The Making of a New Bloom

I look out my back window and unexpectedly discover a new orchid bloom just beginning to open.

I'm excited about the new whiteish green flower and wonder what color it will be. Later that afternoon one of the blooms is beginning to open up a little more.

The next morning a tinge of pale color is beginning to show up and the second bud is showing signs of opening up.

The next morning the one flower is open fully and the pale color is beginning to deepen, while the second bloom moves quickly to catch up.

On Friday, the second bloom is fully open.

And, by Sunday I can see what color this beauty will be. A beautiful soft hue of lilac with a yellow throat. I wonder where we got this orchid from until I visit my mom's blog and see that she has the same orchid in bloom. Now, all of the mysteries have been solved.

Turning Over a New Leaf

The nice thing about a new year is that it's a time to start fresh, to begin again, to do things differently. Last year I vowed to keep up with my garden maintenance better. I always wait until the weeds have taken over or the plants have grown beyond their bounds, and then I have a BIG clean-up job. Since I have two yards to take care of, I really needed to get my act together. For the most part I did a pretty good job. I still get behind now and then, but mostly I stayed on top of it.

Now, that brings me to 2009. I've been thinking about what I want to do differently or better this year. I know that I still need to stay really focused on regular maintenance chores, but I also need to take it one step further and stay on top of bug problems. As you can see the old leaves on my azaleas plants have had the juices sucked right out of them by those pesky lace bugs. I've had good results with Bayer Advanced Rose & Flower Insect granules in the past. The only problem is that I don't have a system set up to apply the stuff regularly. I guess I need some sort of calendar or perhaps a notebook might work better. I can jots dates down and look back when needed. There that might take care of those pesky bug problems.

But what about a little more fun in the garden. What I really want to do, no matter how busy life gets, is take a little walk around my garden each day. I want to see what secrets the garden holds, catch more flowers in bloom, see what plants are happy or not, and be more aware of what's happening as the seasons come and go.

So, for 2009, I'm turning over a new leaf (figuratively and literally - so I can see what bugs are hiding under there) and vowing to get better acquainted with my garden.

A New Season Begins

We made a short holiday trip to the wintry state of Pennsylvania in search of snow. Unfortunately, temperatures ranged from the 30's to almost 70ish. And the only snow to be found were piles of dirty stuff on the side of the roads. We did, however, get a taste of cold weather which made our return home even sweeter.


If you're not from the north or some other cold weather climate you don't realize how bleak winter can be. It's cold, the sky is gray and overcast, and, most trees and plants are bare with the exception of the evergreens (which by the way, I was surprised to find that most folks don't decorate them for Christmas).

A trip up north in the winter makes me appreciate living in Florida. I couldn't live without the sunshine, the greeness and being able to garden 12 months out of the year.

As I took down the Christmas decorations in the warmth of an 80 degree day, I noticed the azaleas buds had swelled and were popping open in large bunches. For most folks, azaleas represent spring but in Florida they start to bloom in late winter. They are a little early this year because our temperatures have been on the warm side as of late.




I did notice that some other plants are putting out new growth, including a crepe myrtle. It feels like summer and the plants think its spring. But that's not necessarily good. We still have the possibility of some cold weather sneaking in within the next 6 to 8 weeks and zapping the tender new growth.

Christmas Blooms

Instead of a white Christmas, it will be a warm one with temps expecting to reach 80 degrees. That's not exactly the wintry feel of Christmas that most people experience but our plants love it and there are plenty of blooms in the December garden.

My poinsettia bloomed in time and has yet to be touched by old man winter.

A plethora of orchid blossoms bask in the warm sunny days of December.

The Christmas bromeliad. My mom says this one blooms every Christmas, and once again she was right. It opened its first bloom yesterday.

A sunny orchid to brighten our day.

and another pretty holidayish bromeliad.

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas!

A Colorful Autumn

It's rare for our deciduous trees in Florida to turn brilliant colors of scarlet and gold in autumn because our weather is balmy in October and November. But this year we experienced early and consistent cool temperatures, and in return we got "real" fall trees. Even the sycamore and cypress trees usually turn more brown than golden, but not this year. They were golden and vibrant. Some of the most vibrant leaves were on the crepe myrtles. This maple tree below was draped in a cloak of deep burgundy.
And, this cypress tree looks very "holidayish" as it literally glows in the afternoon sunlight.

I was so astounded by the amount of color that I had a hard time keeping my eyes on the road as I drove around town. I'll take early cool temps every year if it brings a colorful fall down our way.

Blooms in the Fall Garden

The colors of autumn in my late November garden.
Orchids in rich golden colors with splashes of red or brown.

Colors in orange and red tones.

Milkweed

Hibiscus

Fashion Azaleas

Bromeliads & Tillandsias

And, a volunteer tomato plant

More on the Light

This Lady palm is my favorite. The sunlight really lights up these fronds, and the blocks of dark green where the leaves criss-cross makes for a very interesting photo.

The dark burgundy backside of this Calathea leaf turns to shades of rose when drenched in sunlight.

The large leaves of the Lotus begonia look fabulous all lit up.

The neighbor's Ti plants look extraordinary.

Large-sized leaves, such as this Calathea, look great illuminated by the sun.

All Aglow

As the late afternoon sun shines on my garden at an angle, certain plants just light up with a gorgeous glow. These three plants are all in close proximity to each other, and they seem to come alive as they are drenched in soft autumn sunlght.

This bromeliad is part of a larger patch. Iwish I had a better picture that shows the entire bunch. During the day they are a deep burgundy color but once the sun shines on them they just burst into a vibrant glow of color. I love looking at them and find myself taking frequent glances, as they are located outside my back porch and I can see them from the kitchen and patio.

This poinsettia is more subtle than the bromeliads but very beautiful in its own way. As you can see the flower is not the only part of this plant that is red.

It's a Jungle Out There!

Newcomers to Florida always say how hard it is to grow anything here. But the truth is, we're blessed with warm (and a generous portion of hot) weather year round and sufficient showers - all you have to do is plant it, and it will grow (even in sand)! Throughout the summer months my suburban yard transforms itself into a jungle.
A hodge podge of tropical delights - caladiums, crotons, bromeliads and pothos vines all blending together.

If you like neat and orderly, then you won't like gardening in Florida as plants easily multiply filling in every bit of space in the flowerbed. And, forget about plants that need trimming. You could spend your whole summer clipping away.

Instead, it's easier to sit back and enjoy while the plants have their way with your garden.

The Cracker Rose

I've grown numerous antique roses before but Louis Philippe (also known as the Cracker Rose) is only one of four that has survived. I've had this plant for 10 years, during which time I moved it from one home to another. And this winter, I'm going to move her again to our new home. This time will be more of a challenge since she is now quite large.

Once the milder days of autumn arrive she kicks into gear with plenty of beautiful and (much) larger blooms than in summer. She even does well in partial shade. I'm guessing she probably gets about 5 hours of sunlight each day. This French rose is low maintenance - no blackspot - even in humid Florida. I hope she doesn't mind making one more move, as I just can't bring myself to leave her behind.

A Burst of Autumn Color

Fall color isn't always easy to come by in Florida. The signs of fall are there (in subtle ways) but you have to really look for them. Aside from our Golden raintrees, you can occassionally find a maple tree that is more colorful than usual but the leaf color is indeed minimal. Fortunately, we can count on flowers to add plenty of color to our fall gardens.

As I was taking a walk the other day I happened upon this bright yellow display of chrysanthemums in my neighbor's yard. I hadn't even noticed that these mums were growing there until they burst into bloom. I thought that he had placed these in the perfect location (center of his front yard), right next to the vibrant pink Ti plants. Now, everytime I drive or walk by, I enjoy glancing at this colorful patch of fall mums.

Frost on the Watermelon

While some folks may have frost on their pumpkins today, an unusual cool snap of 42 degrees almost put frost on my watermelon. Well, not quite but I just couldn't pass up the chance to use (and modify) an old garden expression that rarely applies to Florida. This cute little melon is compliments of the compost we added to our pepper plants. This surprise (but now identified) vine popped up along with about a dozen tomato plants from our composted vegetable scraps. We're still waiting to identify the tomatoes. All we can tell right now is that they are a small, round cherry type of some kind.

Nancy's Garden

My neighbor Nancy has an incredible garden. When you first see it your jaw drops open and you just can't quit saying "your garden is beautiful!" Her property backs up to a lake which previously was a phosphate pit about 100 years ago. The land has reclaimed itself beautifully as a lake surrounded by a forest of large live oak trees. Nancy has a mound in her backyard which is the result of the debris (sand, clay, peat) leftover once the phosphate was removed.

She has created a stunning garden on this mound and surrounding property that includes tons of rock, brick from old roads, and a multitude of plants. She gardens mostly in shade and tends to be drawn toward bromeliads, ferns, caladiums, ginger and a host of many unusual plants. It's hard to find a plant in your own yard to passalong to Nancy because she more than likely already has one. She is a very generous gardener who loves to share clippings or volunteer plants when you visit.

From my visit I got lots of ideas to use in my own garden which re-invigorated my interest in gardening following the hot summer months. It also set me off on a mini-shopping spree for summer clearance items!