The Island in Summer

A year ago, I wrote about our sunny island bed in the front yard of our new home. Well a lot has changed with that garden bed since then. As we all know, it doesn't take long for plants to mature in our Florida gardens.

One year later the garden bed has just about doubled in size, and all the original as well as the newly added plants have grown substantially.

Here's a view of the left front side of the bed.

And, a view to the right...

The majority of plants are cold-hardy perennials and foliage plants, but I do leave room in the front center of the bed for some colorful annuals...especially in winter. Below clumps of African iris and flax lily are surrounded by lots of red pentas, angelonia, black-eyed susan, coneflower, blanket flowers, and periwinkles.

Blanket flowers take front stage in the the center of this bed. They bloom and look great all 12 months of the year. Behind them is a mix of butterfly-loving perennials.

These coneflowers...planted last year were the first ones I've ever planted. I was delighed to see them return this spring in a slightly thicker clump. You know what that means don't you? Yep, I'm adding more coneflowers to the backside of this bed...the part I see the best from inside the house.

Bush daisies and dwarf heavenly bamboo frame red pentas, white angelonia & blue torenia for a little patriotic red, white & blue action going on for summer.

African bush daisies provide wonderful winter color and are joined by the daylilies which bloom from April through June.

Two roses were added to the bed for year round color. Here's a double knock-out...original color...next to its neighbors...Mexican petunia (sterile variety), Russian sage and purple fountain grass...

And a double pink knock-out sharing space with more African bush daisies on the opposite side.

And, now a couple of views from the backside...

flowering maple, purple fountain grass, Mexican petunia and daylilies.

along with some agastache, milkweed and sweet almond adding a bit of fragrance to the bed.

The sunny island bed is the heart of our front yard and its colorful mixture of flowers work hard in the blazing Florida sun to brighten our day...and hopefully others who pass by. 

Precious

To a gardener who's barely received a half an inch of rain in the last 60 days...these water droplets from last night's rainshower are a precious sight.

Candy Colors

Part of the fun of gardening for me is flowers and all the colors they come in. I love color...all colors, so I plant beds by color...different colors...in different beds. That seems to satisfy my inability to stick to one color scheme.

In this shady bed off the back deck these PINK (caladium), PURPLE (impatiens) and ORANGE (crossandra) flowers are a pleasing combination in my eye. They remind me of the bright colors of candy.

A splash of white...which is the unifying color all around my garden...is so cool and pleasing in summer.

This tangled web of foliage and flowers is a treat for my eyes on a hot summer day!

May at a Glance

Oranges & Lemons Gaillardia

~~~ Notes from the May Garden ~~~

Wow, it seems like May has just whizzed by in such a gosh darn hurry to get on to summer. And, speaking of summer...isn't this Orange & Lemons gaillardia just the epitome of a summer flower? She's like a ray of sunshine beaming up at me everytime I pass her in the garden. She makes me smile!

This May has definitely been the driest month of the year so far. While three separate storms brought hope and a bit of windy weather with them...in the end, they only managed to sprinkle the garden with a bit more than an inch of rain. That was a big disappointment!

But May did bring a pleasant and unexpected surprise...a "real" cool front that actually lasted for 3 whole days. A reminder of those pleasantly cool spring mornings followed by humidless afternoons in the 80's. That was a total joy!

Even though we didn't have too many April showers, we did have plenty of May flowers. A lot of  plants are blooming, but I'd have to say the daylilies are at the head of the class. 

 These daylilies act as border plants for the island bed when they're not in bloom. The island bed has changed quite a bit in the last year, so I'll do an update on it soon.

Last year the red/yellow variety bloomed along with the solid yellows, but this year the red/yellow variety went first, followed by the solid yellows. Hhmm, I wonder why that would be?

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Finally, two finicky hydrangeas have decided on a location in the garden. Both of these plants have been relocated a couple of times in search of the right spot, and THANKFULLY they've finally found it! 

Now they're deciding if they're going to bloom blue or pink!

I'm envious of those gardeners who can grow them in full sun with very little water. My two "princesses" want very little to do with the sun, and they demand that I provide cool splashes of water on them regularly.

Lacecap

And, to make matters wors,e I've got an Oakleaf hydrangea that I've had to move once...he finally found a spot he likes, only to be somehow broken off near the base of the plant...and now, finally is about 2 feet tall again. I think he's gonna stay, too. I have to admit...quietly though...they are quite pretty and have attractive foliage.

More Flowers in the May garden....

Texas sage, Fruit cocktail shrimp plant & Agapanthus

Unknown cold-hardy butterfly plant (if anyone can I.D. it that would be great), Russian sage & Simpson Stopper

Coneflower, Yarrow, Sweet almond (heavenly fragrance) & Mealy cup sage in a pale shade of blue.

Two nice-sized patches...one pink, one white...of Gaura a/k/a whirling butterfly. The pink looks so pretty against the gray fronds of the Bismarck palm.

And some fruit and veggies, too...

Blackberries (Navaho & Apache - both thornless varieties), Fennel producing seeds, Sungold tomatoes (excellent producer/wonderful taste), Currant tomatoes (terrifically sweet taste) & Red mulberries (a yummy memory from my childhood)

And, some orchids, too...

May's Simple Pleasures...

Enjoying a bowlful of warm blueberry crisp on Memorial Day in complete gratitude to the men and women who so bravely serve(d) our country to protect the freedom that we enjoy today. Thank you!

Queen butterfly on Milkweed

And, in closing, I have to say that even though the afternoons are quite warm...the humidity has been low (for this time of the year)...and it was a very pleasant month right up through to the end.

That doesn't always happen, so I'm VERY thankful that May is gently easing us into summer!

Naturally Pretty

A weed...yes, that is what most people would call this flower...a weed!

I don't know about you but this dainty, adorable little yellow flower is a welcome "native" and one of many that can be found growing and blooming...along with other pretty little natives...in a meadow area (that is about an acre in size) on our property. Every spring we let the grass grow and soon the "natives" show up in all their splendor. 

In pretty pastel yellows...

And spunky little white frilly-edged, tiny flowers with yellow pincushion centers. Talk about sweet...the Southern fleabane is oh, so sweet looking!

The butterflies really love the pinkish red blooms of Tasselflower...so much so, that I leave them in flowerbeds  around my home when they turn up.

Delicate bluish-purple wild Carolina petunias pop up everywhere. See the little insect on the upper right petal...he blends in so nicely. One of the marvels of nature.

 Morning glories with blush shaded edges weave their way through the grasss attracting insects to its sweet pollen...

Here's a photo later in the day when the purple shading is at its best...

And, blue spiderwort that thrives in wet or dry ground. All of these plants are self-sufficient...only depending on the water provided by Mother Nature...

The aptly named Spanish Needles form nice colonies of white daisy-like flowers...

And, all are loved by pollinators of all kinds...

I believe it was Emerson who said, "A weed is merely a plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered." Well, this Gray Hairstreak has certainly discovered the virtues of Southern fleabane.

Tall stalks of beautiful red-veined yellow orchid-like flowers are most welcome. I never pull these up...letting them go to seed, so they'll return the next spring...

And, pretty golden-colored native grasses glow in the sunlight and move in tandem with the breeze...

A garden of a different sort...one touched only by the hand of nature.

It's naturally pretty!

Stemsational

You know how you walk through your garden time after time...looking to see what's doing well...what's new...or what's blooming, and then one day something different catches your eye and you lean in for a closer look. The next thing you know you're noticing this "something different" all over the garden.

Well, that happened to me the other day when I caught sight of this crimson-colored stem on the abelia. The chartreuse leaves next to the deep red crimson stem highlighted by the sun caught my eye...it was a striking combination.

The next thing I knew, the stems on other plants were jumping out at me wherever I walked...like the fuzzy water-filled stems of this begonia. I just had to reach out and touch it.

And, then there was the burgundy stems on the Japanese painted fern.

Everywhere I turned...more pretty stems!

In this case...a jungle of black elephant ear stems swaying in the breeze.

And, this very unusual spotted stem on and even more unusual plant...the amorphophallus that my neighbor Nancy gave me.

Does this every happen to you?

Something unusual that you rarely notice catches your eye...and then you can't help but notice it all around your garden.

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!