Tag: spring

May Garden Photos With Plant Updates

May in the garden is mostly about finalizing the switch from winter crops to summer. This quick post shows photos of some of what I have growing at this time.

Now that May is here, the super hot weather is not far behind. Hopefully it will also begin to rain occasionally! My garden beds are mostly planted.

I’ve been on a milkweed growing kick, so I have lots of little pots going. I do not love having to monitor tiny pots, and the smallest seedlings will stay on the porch. More about my milkweed later.

For now, the Seminole pumpkins are growing vines. I have a random (spaghetti?) squash that came up. However, the vine doesn’t look great. My winter basil is still growing, with Tulsi Holy basil seeds sprouting for summer.

Pumpkin flowers, bright orange
Pumpkin flowers
squash growing on a vine
Spaghetti squash? Random volunteer
Seminole pumpkin vine and flowers
Seminole pumpkin
Holy basil growing, tulsi,
Holy Basil, Tulsi
flowering desert rose plant
Desert Rose

The Desert Rose has come back from the dead (dormant really), to give a pretty display of bright pink flowers. The dill plants are everywhere, and most are flowering, but some have already gone to seed. I’m hoping for black swallowtail butterflies to show up soon.

I ate three blueberries on May first! And more blueberries are on the one and only plant. I’m eating a few banana peppers, and waiting for the Ubatuba pepper to turn red. The cherry tomatoes are ready randomly, so I get a few here and there. I was finally able to grow an Everglades cherry tomato plant from seed.

Cherry tomatoes, green, growing on a vine.
Cherry tomatoes
Ubatuba Cambuci pepper, green and shaped like a bell.
Ubatuba cambuci pepper
Yellow dill flowers
Dill
Purple sage plant and leaves
Sage
Horsemint plant in terra cotta pot
Horsemint
Blueberries growing on a stem.
Blueberries
White swamp milkweed flowers
Milkweed, swamp
Tropical milkweed with ladybug on leaf and flower buds
Milkweed, tropical

No water is falling from the sky, so every morning I am out keeping the plants alive. The sun is very hot during the day and things dry out fast.

Moringa and dill leaves
Moringa and dill
Eggplant plant growing in the garden
Eggplant
Watermelon plants in the ground
Watermelon
Skittle, black cat, lying on the ground wearing a leopard print harness to cover her wound.
Skittle after surgery – lounging in the garden

My cat had to have a growth removed from her back and now she is in recovery mode. Nothing stops her from wanting to be outside. The photo above shows her in one of her happiest places. In the garden path, with her nose in the oregano.

If you are in Florida, I hope your garden is in full summer mode. If you are just coming out of a long winter in the north, you will be planting soon.

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A Busy Spring Where Gardening Never Stops

Spring is a busy time for me with garden plans and life plans colliding.

In Florida we don’t get a break from the growing season. Something is happening year round in the garden and yard. In a way, this is good. What fails at one time of year can maybe be tried again in a few months. We don’t have to wait an entire year for the growing season to return.

It also means we gardeners stay busy year round, planning and planting. This is only my second year trying to expand and grow here in east, Central Florida.

Plans and Planting and Juggling it All

Every time the first of the year rolls around, I find myself swamped. This was true even before I began to garden.

After cleaning up from the holiday season this year, we had a few camping trips planned. Also, both of my cats had to go to the vet for their annual shots, AND I needed to get new eyeglasses. (Did I mention it is also an expensive time of year?)

Skittle black cat on back
Skittle – Learn to chill like a cat

My high school class reunion (a milestone 50th, wow) was being held in April. I had originally planned to skip it, because it meant traveling to New England. My daughter wanted me to come up to New Hampshire for a visit, so I combined the visit with the reunion. But first, my youngest son came for a visit! Busy, busy.

In between all these life plans, I had to do Spring gardening. I bought mulch, compost, and seed packets. Transplanted crops beginning in February, and did weeding, cardboard layering, digging and watering.

okra pod and seeds
Saved okra seeds
honey bee borage flower
Borage flower

While I was up north for two weeks, we got ZERO rain in the area of Florida where I live! My son was watering, but without good soakings, the ground all dried out. Once I got back home, I spent every morning trying to get water into the ground for my plants.

Finally, almost a week later, we had some much needed rain.

Spring garden and path
Rainclouds bring much needed rain to the area.

For the most part my plants have survived the drought. The hardy zinnias are blooming, caterpillars are eating the dill, and I’m even picking a few ripe blueberries each morning from the one plant in the garden.

colorful zinnias
Bright zinnias
growing blueberries
Blueberries!
Eating dill
swallowtail caterpillars on dill flowers
Black swallowtail caterpillars
swallowtail caterpillars
Hungry dill eaters
birdhouse lizard
Lizard

The crops that did not do well are cucumbers and spaghetti squash. I needed to get the cukes growing early to miss the moths that arrive in June, or July. Last year I battled the caterpillars that ate up my plants. To solve the problem, plant cucumber before the moths arrive in the area. Now, it’s too late to re-plant. I also tried a new type called “Ashley” but I may never plant them again.

Spaghetti squash was something new I wanted to try. The plants began by looking great. Just before I left on my trip, they began to get powdery mildew. I sprayed the leaves, but by the time I got back most of the plants had died. The drought didn’t help, I’m sure. It is possible that this type of squash won’t do well where I live.

birdhouse lizard
Lizard

It’s good to be back h0me and now I will be gardening regularly once again. I’m trying to keep the watermelon and Seminole pumpkins going. Also, I am growing Egyptian spinach. Will let you know what happens with that.

Happy gardening!

Stories from the backyard…

March Garden Update

This is a quick post about what is growing in the garden in March. Realistically, I can’t keep up with my blogs, photos, work, and gardening. In summer I should have more time because I won’t be going outside.

At this time of year, I am out in the yard most mornings. There has been planting to be done and I still have a few potted plants that need to find a home in the dirt.

Pineapple

Pineapples are easy to grow here, but they take years to create a new pineapple. I had forgotten how much space they take up while growing, and planted them in a couple of my raised beds! Now there is no room for other crops.

This pineapple is finally having a baby! It will grow up out of the center and become a tiny pineapple. After – not sure how long – It can be harvested.

Pineapple
growing a pineapple
Baby pineapple growing!

Blueberries

I purchased this blueberry plant on a whim… without any idea about growing it, or where I would put it in my small yard. Blueberries are acid loving plants and I’ve been trying to keep it happy. About a month ago it began to get loads of white flowers and now I have tons of little blueberries – still green.

Either the raccoons will get them, or I might have a tiny crop for myself! (I’m hoping the raccoons won’t realize it’s something edible.)

blueberries growing
blueberry bush Florida
garden blueberry bush
Blueberries!

Gone to Seed

I like to let some of the produce go to seed. This is mainly for the bees. For instance, the Hon Tsai flowering broccoli and the regular broccoli have pretty stalks of yellow flowers.

For a while, every morning a big black bee would come to the broccoli flowers. Other bees, like the one below, were also regulars.

I plan to grow the Hon Tsai variety next winter, just for the flowers.

bee on yellow flowers
Broccoli flowers
Hon Tsai flowering broccoli
Hon Tsai

Roselle, Squash, Carrots and Okra

The spaghetti squash is a new crop for me to try. The seeds have come up nicely and the plants are taking off. Fingers crossed I will have my own squash supply.

The Roselle plants were begun with seeds over the winter. They got bugs and a few seedlings died. The ones that kept growing have now all been planted in the yard. If you are wondering what Roselle is, check it out here: IFAS / UF Gardening Solutions: Roselle.

spaghetti squash leaves plants growing
Spaghetti squash
Roselle hibiscus plant
Roselle plant
Okra dried pod and seeds
Saved Okra pod and seeds
garden flowers spiderwort
Spiderwort
garden carrots
Danvers

Last year I grew okra and had a hard time eating it. Bleh… yuk. I did save a pod and have now planted some of the seeds. I won’t have a lot, but I love the plants and flowers – just not the actual okra!

I’m eating carrots now… finally. They took FOREVER to grow. Scarlett Nantes and Danvers did the best for me.

Spiderwort and Other Weeds

I’ve decided to let some Spiderwort and other flowering weeds grow in the yard. The area is small, and I plan to keep it all in check. Bees really love the flowers of these “weeds” and I want to bring bees to the garden.

I’ll let them grow where they pop up as long as it’s an okay place.

purple spiderwort with bee
Spiderwort with bee
Richardia Scabra
Richardia Scabra ground cover with little white flowers that bees love.
Walter’s ground cherry flower
Ground cherry
Bidens alba

This white flowering “Bidens alba” is a particular nuisance when the seeds form. They stick to everything… my clothes, my cats, and are hard to remove. I plan to cut them down before the seeds form!

Watermelon, Cucumber and Seminole Pumpkin

Three types of watermelon have been planted, along with my much loved Seminole Pumpkin. The cucumbers are also in the ground and I am hoping to beat the moths this year.

So much more is happening in the yard, but for now that is all I have to share. There is still much work to be done, with mulching and walkways, compost and watering. It is fun work.

Anyway… I hope you are planting, or planning an upcoming garden, and I’d love to hear all about it. Happy Spring!

Keep reading…

Back to Life, My Florida Hydrangea Looks Good

Over winter here in Florida my hydrangea shrub became a bunch of sticks. The stems lost nearly all their leaves.

Hydrangea winter Florida January
January

After all danger of frost – around the end of February – I cut the stems back removing the old leaves. There were new leaf bud growths already forming along the stems.

hydrangea February garden Florida stems
February, after cutting back

Attempting to Propagate a New Plant

In the photos above and below I have placed a rock over a low hanging stem. I’m hoping that roots will form so I can cut this part off and plant it creating a new hydrangea plant!

Florida hydrangea garden perennial Spring
Rooting a stem

This hydrangea is growing in a nice shady location beneath a larger shrub. It seems to be happy and now I’ll just wait for the flowers.

All I’ve used for fertilizer is some bone meal and fish emulsion.

  • Florida hydrangea garden perennial Spring
  • Florida hydrangea garden perennial Spring
  • Florida hydrangea garden perennial Spring
    All new growth

Spring in Florida is Like Fall Only Uglier

Some people will say that Florida is one big season that just gets hotter at times. But Florida does have a Spring. It’s when the leaves fall off the trees and pollen collects as a yellow film on everything day after day. Yes, Spring is like Fall / Autumn here, in a way. It’s a duller, more annoying, version of Fall.

Florida oaks with moss branching over a road
Live Oaks – Spring

There are no colorful leaves, or crisp air to breathe, like in a real Autumn. The trees turn a brighter green with the new growth and the oaks drop those long brown things all over the cars (that don’t fit inside garages because that is where everything is stored because there are no basements). Oak leaves are small here and not like the oak leaves where I come from.

That’s about it. Other than that, new growth will appear when bushes are trimmed, but that can happen at any time of year. No use looking for tulips, forsythia, daffodils, or anything that signals Spring in many places, because those flowers don’t grow here in the jungle.

Spring Trimming of The Shrubs

A seasoned Floridian knows when to trim the shrubs. Don’t trim in winter as it will promote new growth that will freeze if the temperatures drop, which they sometimes do. Don’t trim azaleas until after they bloom in March or April. Plant new perennials well before the summer heat arrives. (Not this year. The nurseries are all closed.)

Trimmed hedge
Trimmed hedge of little ficus?

I have decided this year to try and fix up the shrubs along the front by the garage. These are hardy little things that are slow growing, so they are perfect for this area. I’m not sure of what they are, maybe some sort of ficus. I imagine they were planted when the house was built. Unfortunately, the sprinkler system didn’t reach them, and they’ve been ignored since I moved in over three years ago. I’m so sorry, but you did well enough without my help.

new growth on the shrubs
New growth

Now it’s time I paid attention and helped them out. I just recently cut them back a lot. The leaves were looking bad, as you can see I’m my photo. The stems had become spindly and leafless. I’m hoping that this trim will help them to fill out.

new growth on green shrubs

Already there is lots of new growth on the stems. I’ve added topsoil, fertilizer and mulch to this section of garden. My son bought, and installed, a little sprinkler head that sprays this garden specifically. It shouldn’t be long before this hedge is looking thick and lush.

May Vegetable Garden in My Florida Backyard

May is here and my backyard vegetable garden is off to an okay start. I’m still getting used to growing veggies in this climate, but I’m happy to have big, luscious green peppers to use already!

My garden area is very small and the plants are divided between a raised bed, fabric bags, and an old grow box. All my Florida gardening is still in the experimental stages! I’m learning, but at least I have the raised bed filled with good dirt.

May garden
The backyard garden in May

This pepper plant has been around since last Spring! This amazes me. I always thought pepper plants liked the warmth, but this one survived winter. And, yes, it’s Florida, so “winter” is a dirty word here, but the temperatures were truly cold for a few days. I assumed the pepper plant would die, but it did not.

And once Spring arrived (February… hahaha) buds appeared and the peppers began to grow.  I was picking them by April.

green peppers
Picking green peppers this year by April

The yellow / summer squash is something that I am having trouble with. The plants (from seeds) grew nicely and then flowered and grew little squash. But then they began to pucker up and rot on the ends.

This can be caused by too much water, so I have been watering them less. Also I added some ground egg shells to the dirt because I read that a lack of calcium can be the culprit for blossom end rot.

I’ve picked two small squash so far and have had to throw many rotten ones away. The ones I ate were delicious!!! So I am hoping for more. Last year I tried to grow them also and had bugs and mold take over before I got squash to eat.

yellow squash
Yellow Squash

The cucumbers have just started to take off. Some are growing in fabric garden bags, and a few are planted at the edges of the raised bed.

I’m hoping for cukes to eat soon, but I’ve also read that the raccoons don’t like the feel of the fuzzy stems on cucumbers. If I have strands of cucumber vines all around my garden, will the raccoons leave my vegetables alone?  Please work……

cucumber plants
Cukes in fabric bag and inside bed

For the heck of it I threw a couple pieces of old sweet potato into my mostly empty garden back in February (?). Now the vines are long and pretty. When they start to die I will dig down and see if I find potatoes.  I’ve grown regular potatoes, but never sweet potatoes.

sweet potato
Sweet potato vines and leaves

My little red pepper plant is growing lots of peppers and I’ve already used a couple red ones. They are very hot. I really wanted jalapeños but there were no plants when I was shopping. I dislike having to buy all my plants at the Home Depot, but there are no farm stands around.

chili red hot peppers
Chili red hot peppers

I found a couple of parsley worms on my fennel. Dill plants were nowhere to be found, so I settled for fennel, which I have never grown. Ladybugs and apparently parsley worms enjoy it and I’ve been chopping it up to add to food I cook.

parsley worm on fennel
Parsley worm on fennel

One tomato plant has 8 green tomatoes and the other has 6. I’m counting them to make sure the raccoons are not stealing any during the night. I’ll bring the plants inside if raccoons begin bothering them.

green tomatoes
Tomatoes are coming along

My little Navel orange tree lost a lot of it’s small fruit, but a few oranges are still growing.

navel oranges growing
A few oranges are growing on the new Navel Orange tree

The eggplant is still not giving me any eggplants, but it’s a good home for ladybugs. I’ve seen them in many forms (eggs, larvae, and beetle) crawling on the leaves. The aphid problem is no longer a problem. I can’t find a single aphid on anything! Don’t you love those ladybugs?

The weather will continue to get hotter and I may have to stop gardening within a month or so. I’ll see what lives and what doesn’t and go from there.

May garden in florida
May garden view