Pictures of native Florida tall grass and flowers.
While camping at Rodman Campground in Palatka, Florida, we drove to the local dam. A central garden, or natural area, by the boat ramp, contained some beautiful native flowers and tall grass.
Loads of bees were all over the flowers. Not sure exactly what the grass is, or an exact name for the flowers, but the area was beautiful.
Gathering some information about using the Moringa tree for tea and food.
The day I began this blog post I was sick. Probably that new strain of Covid got me, but here’s what I did. By the afternoon I felt well enough to pick some Moringa leaves and make tea.
When Googling “make tea from fresh Moringa leaves” everyone wants to tell you to dry the leaves and make powder. I picked some leaves, boiled water and let the leaves brew in my little teapot for ten minutes. It made a nice tasting (like boiled grass) hot drink. I hope that the goodness leached out into the water and went into my body!
So what else can I do with this tree?
My trees are still quite small, but growing fast. One day they will produce long, hanging beans. This video shows how this family picks and processes the beans. I’m not sure that I will ever do this, but it’s nice to know about.
A note about the seedlings: They may look eaten but that is how the plant begins to grow. As this naked stem popped up from the dirt, I thought maybe the leaves had been eaten off, but they actually had not begun to grow.
My smallest Moringa tree, which is only about 4 feet tall, has white buds and flowers. The bigger trees have never had flowers.
I really know nothing about the Moringa tree except what I’ve learned from watching a few videos. I’m not sure how to grow it. I planted two trees side by side in the back garden corner and completely forgot about the power lines going to my house. The tree, if not trimmed, will eventually hit the lines. So now I am trimming the trees from the top to help them bush out and not get tall. Also, in winter I noticed scratch marks and broken limbs where the raccoons have tried to climb this tree!
The bottom stems are turning yellow which many people mention. It seems to be a normal part of this tree’s growth pattern. Maybe to shed old leaves and make way for new.
The new growth at the top is very easy to trim up. I either use the leaves for making tea, or put them into the compost areas.
That Weber box is my newest compost bin. It’s a long story but basically every time I transplant something into the ground it gets dug up by raccoons and armadillos. So I had to use my white compost barrel to hold two of my tomato seedlings. It’s not ideal, but I would love to have some tomatoes!
That means I lost the old compost bin and needed a new one. I’m still filling up the Hot Frog, but composting is a very slow process.
One thing I don’t have, and can’t buy, is more space. The yard area where I can plant is pretty small. It is both good and bad. I would love to live among open fields, with views and places to roam. Instead, I live on a claustrophobic piece of land in a big neighborhood. I am probably like many people.
On the other hand, I can’t manage big gardens. I don’t have a man who will do the heavy lifting and work the tractors and machinery. More garden plots are in the works and I will really get going on organizing the yard once the heat subsides. It is mid October now and we still have the AC on in the house.
Dirt and compost are also what I need. Without a vehicle, I can’t get to the yard shop when I’d like. A delivery of dirt would mean using the wheelbarrow to move it all into the back yard. I am considering doing this. My old body may not be happy, but it’s exercise. If I do just a little at a time, it could work.
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Found a new invasive plant called the Balsam pear.
Florida is full of invasive plant species and I’ve found yet another in my yard.
The green, leafy vine has tiny yellow flowers (which the bees love) and produces these globes that turn orange. After a couple of days the fruit opens and reveals big, red seeds.
After a long, very hot summer, the vines, grasses and and plants in the vacant lot next door, have taken over. I bought a machete to cut the growth back some, but what we need is a good cold spell to kill everything back.
It is September now and still very hot. I don’t do much in the yard, but soon I will have loads to do and that includes ripping up the many vines.
Read more about the Balsam pear at the UF/IFAS site.
When something doesn’t grow well from seeds, it’s easy to blame bad seeds. But take into consideration the location of the planting. Does the site have enough sun, or too much? How is the soil? Were amendments added and were they the right ones needed? I’m not much of a soil tester – okay, I…
It is not often that I buy cauliflower, but I do eat it. When I had the chance to buy seeds, I decided to try my hand at growing my own. One nice head would be just fine, but the packet has 600 seeds! Often my grow boxes, aka little raised beds, become a nursery…
Because of it’s bright red flowers, I noticed a Firespike plant growing at the edge of my yard behind lots of wild growth.
It’s June and I am not spending much time in the yard because of the heat. I check the vegetable gardens and so some watering and weeding as needed, but try to be done by 8:00am.
As I was walking past an overgrown area (where the Beautyberry Bush also grows), a bright red flower caught my eye. It was back along the fence line. We’d had a palm tree taken down by the power company because it was growing too close to the power lines – the power company insisted on removing it. The Firespike plant was found just to the right of that palm tree.
I knew that with the palm gone, more sunlight would hit a previously shady area. I was hoping some of the small hidden trees would be able to grow better. I never thought I would eventually find a beautiful, red-flowering plant.
Walking through the growth meant keeping an eye out for bugs, spiders, snakes and fire ants. I had to cut and pull the vines out of the way. This is not the right time of year to be clearing growth, but I had to see what was growing back there.
The neighbors behind us put up a new white fence, but they left the old one there! At least there is a fence, and we didn’t have to buy one.
When I got to the plant, I had no idea what it was. I had to cut off the vines that were attempting to strangle it. I took a photo and my iPhone plant identifier came up with this, “Odontonema cuspidatum, the mottled toothedthread, the Cardinal’s guard, or the firespike“.
At first, when I saw both tall and short flowering stems, I believed they might be separate plants. I was hoping to dig up a small plant and transplant it to my yard.
But those shorter looking plants were really just long stems laying on their side. This must be a very hardy plant to have thrived so long in tough conditions.
I took one cutting, of some new growth along one of the stems. Hopefully I will be able to propagate this beautiful shrub. If this cutting does well, I will take more. I put the stem into coconut coir. Updates to come.
There was a pile of sand next to the Firespike and I thought it might be an ant hill. As I was taking photos of the Firespike I noticed a hole beneath the dead palm tree trunk just next to the plant. At some point an animal had pushed all that sand out to make a burrow for himself.
If I had to guess, I would say it was an armadillo’s home. We used to see some little armadillos in the yard when we first moved here. Then, the two lots next door were cleared completely and I’m betting they lost their ability to survive. But, I can’t get started on that….
I didn’t see any signs of something being in that hole. It may have been hiding, or away at the time. Or the hole could be deserted.
This is an area of my yard where the growth is crazy this time of year. Each winter, when the vines die back, I do some clean up here. Mostly I try to control the vine growth, which can overtake young trees and shrubs and pull them to the ground. Much of the Firespike was also wrapped up in vines.
There is also a shorter plant next to the Firespike and I think it is the same thing. I found this plant in the same area where the Beautyberry bush is growing. Now, I wonder if this part of the yard was once a flower garden.
I’m guessing that the Firespike is a hummingbird attractor!
Easily save marigold flower heads and collect the seeds to sow later.
Growing marigolds from seeds is pretty easy to do here in Florida. With our long stretches of warmth, ruined only by the months that are unbearably hot, seeds readily sprout. The seeds are easy to save in any climate, but they should be stored to use the following year if the growing season is short.
I began growing marigolds from small plants and seed packets that were purchased. Marigolds are easy to grow and don’t need much attention once they are established. Deadhead the dying flowers, which hold those wonderful seeds.
When the flower begins to die on the marigold plant, pop the head off and save it in an open container to dry out. Once the blossom has dried (or when you are ready to plant), peel it open and find the seeds.
You will end up with many seeds, but not all of them will grow. Overdo the sowing or thin the seedlings as needed. Each flower will give you a handful of seeds!
Find some dirt and spread the seeds, then cover with a bit of soil. Be sure to water often to get them started.
Last year I did not organize the marigold seeds and just planted them all over without really knowing which colors would end up where. The little petals will eventually dry up and fall off so if you want to keep the colors separate, put them in marked envelopes.
This orange “fluffy” flowering marigold began as a little plant from the store. It’s so pretty, I will definitely save all the seeds from it.
This marigold has dark orange petals that can also look red. The center is more yellow. I have one plant growing in the garden from the seeds I saved.
The yellow marigolds have attracted bees and butterflies. Marigold are good for repelling non-beneficial bugs and I always like to have them in the yard. Plus, they are pretty and quite easy (and cheap if you save the seeds) to grow.
Marigolds are not the only flower seeds I save. This year I am growing Rudbeckia and Gaillardia and am looking into saving seeds from those plants too. Cosmos flowers also have seeds, which I save.
The elderberry plants are blooming their big white flowers in May.
The lot next door is full of elderberry shrubs. Now they are all blooming and the white flowers are very noticeable.
I took two longer cuttings from the elderberry that is next to my bird feeders. After they began to get roots while sitting in water, I put them into a tall pot.
They wilt quite a bit out in the sun, so they are growing on the porch for now.
I’ll need to find a good spot for this new plant. Maybe I will wait to plant it in Fall because it is very hot now.
Hydrangeas Blue 