Hydrangeas Blue

Non-Producing Vegetable Plants Can Still Serve a Purpose

In the heat of the Florida summer months, I have done little gardening. But the plants I began growing in Spring, are continuing to grow. Even though I am not getting much, if any, produce from them, they serve a purpose. They can be food for worms; give bugs a place to crawl, which in turn feeds the birds, (mostly, I have cardinals); and provide a playground for the lizards.

The two eggplant plants I have in the garden have grown tall. They have continued to produce pretty purple flowers, but have never given me a single eggplant! It’s either the poor soil, or the heat, or both.

Eggplant flower — Purple Flower of the Eggplant

The plants themselves are interesting with their big leaves. I have trouble tearing up and throwing out a perfectly healthy plant, even if it’s not giving me the food I’d hoped for.

I’m glad I left the eggplants growing, and continued to give them water, just because I couldn’t NOT do so. I noticed missing leaves and found a big, juicy, tomato hornworm chowing down on the leaves. The hornworm can eat a tremendous amount, and it’s apparent they have arrived when you notice entire leaves missing on the tomato plants! Stalks can become completely bare in a matter of a days time.

tomato hornworm eating eggplant — Tomato Hornworm on Eggplant

One summer I was visiting my sister in Massachusetts, and she said that something was eating her tomato leaves. Sure enough, there it was – a big green worm. So I pointed it out to her! She was astonished, but hadn’t looked close enough to see the worm.

Tomato hornworms often show up near the end of summer – at least in the north, that was how it happened in my garden. The one eating my eggplant here in Florida was lucky. I did not care that he was destroying the plant, it was useless to me anyway. He ate and ate and grew bigger over the course of about 2 days.

I find these pretty green worms quite interesting. Often, a wasp of some kind lays it’s eggs on the worm, which kills it. There were no eggs on this guy. He was doing quite well for himself.

Then he was gone… eaten by a bird maybe? I don’t know. Most of the eggplant’s leaves had been eaten by then, and I felt like I had given him a meal at the very least. If the worm lives, it becomes the Sphinx Moth.

Most gardeners don’t allow the hornworm to live… it is too detrimental to vegetable plants, like the tomato, eggplant, pepper, and potato plants, as you can see in my photo below!

Bare eggplant after tomato worm ate leaves — Bare eggplant after tomato worm ate the leaves

On to the parsley worms.

In the North, I always grew parsley, and it lasted well into the winter months. But eventually, it did die. Deer used to come into my backyard and nose through the snow looking for greens to eat, and sure enough, they would find the parsley still going strong at the beginning of winter.

Since I’ve been in Florida – over a year now – the parsley I planted last summer is still growing fine! I use it daily in my omelets, salads, and other home-cooked food.

The parsley is planted in two separate containers, and I’ve noticed that both areas have parsley worms munching on the leaves. They will turn into Black Swallowtail Butterflies. One has already made a cocoon.

So the plants that are simply growing for … what, fun? in my garden have served a useful purpose to help nature continue. Whether the worms change into butterflies or are food for the birds, it’s all nature doing it’s thing.

Read my page, with my photos, about the Swallowtail Butterflies that come from these worms.

Growing Native Milkweed in Florida

Year two and I’m still trying to fill my yard with native milkweed plants. After the freeze, my plant number has dwindled but seed pods are showing up, which will help.

by Pam 06/22/2026

Finally, My Sweet Potato Slips Are Here!

Finally I am planting my sweet potato slips, which just arrived mid-June. It’s very hot to be gardening, but I had no choice.

by Pam 06/16/2026

Native Milkweed That Survived the Freeze

I’m still trying to fill my yard with native milkweed. After the cold spell over winter froze most things back, and killed many things, I have fewer milkweed plants. All the tropical milkweed is gone. Tropical milkweed is not native, and therefore not a great loss. Three of the four swamp milkweed seedlings I purchased…

by Pam 06/06/202606/04/2026

A Trip to Pell’s Plant Nursery For Honey and Fruit

A few weeks ago I had to take my car to the dealership which was quite a drive. On the way home, I realized I would be passing near one of my old-time favorite spots in Florida: Pell’s Plant Nursery.

These photos were an afterthought, but I wanted to share the few I took.

If you are ever in the Osteen area check out this place. It is a Florida icon. The Pell family has been growing citrus for over 75 years. (Their website: http://www.pellcitrus.com has Florida citrus shipping information.)

For many years I lived very close to Pell’s, and now I don’t. It’s where I always bought my ornamental shrubs, flowers and trees, not to mention their fabulous and fresh Florida fruit. My landscape was full of plants purchased from this nursery. My kids used to enjoy getting the free little cup of orange juice, which meant they would actually drink the jugs of fresh-squeezed juice I bought there! You can’t find fresher juice, and boy is it good.

These knowledgable growers hand out good advice for growing anything tropical. This is where I came to buy the new lemon tree and lime tree to put in my yard.

Pell's trees and tropical plants — Under cover with tropical plants at Pell’s

On this day, I was only looking – window shopping for plants to buy in the future – its been too hot to think about planting. I bought some of their produce instead, but enjoyed my stroll around the greenhouse.

Each time I visit I also buy some Mosquito Lagoon honey. My honey used to come from the Jurss homestead, when I could pull up at the side of the road, drop money into a box and grab a jar. That was in the old days. People probably can’t be trusted to do that here now.

I looked around and got some ideas about what I’d like to add to the yard once Fall arrives. The crepe myrtle is something I have always loved, and it will probably be the first tree I buy.
Pell’s nursery is one of the few places I like to visit in Florida. In fact, when I lived in New Hampshire I would accidentally call my favorite farm stand “Pell’s”. (Actually it was Tenney’s.)

Then I drove home on those long, straight, monotonous Florida roadways. I was so bored that I took a few photos with my phone.

straight road and blue sky — Heading home

Pictures of Croton Leaves

The leaves of the croton are really stunning. They are as pretty as any flower, and come in such an array of colors, that they can brighten any landscape, as long as it’s subtropical.

Crotons don’t handle cold well, with established, older plants handling it best. I live in climate zone 9 and have this big croton plant in my yard. I have no idea how long it’s been there, but I did not cover it at all last winter.

Then again, last winter in Florida was not all that cold.

colorful croton leaves — My croton is in a big pot with ferns and a red hibiscus bush… also a birdhouse is stuck within the branches.

Recently I went out in my yard and took some photos of the croton leaves and wanted to share them with you.

The croton is also easy to propagate.

If you are looking for brightly colored plants for your Florida, or tropical, landscape, check out the Cordyline plant and Caladium.

For those of you who do not live in a warm climate, the croton can grow indoors. I’ve never done that, but you can search the internet for helpful advice on doing so.

Colorful croton plant with flowers — Croton with stems of flowers

My big beautiful croton died over winter when we had exceptionally cold weather. But… I had taken cuttings and begun new plants so it lives on through it’s “babies”.

dead croton from winter freeze — Croton dead from winter freeze

Building Good Soil in a Raised Garden Bed

pine wood raised bed — Raised Garden Bed

I was thrilled to see the raised garden bed my son had made. He wanted something to do, so he researched the “how to’s”, went and bought the wood and put the thing together. With his brother’s help, they carried it to the backyard and finished tightening the screws.

Step one on the road to Florida vegetable gardening was complete.
Now I just needed some dirt! But buying dirt doesn’t mean you will have the good soil needed to grown super veggies.

Most gardeners know that soil makes or breaks the growth of the plantings. Planting directly in the ground means there is at least something there to begin with, but starting with an empty box means building the good soil from scratch.

The Basics For Building Good Soil

Over the years this is what I use to create good, worm-loving dirt that gives a good yield of crops. I’m no expert, so feel free to leave a comment with your recommendations.

1. Loam / soil / organic dirt
2. Compost – store bought and / or homemade
3. Organic Fertilizer
4. Bone Meal (for crop root development)

The location of this raised bed presented a problem when it came to filling it. My son has a truck and was happy to go pick up a load of loam / dirt, but getting it to the wooden box was not going to be easy.

First we filled the bottom of the box with leaves and grass collected in the lawn mower bag. Then I put my black fabric garden bags inside the bottomless box. I also left a few pieces of cardboard in the bottom to help keep the weeds / grass from growing.

growing carrots and lettuce — Bags with carrots and lettuce

For now, I planted vegetables separately in each of the bags, and I ended up buying some new bags, so I could grow more.

Two bags had potatoes – the red ones gave me lots of little red potatoes, with tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, and peas in the others. When the plants had gone by and were no longer producing, I dumped them into the bed, plants and all.

screen-shot-2017-03-02-at-9-27-07-am — My Garden March 2nd

Between using the dirt in the black pots, and adding compost (store bought and home made), I can eventually fill the box with relatively good soil.

Creating good garden dirt is an ongoing process. Banana peels, egg shells, and chopped vegetable scraps can be added directly to the dirt in the box. Soil amendments must be continuously used to replenish the soil.

Hopefully, that will bring earthworms. Soil can’t be called good, unless there is an abundance of worms! This all takes time. The ingredients have to break down over time.

It’s been 6 months since I began to fill my raised bed, and haven’t done much this summer except let the tomatoes, basil, eggplants, and peppers grow wild. The heat keeps me inside, but I do pick a small tomato or pepper every now and then.

The wood has faded to a weathered appearance, and slowly I will be raising the soil level as I empty more of my fabric bags.

summer garden raised bed — The Summer Garden Grows Wild

female cardinal — Female Cardinal, photo credit: Skeeze @ Pixabay

Cardinals come to the garden looking for bugs to eat, and they drink and bathe in my makeshift bird bath sitting on the corner. (I can’t get a good photo, so I used this one from Pixabay.)

Little lizards run along the edges and I see the occasional ladybug and butterfly on the plants. Parsley worms have been found on the parsley.

Once the weather cools off enough to work outside, I will dump all my fabric bags out into the box. I will add more grass clippings, along with organic fertilizer, bone meal, and cornmeal (supposedly it brings worms). In other words, I will work on building up the dirt to get it ready for winter planting.

I’ve found that the big wooden box is a good place to store my unused bags and pots for now.

A Little About My Gardens, Past and Present

great-grandfather — My son and his great-grampa, 1978

I recently read a blog post where the writer explained about her backyard garden. She included photos and her plans for each area of the outdoor space. You can read it at the Hairytoegardener’s blog.

Growing up in Massachusetts, I lived on a hill overlooking my grandfather’s huge vegetable and flower garden. I remember him always there, working in the garden (except in winter of course). I can still picture him jiggling along with that old rototiller digging up the earth. I wish I had run down and helped him do what he did, because I could have learned first hand how to be a successful grower of fabulous fresh vegetables.

I think he liked the solitude of gardening, so I would have been an unwanted pest maybe. But as I recall, my grandfather was always kind and enjoyed us kids being around. I think he could have taught me a thing or two about gardening.

Grampa's garden — The Field and Garden – after Grandfather was gone

Anyway, I never really got into gardening mainly because I had children who took up all my time. I presently have a 40 year old son, a 19 year old son, and two more in between. The most gardening I have done over the years were in my big Florida yard, where I planted everything tropical I could get my hands on, and in New England where I truly enjoyed digging in the ground.

I’ve lived at 16 different addresses. Some of those for only a very short time. In fact, one address was merely wishful thinking. I never actually had the chance to move in, but my items were there for a few weeks. The condo I was about to rent flooded from a burst pipe, and it was necessary to find an alternate place to live – temporarily.

I’ve spent many of my later years in survival mode, and that means I didn’t get to even think about such frivolous things as gardening.

But, when I had the chance to allow my mind to dream of a backyard full of flowers and blooming trees, and an herb garden, and picking ripe tomatoes, I worked relentlessly to make it happen. A lack of land restrained me somewhat, but in the first home, which was all my own, in New Hampshire, I planted in every available sunny spot I could find. I did it all by myself, and I had a beautiful spot to enjoy.

backyard garden — My New Hampshire Backyard & Gardens

However, before that home, I had another New Hampshire home. It was the last place I lived. Really, those were the last days of my life. At that time, I lived more like most of the population. I was a normal person. And my husband (now ex) and I bought a house with land..!!!!… that had a wonderful array of gardens and ornamental trees, with a gorgeous forsythia hedge by the road. In spring, I saw the tulips and daffodils pop out of the earth… imagine! There is none of that in Florida.

Immediately I began to study the New England plant varieties and saw my yard becoming even more stunning as I planned to include more and more new shrubs and trees over the years. In the two summers I lived here, I expanded the garden, adding a block pathway, bird feeders and bird baths. There was an asparagus garden – I’d never had that before – and we saw black bear, turkeys and deer in the yard. There was even a wisteria growing over a backyard arbor (not in the photos). Yes, I could have lived here for the rest of my life, but two years later we were gone.

tulips and forsythia — Forsythia and Tulips, Spring at my first NH home

When I write about my first NH house, it’s like I am talking about another person’s life. It was only 12 years ago that I lived here, but it seems like 100.

Today my yard is small and my house is surrounded by St. Augustine grass which grows like thick vines intertwining with itself. This makes it incredibly difficult to remove – if I wanted to plant a garden. Instead I have chosen a raised bed to grow vegetables (hopefully). The plantings in the yard are simple and easy to care for as this was a home owned by some wealthy people who rented it out over the 12 years they owned it. There is even a sprinkler system. It’s a self-sufficient house.

So I have begun yet again to try to establish a beautiful yard. Except now I am older, and struggle with a disease that saps my energy. The gardening bug, once installed in our DNA, is impossible to ignore. My mind says “it’s too hot here, give up and just be at peace with the yard as it is”.

But my heart calls me to don those gloves and go out and dig! Collect seeds, experiment with new plantings, take clippings and see if they will root and become new plants on their own.

The old dreams of a beautiful garden in my backyard are gone, but I feel good about the fact that when I had the chance, however fleeting the opportunity, I made the best of it. I’ve left some great gardens behind. I guess it was my tiny contribution to the planet.

Still, I can’t stop.

Hydrangea

Found this hydrangea photo and good information on one of my favorite photographer’s site. I never grew pink hydrangeas like this one. It has fun little pointy petals. Pete kindly allowed me to re-blog here, so enjoy! And go see his photos… they are stunning!

Nature Journeys

I have always loved Hydrangeas. My Nan and Grandad grew them at the front of their house, and so did my Mom and Dad. It’s amazing how when you see a certain flower they bring back such wonderful, precious memories. Because of my love for the abundance of showy blossoms this popular shrub produces, and because of the fond memories, I have grown Hydrangeas in my garden for some years. Although, for the first time ever, I made the most silly mistake of pruning then at the wrong time so I did not get a single blossom last year. But this year, they are back again, and in splendour.

Here are a few facts about this colourful flowering shrub, some I already knew, and some I didn’t.

Hydrangeas go back a long way, and were here before we were. The oldest fossil finds discovered in America go back 40 to…

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Thank you for sharing!

Thank you for sharing!

Thank you for sharing!

The Basics For Building Good Soil

Thank you for sharing!

I’ve spent many of my later years in survival mode, and that means I didn’t get to even think about such frivolous things as gardening.

Thank you for sharing!

Thank you for sharing!