July mushrooms in my Florida yard. A very large reddish-orange one and some smaller types hidden in long grass.
Well, it’s Florida so you never know. I guess mushrooms can show up at anytime, even mid-summer. I don’t claim to know a lot about mushrooms, but they have always interested me.
Today I have found these large, reddish orange mushrooms in the grass under a big oak tree. I had to get my hand (and foot) in there for size comparison…LOL. This is the front yard “lawn” which is mostly weeds. The mushrooms seem to be growing from the oak tree roots (maybe).
A week or so ago I was ripping up some tall grass along the side of my Vegega garden bed and found bunches of mushrooms (below).
I can’t find the names of these mushrooms, but wanted to share the photos.
I always discovered interesting mushrooms in the woods when I lived in New Hampshire. Fall was an especially good time to search for them. It was fun to take a walk in the woods and see what was out there. I miss it.
I find it odd to see mushrooms in July in Florida. It seems like a weird time for them to grow. Quite honestly that big reddish mushroom is a bit scary looking. It seems like something so strange belongs in this state.
I took one more mushroom photo (below). It looks like an old and new version comparison with the dark set in front and newer growth behind.
Just for fun, I have included a Zebra Butterly on my yellow dahlia. A morning surprise in the garden.
If you know what these mushrooms are, please leave a comment.
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.
Way back in April I planted the sweet potato slips that I had started myself. And before that – back in January – I had pre-ordered a variety of sweet potato slips from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange.
I had expected them by mid-May. When June arrived and I hadn’t heard anything, I e-mailed SESE (Southern Exposure Seed Exchange). After a few days, I got a reply saying there was a problem with the postal service or something. I got my slips the next day.
Now it is June 15th and finally the sweet potato slips are here. They are basically a bunch of green stems. Pretty much all the leaves are brown and have fallen off. I know that sweet potatoes are hardy, so I am confident they will come back once they are planted.
I wrapped the stems in wet paper towels and left them on the counter overnight. All three of my raised beds are ready for planting, so I’ll be gardening in the morning.
Mailing Time is Off For Florida
Sweet potatoes like heat – I get that – but it’s been hot here for months. I could have easily planted my sweet potatoes two months ago. And it wouldn’t have been as hot for me to do the work!
I get that most places aren’t dealing with this climate, but an earlier shipping date would have been nice.
Once I get this variety to grow, I will save potatoes and make my own slips for planting next year and I can plant early. I ordered them to have a variety. It is an experiment to see which ones grow and taste best.
The Sweet Potato Slips
I discovered my box of sweet potato slips on the front porch on June 15th. It has been very hot and humid here for weeks. I opened the box and unwrapped my slips. It was very hot and sunny, then we got thunderstorms, so I planned to plant them the following morning.
I ordered six slips of four different types of sweet potato and I counted 9 – 12 slips of each type when I unwrapped the papers. This means I received many extra slips. I will not have space, I already know this. I was pushing it at 4×6=24 and now I have more like 40-45 slips.
I received more than 6 slips of each type of sweet potato.
The Potato Beds
Originally I had planned to clear some area in the yard to grow things like sweet potatoes. Now, I realize that raised beds work better. Controlling the soil and moisture is easier in a container. I’ve already successfully grown many things in my Vegega metal beds.
Over “winter” here in Florida I grew a lot of green beans. I planted them intermittently in all three raised beds. I knew the beans would be gone by the time I needed the beds for the potatoes.
The gardening goal is to always have something growing. Some Tulsi (holy basil) is growing, along with kale and random marigolds. I’m not worried about planting the sweet potatoes among these things. Most of them I pulled out, but it will be a while before the potatoes grow and take over the bed.
Sweet Potato Types I Planted
Beauregard
Bayou Belle
Covington
Purple Majesty
On June 16th, I put on my long UVskinz clothing to keep the mosquitoes off, and got outside by 8 AM. We still have not had enough rain, so every place I planted the slips needed to be watered. I had to add dirt to the bags and some beds. The temperature was 80 with 90% humidity, so it was super muggy to be gardening. I had no choice.
The potatoes were planted before the sun hit my yard, which made it bearable. But I was hot and dirty after a couple of hours of lugging dirt and planting. The leftover slips will go into my compost and I did manage to find space for a lot of the slips. By the end of September into October, I should be digging some potatoes.
I do not plan to have to order slips again. As long as the potatoes grow well, I can create my own slips for next summer. By the way, I believe you can order sweet potato slips early to be sure you get them. That is the way SESE does it.
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 last year have died, but one is flourishing. This type of milkweed grows at a good pace and it is doing well.
All other native milkweed plants are quite small, and they are growing slowly.
White Swamp Milkweed
Below is another type of swamp milkweed. It has tiny white flowers with a bit of pink. I believe this is aquatic milkweed aka white swamp milkweed. It is a host for the Monarch, Queen, and Soldier butterflies. It is a shade loving plant and can deal with partial sun.
Five seed pods
As of this writing, it is June, and this plant has five pods. When they open, I will collect some of the seeds and try to grow more plants.
Whorled Milkweed
Whorled milkweed has very thin leaves that stick upward. I believe I only have one Whorled milkweed – see below.
Whorled Milkweed
Sandhill Milkweed
Sandhill milkweed looks different. The leaves are more rounded. If you ever see this type as a full grown plant, it is beautiful (View images at IFAS). Sadly, these days, in Florida you will most likely have to visit a nature preserve to find it.
You may wonder why I have such a strange variety of milkweed for my yard. Some of them need dry conditions and some need wet. Last year I ordered some seed varieties, planted them, and kept the ones that grew. All the milkweed in pots were kept indoors over the winter, so they did not freeze.
Unidentified Milkweed
I think these plants are also milkweed, but they don’t have identifying tags. I marked the ground with metal stakes and after the cold had passed, these plants began to grow.
Once again I am reminded of how difficult it is to grow native milkweed. I plan to protect these babies as best I can. If I’m lucky, they will get larger and flower and then I may know which type they are.
I began my quest last year (2025) to fill my yard with milkweed. Thanks in a big part to the 2 days of freezing temperatures we had this year, I lost many plants which I think may have been okay otherwise. It makes me wonder how many milkweed plants, growing out in wilderness areas, also did not make it.
July is nearing an end and the garden is teeming with living things.
July is nearly over. Hard to believe, but I’m glad. It’s not a fun month here in Central Florida. Not that what’s coming is any better. The Hurricane months are the worst. Soon we’ll be watching those storms that build off the African coast and wonder where they will go.
But, that fun is for the future. Today I discovered a big Swallowtail caterpillar on my celery plant! Swallowtails need dill, fennel, parsley and apparently celery for their caterpillars. The dill was gone back in May, and I can’t seem to grow parsley – especially not in summer. I have some fennel out front, and checked for caterpillars, and found none. I didn’t realize my celery would attract swallowtails.
This big guy was just there! I had not seen him while he chewed and grew, down in the center of the stalks. All day I went outside to check on him. I’m certain he will disappear.
The celery grew from a stalk that came from the grocery store. Today, I am starting another celery plant in a glass on my windowsill. It is very easy to grow.
black swallowtail caterpillarcelery started from store boughtFirst little watermelon
Watermelon
I had to pick my watermelon because the stem area was beginning to rot, for some reason. But, I also discovered watermelon #2 hidden under the vines. I covered it with pine needles to try to keep the raccoons away. I like to kid myself that I can outsmart them.
CaterpillarSeminole Pumpkin vinesWatermelon #2
The pumpkin vines (first year) have nearly covered my walkway. I can’t easily move the hose so have to leave it in the middle.
The Holy basil is growing and I’m using it regularly. Firespike flowers are coming out and that will keep the hummingbird happy. The celosia plants are getting tall and should be flowering soon.
Holy basilFirespikeCelosia
Oh The Zinnias!
My garden is full of beautiful Zinnias. I look at each one when I inspect things. I can’t stop photographing them. I only began growing zinnias a couple of years ago, but they have become a favorite. I’ve decided to make dividers for this blog using all my zinnia photos.
This year I have lots of reds, pinks, and gorgeous orange. I have only one yellow, so I’ll be sure to save it. Honestly, I am saving many Zinnia flower heads. Some have grown from saved seeds, but many I planted from newly purchased seeds.
Only one plant is yellow.
Skittle
Skittle the cat has always been my shadow in the garden. She very much enjoys it when I inspect things. I can’t spend much time out there with her now because of the horrendous heat. She seems to love it. As long as she can find an uncomfortable looking place to sleep, she is happy.
Skittle
I’m mostly quite happy as I look through the garden. Occasionally I get depressed at the lack of food, but there is always the grocery store. Good thing.
The Monarch butterflies are still fluttering each day. They usually show up around 9:00am. They land on the zinnias frequently. Their tropical milkweed is not flowering now, but soon the swamp milkweed will be.
I am writing today to make you feel better. Yup, it’s a pretty depressing morning here, so I hope that will make you feel better about your bad start to the day. If you had a good start, yay for you. If you are having gardening troubles, you are not alone.
Here in the jungle, summer is the pits. It is too hot to be outside for long, and if I venture out, it’s either loaded with bug repellent, or covered in long sleeves and pants.
On top of that, there is very little in the way of food growing. All my Seminole pumpkins start to grow, then turn yellow and fall off the vine.
Finally, I have one that looks like it will continue to grow. And today I see that raccoons (my best guess) have scratched it all up!
The Dahlia is wilting. We just had a little tropical system swirling over our area of the state and it dropped 4 inches of rain. We had minor flooding, which went away quickly. But maybe the dahlia did not like all that water. Maybe it doesn’t like July in Florida. I can’t blame it.
The weeds, or should I say, grass has gone nuts. This is all getting away from me because of all the vines that are sprawling all over the yard. The squash vine is done, and I should pull it up. But it’s too hot and buggy.
The watermelon vines have 1 watermelon. The pumpkin vines – well, I mentioned that above. Those vines have nearly made it from the back of the house to the front. They’ve dropped about 10 pumpkins at this point.
Speaking of vines. That mound in the distance in my photo above is an Elm tree next to a Beautyberry bush. Below is a photo of the two trees with most of the vines pulled off. I used to work at this, even though this is not part of my yard. I’d love to see both grow and do well. As you can see it’s a losing battle.
These are trying to grow under that mound of vines in the photo above.
A banana pepper plant has died, and the other peppers don’t look so good. So it’s a depressing start to the day for me. I think I’ll stay inside.
When my daughter gifted me a packet of Dahlia seeds, I had little hope that the plants would grow. I often feel that way about “normal” things trying to grow in this jungle. I live in zone 9b.
My daughter was a little bit obsessed with the Floret flower farm. It was (is?) a show on one of the networks, and focused on a young couple who began a huge flower farm in Washington state.
Their farm is impressive, and they have turned it into a thriving flower business. From what I can tell, the husband is behind the scenes doing all the heavy lifting, while his wife, Erin, does the social stuff, writing of books, and poses for photos. Photography of her holding humongous bouquets appears to be their trademark.
My Dahlia has pale yellow flowers
Growing From Dahlia Seeds, Year One
I put the dahlia seeds into a shallow clay pot. I’d never grown dahlias, and had no idea how to do it. I’d always heard that dahlias were tough to grow. Between that and the fact that the seeds came from Washington, I honestly did not think anything would happen.
When I lived in New Hampshire a local farm sold them out of the greenhouse. Greenhouse plants generally mean they like it warm. But I bought a dahlia plant and put it in my yard. It died. This added to my doubts.
The Floret seeds came with a little booklet full of information about growing Dahlias, Zinnias, and Celosia. These three were the seed types my daughter sent. Floret also has a whole page online about How to Grow Dahlias From Seed.
So the first year my seeds became small, scraggly dahlia plants. They grew about 4-5 inches tall in the shallow pot. When the season was over I pulled them up. They had some tubers at the bottom. Surprise, surprise!
In the booklet that came with the seeds, Erin (the writer) said that she stores her tubers in a cool place in ziplock bags. I was not going to bother with that. All I had was possibly the fridge for storage. So I yanked out the little plants with their tubers and tossed them into the compost barrel. I know, I am awful.
Unexpected Dahlia Plants, Year Two
After months went by and I grew my “winter” crops here in Florida, it was time to ready the gardens for Spring growing. As I dug through the dirt in my compost bin, I found the dahlia tubers just laying at the side! They still looked okay, and I figured I’d just put them into the ground for the heck of it. And they grew. I never even marked where they were planted and now I am only guessing about some of them. Like the photo in the center below. I’m pretty sure it’s a Dahlia.
Yellow flowering dahliaDahlia, I thinkSeedlings from tubers
I now have some pretty nice dahlia plants growing! One is tall, and flowering with pale yellow flowers. I had expected the fluffy type bloom, but got this star shaped flower.
Year two, growing the tubers, is working out much better. I plan to leave the plants growing in the ground and see what happens over winter. If they go dormant and need temperatures that are not freezing, the plants should be okay. The ones in pots might just need transplanting to larger pots until next year. It is very hot to be gardening in July.
Flower Books From Floret
Amazon sells books all about the Floret flower farm (paid link). If nothing else, they are full of beautiful photos. Her books will show you how to grow, harvest, save seeds, and make arrangements from the flowers you grow. I do not have any of her books, and personally, I am not interested. I do not cut my measly little selection of flowers to make floral arrangements. I leave the flowers for the bees and butterflies.
Remember that the books are written by a woman who has a huge area of space, with greenhouses, and lots of help. Also, she lives in Washington, which is about as far (in the US) from Florida as it gets.
My Other Floret Flower Seeds
Along with the Dahlia seeds, I also received Zinnia and Celosia seeds. I grew the Zinnias and they were unimpressive. The colors were a pale blush pink. Zinnias, in my opinion, should be bold in color. I love my deep reds, bright oranges, and stunning pinks. I did not save any Floret zinnia seeds. This year I planted from my own saved seeds, and bought a few others.
Zinnias in my 2025 garden
However, the Celosia were another story! Holy cow, these things are prolific. Celosia is another plant I was totally unfamiliar with, and let me tell you, they are beasts! Apparently they love the Florida climate and the bees LOVE the fluffy flowers. I will be writing a page about them soon.
Celosia – new to the garden, 2024
In Conclusion
The secret to successfully growing things is this: Toss seeds somewhere, ignore them, treat them badly, expect nothing, and see spectacular results. (I am only partly kidding.)
Thanks for reading. Feel free to leave a story about your growing adventures in the comments.
Hydrangeas Blue 