A Borrowed View

As I keep moving right along on landscaping my backyard, it takes a while before it all starts to come together and look nice. It's a plus when you can start with a "borrowed" view. And, fortunately for me, one of my neighbors has a nice fence-line of greenery. Having their jasmine vine drape over my side of the fence is a BIG bonus! It softens the hard edges and floats in the wind. I'm weaving the long strands throughout my side to partially cover the fence. Behind it is a crape myrtle whose flowers I'll be able to enjoy all summer long. The Sabal (cabbage) palm is another wonderful layer of green that provides some height, and one that the birds love.

Running down the fence line are 3 large viburnum. The birds use these small trees as cover when they dart in and out of them to the feeders and birdbaths. Higher up there's a nice canopy of oak trees.  All these combine to make me feel nice and cozy in my backyard.

From that angle and the side yard there's a view of a breathtaking native Chickasaw Plum tree in full bloom. I can't get enough of this tree. Fortunately, I can see it from my kitchen and I can't stop admiring it. 

I've never seen a Chickasaw plum this beautiful. It is loaded with small white flowers and is a buzz with pollinators. 

They are truly in "bee heaven" as they drift from flower to flower. Hopefully, some of them will lay eggs in my bee house located in a couple of photos above. With any luck the small plums on this tree will keep our neighborhood birds happy. 

From a distance you cannot tell that the flowers have any pink on them at all. But a close up view reveals that the center stamens are a very pretty soft pink. 

It is simply stunning, and I am thoroughly enjoying this "borrowed view"of spring from my backyard. 

Oh, How I LOVE Pink!

Pink and green are one of my favorite color combinations, so when I see pink flowers my heart skips a little beat. This double pink Knock-out rose is a fabulous bloomer.

Not only do they bloom well and sport blooms 12 months out of the year...their foliage is also disease resistant in Florida...and that's not an easy achievement in our heat and humidity. You're probably thinking that the Knock-out rose folks are paying me to praise their roses...but that's not so. I'm just a girl who loves roses (and pink ones at that) and these carefree beauties make it easy for me to fill my front cottagey garden with lots of rose blossoms with minimum care and without the need to battle diseases with toxic chemicals.

Aside from the Knock-out roses the only other ones in my garden are the carefree modern shrub or vintage varieties...again because they require minimum care and no chemical sprays. Belinda's Dream is definitely a dream rose. Looks at her large soft pink blossoms...who can resist such a beauty. Right beneath her grows a baby blue native petunia. Two beauties that paint a pretty pastel picture in the garden.

In Transition

In the heat and humidity of August it seems like autumn is only a distant thought, but when I look around the garden I notice the transition from summer to autumn is already beginning. 

Almost overnight the berries on the American Beautyberry are ripening, and I noticed the leaves on the Sweetgum trees are also beginning to take on a yellow-cast.

Transitions in life are not always easy, but I look forward to and welcome the slow change from summer to autumn in the garden (and in my own life, as well, as the years creep by).

 It reminds me to savor the days of summer ~ ~ bright & sunny days, a good thunderstorm, beaches, bare feet, swimming, ice cream, bar-BQ's, tree swings in the shade and lots of iced-tea.  

Bee Heaven

A little slice of "bee heaven"

I couldn't help but notice that the bees were lovin the  Gaillardia Indian Blanket Flower...

Not just one...but many! There's two bees in this photo...

Each photo is of a different bee...

Here's a pretty green bee...

There are lots of other flowers in the garden...but all the bees are here..

I wonder if the blanket flower's sweet nectar is to bees what chocolate is to me...irresistably good!

If so...it must be the best tasting in the garden.

By the way, I love these hardworking flowers as much as the bees do...for other reasons though! :-)

P.S. Don't you think Indian blanket flowers are photogenic? They're so easy to photograph...even for an amateur like me... and they always...always...look beautiful!

March at a Glance

Sombreuil

~~ Notes on the March Garden ~~   
    

If I had to choose a favorite month out of the year it would...without a doubt...be March!

Warm days...cool nights...and a RIOT of non-stop flowering plants. There's so much blooming at this time of year that I barely have time to catch my breath between the waves of spring blooms.

MARCH MADNESS

You could call it March Madness...not that boring basketball stuff (no offense :-) to all you basketball fans), but the wonderful madness of a garden exploding with spring flowers in all shades of the rainbow.

And it all started with the azaleas in soft shades of pink and purple.

Followed by the bright yellow Tabebuia tempered somewhat by the blue (Blue Sage) and white (Indian hawthorne) beneath her. But she definitely takes center stage.

Along with the warm weather comes the beautiful  winged creatures. Their return to the garden is a most welcome sight as they drift from one flower to the next drinking up all that first sweet nectar of spring.

And, then the roses!
After a short rest period and a trim in late February they're back in full swing.
Just look at all those eager buds.

Planted last year...this Double pink Knock-out has won my heart with its phenomenal flush of beautiful flowers. I can count over 65 blooms just on this one side...definitely one of the best bloomers in my garden. It must be very happy with its location...and all those sweet words of praise I keep lavishing on it.

It's an amazing transition from the reddish new leaf growth...to the first early blossoms...and then that "wonderful madness" of blooms!

Something New!

I like ground orchids...but I don't like the fact that they need protection from the cold weather, so this year I decided to try the Chinese ground orchid more commonly called the hardy ground orchid Bletilla striata. This orchid can be planted in the garden without fear of freezing. Its foliage disappears in late fall (similar to the peacock ginger and caladiums), and returns in late February for a March bloom.

I ordered a plant from an online nursery that quickly developed buds and bloomed. The funny thing is that I was visiting my neighbor Nancy, and noticed several clumps of this jewel in her backyard. I asked her about it, and she eagerly shared that this was the plant that got her hooked on gardening. She also insisted on giving me a nice-sized clump to take home with me. I split the clump...kept half of it and shared the other half with my mother, who also likes ground orchids. I look forward to dividing clumps of it in the future and spreading it around the garden.

Another newbie and first-time plant in my garden is the delphinium. I've admired them in other people's gardens, and this year I bought 3 and planted them in a sunny location in late January. They did not disappoint! Next year I'll plant a few more.

Don't you just love it when you discover you can grow plants you never thought you could?

 A little more blue and white

Left to right: Virginia sweetspire (wonderful fragrance), along with two natives:  Blue-eyed grass and Flag iris.

And, the WONDERFUL MARCH MADNESS continues...  

Is it obvious that I like color...all colors?

In the upper right photo you can see that delphinium towering up in the air.

Four Reasons to Plant a Bottlebrush Tree

This small tree was alive with polllinators...so much so that it sounded like the tree was buzzing.

Life's Simple Pleasures

So much sweet juicy goodness in one small berry!

As the month of March winds down...one by one...the amaryllis bulbs are joining in on the blooming madness of a Florida spring garden,

And the English Dogwoods are joining in, too. This airy, free-flowing plant will soon be covered in these simple but adorable bright white flowers.

This cold-tolerant plant...located in the shade...loses some of its leaves in winter, but spring brings a new flush of fresh green and pretty flowers, too.

It very slowly multiplies in size, and new plants can easily be separated from the mother plant.




But not all was pleasant about March. The last day of the month brought a scary storm...with winds over 60 mph...that left a lot of damage in its wake and a deluge of rain...so far 3.5 inches.

A large oak branch toppled many orchids on the back deck.


As well as knocking over a stand of hanging orchid pots.

Our back and both side yards are littered with small and large oak branches. The poor oak over the deck took a real beating.

I do hope that no one experienced devastating damage to their gardens from our uninvited visitor. Another bit of March Madness...but definitely not the good kind. We are fortunate that we don't often have such damaging spring storms. It looks like I've...and probably most of you, too...got a little clean up work to do. :-)

I have enjoyed seeing the many blooms in all my Florida garden blogger friend's garden's this month, and find it fascinating watching as spring spreads northward week by week.

The Amazing World of Nature

What do you get when you cross this flower

with this flower?

Voila' ... a new Indian blanket flower!

Isn't nature amazing?

I've been thinking for awhile that my blanket flowers were cross-pollinating because subtle but different variations seem to show up next to each other. This weekend a new plant that seeded itself bloomed, and my suspicians were confirmed. Gaillardia blanket flower Torch ‘Red Ember’ (upper right corner) mixed with 'Goblin’ (lower right corner).

Have you've noticed cross-pollination at work in your garden?

Garden Blues

My garden doesn't have the sad, down in the dumps...B.B. King kind of  "blues." Instead, it's singing joyfully with an abundance of blue-flowering plants these days. From a purplish blue to a hard to find true blue there is...

A LARGE clump of native flag iris.


Here's a close up view of this stunning flower. It's a passalong plant from my neighbor, and it's thriving in a wet, boggy area of my garden.

Walking iris which is also a passalong plant from another neighbor.

Brazilian iris with its tall, stately leaves. It's a real standout in the garden.

Ajuga 'chocolate chip' is an excellent groundcover that produces short stalks of blue flowers in spring.

Native Blue-eyed grass which also does well in wet areas.

Blue Sage...an old-fashioned passalong plant from my brother-in-law's grandmother.

And, last but not least, native spiderwort which can be seen growing in damp ditches along the roadways.

My garden may be blue, but it makes me delightfully happy!