tulips looked especially pretty parked next to a green and purple foliage plant. And, they too enjoyed the below normal cooler temps. I'm going to jump down to the Johnny Jump-ups :-) or little violas, if you will. You can't beat the vibrant color combinations of these darling, pint-sized flowers.

The azaleas are a little late this year, but gladly appreciated. They are the epitome of spring in the south, and everyone should plant more. This purple formosa variety is one of my favorites...such a deep, rich jewel-tone color. Another flower that yells spring in Florida is the orange blossom. Each year I eagerly await the arrival of these simple, yet delectably fragrant blossoms. I'm constantly sticking my nose up to the blossoms...not that I need to because the air is heavy with their intoxicating scent. Guess, I better watch out for bees because they appear to be drunk with delight.

And, last but not least, the African bush daisy's are breaking out into a riot of bold yellow color. Their first buds were burned by the frost, but they have rebounded spectacularly and seem to be as pleased about spring as I am.

If you'd like to join me in posting your favorites for the month, please do...they don't have to be in collage form...but do leave a comment, so I can drop by and see your favorites.

10 comments:

Ami said...

Susan: Hurray! I can smell the spring out of your beautiful bloomings! Tulip looks lovely. I love purple too! That bee looks really enjoying the orange blossom, me too!

I am looking at my pictures I took this month now to see if I can put something together quickly :) Will leave a comment here if I do post one.

Steve Asbell said...

I used to get tired of anything with "ea" at the end of it like camelias, azaleas, hydrangeas, etcedera. Azaleas have really grown on my though, and theres nothing like an old neighborhood in full bloom.

Floridagirl said...

Your blooms looks very familiar to me! I have most of them right now in my garden! With the big, bold exception of TULIPS! They are a lovely purple! So relieved that spring is here! I have removed absolutely none of my frozen plants and am happy to note that my allamandas, pentas, powderpuffs, and lantana are already producing new growth! Happy spring to you!

Ami said...

Susan: Just want you know that I just posted my favorites for the month :)

NanaK said...

Your favorites for March are so pretty. I love tulips but have not seen that purple color. Love the little bee in the orange blossoms - so Spring! (I posted my favorites too.)

Kimberly said...

Lovely March blooms, Susan! I like the violas and bush daisies, myself. I'm in a fuss right now because I didn't realize your meme is on the 25th. I thought it was on the last day. Hmmmm! I need to plan accordingly so I can participate!

sanddune said...

Susan,
Your Tulips look good. I tried to grow some here from some free bulbs but all I have is a pot of Tulip leaves with no flowers. Oh well it was a fun experiment. Your method of buy,plant ,then compost seems to be the best plan for Fl Tulips :-]

Susan said...

Ami...Glad to see you posted your favorites,too. I'm sooooo happy the flowers have returned and our cold winter is quickly becoming a distant memory.

Rainforest Gardener...I completely agree with you. A yard full of azaleas beneath huge old oaks is a sight to behold.

FloridaGirl...Sounds like you've got some work ahead of you. At least your plants are coming out...I'm still waiting for my hibiscus and pentas.

Kay...Thanks for joining in. The bees are definitely VERY happy right now as they're buzzing all around those sweet, sweet blossoms.

Kimberly...Sorry about that. I do hope you'll still join in. If not, then next month.

Sanddune...I tried growing them once, too. I put them in the fridge for a couple of months before planting them. All I got was some sad looking foliage that didn't last long. After that I decided to splurge and buy a pot of them every spring.

Dani said...

I'm so happy that spring is finally here! It feels wonderful just to be outside puttering.

Have a great weekend Susan.

Susan said...

Thanks Dani...I plan on having a great "planting" weekend. I think spring feels extra wonderful this year.

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