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June 30, 2015

Ramblings, from my Central Florida garden...

I went out early this morning, intending to garden for just a few hours.  As it turned out, I worked until noon, lunched on the back deck, then continued to work a few more hours.  What the heck, I was already dirty anyway.  At my house, sometimes it's good to be dirty.  My Honey and I have an unwritten rule that whoever's cleanest, goes inside to prepare lunch.  I had planted some new curcumas and hostas and put out a couple yards of mulch.  Yes, I was filthy.  I did find a new bloom in the garden today, a Disney ginger.



Gingers have become a favorite of mine, they're so easy.  They return faithfully every year,  need  little water.  My Pine Cone gingers are located in a spot that is not covered by our irrigation system, they survive just on rainfall.


The cones will be all pretty and red next month.


The vegetable garden is a different story, the beans and cucumbers are still demanding water.  The tomato bushes look terrible.   I threatened to pull them a couple weeks ago, but somehow they keep producing a few good tomatoes, and I keep giving them a reprieve.  


The Cow Horn okra is over my head and producing like crazy.  Why I started a new stand of  Clemson Spineless okra, I don't know.  I just couldn't stand seeing a bare spot, after we pulled the corn.  I have so enjoyed gardening in my new raised beds this year,  the composted beds have made such a difference.  Just a few short weeks ago, this is what my vegetable garden looked like. 


Beans, and more beans.  While we're here in the veggies,  I'll show you where my garden is situated on the property.  Our lot is 100' x 320', and our house is just about in the middle.  Our home is facing south and we are bordered in the back by a canal, leading out to a small lake.  Our irrigation pump is fed by the lake, a very big blessing.  This is looking out my vegetable garden gate, toward the house. 
The veggie garden is in the very back corner and the canal is right behind it.



Canal, looking over the back garden fence.




Gazebo at the end of the dock.



Looking south again, toward my garden shop and house.






The water, as it always does, brings all kinds of wildlife around.  In May of this year, I  saw something that I had not seen in the 19 years that we've lived here.  Sandhill Cranes are common around our neighborhood, in and out of yards, up and down the cul-de-sac, but I had never seen them in the water.  I'm probably the only person in the world that didn't know they swim...



A beautiful family.



Once we saw them, they came by every afternoon for awhile, and I always intended to get some better photos.


Since this post has been such a mixed bag, I'll end with the random gifts my garden so graciously gives to me.  Beauty, that I could not design...


A small coleus seeded in a beautiful mossy rock.




Beautiful ferns, freely given.




Another 'lovely', self-seeded.



Random acts of kindness.



 

 Pot, decorated by nature.  Hope you are all having a great week!












8 comments:

  1. What a great post! I enjoyed seeing your wonderful bit of paradise on earth. The pictures were great. The ones of the crane family were really sweet. I didn't know they swam either.

    Love the volunteers in your gardens, and your crusty old terra cotta pot, that is really nice.

    I don't see how you can work outside all day. It's all I can do to work outside til around 10. It's been like a sauna down here the past few days.

    Have a nice holiday weekend ~ FlowerLady

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    1. Hell-o, and thanks for the nice comments. I feel better now, finding out that some others didn't know that cranes swim. They're beautiful birds, we love to watch them do their mating dance.

      We had an overcast day yesterday, even a drizzle a couple times...I think that's the only reason I was able to last so long. Today, the sun is back and it is unbearably humid.

      Hope your weekend is perfect. When I worked, I really looked forward to holidays. Now that my husband and I are both retired, one day seems like another, one long holiday.




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  2. I'm with Lorraine. I can't even stay out past 9 a.m. I have hardly any shade in my yard.
    Your garden is amazing. Wish I could take a tour.

    I didn't know the cranes swam either. I've only seen them walking or flying. ;0D

    Enjoy your beautiful property!

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    1. Hi Daisy (love your name). Thankfully, I do have a lot of shade in my back yard, but the sun is treacherous in front of my house.

      So, some of my neighbors weren't aware the cranes swam either, but they do it beautifully!

      Have a great Fourth.

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  3. I love seeing more of your pretty place! Do you have alligators sunbathing on the banks of the canal in the winter? I've lived on a lake here in FL, there is always amazing wildlife things happening. Love seeing your cranes in the water too - I can't remember seeing them swim either. And I am loving the gifts of the garden - random special treats that pop up here and there! Wonderful!

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    1. We do have alligators, and tons of turtles. Further down the canal from us, a Great Blue Heron has a nest in a pine tree, with two little ones. There's absolutely always something going on... ducks, otters, and so many different 'water' birds.

      Yes, nature does simple, but lovely things. She's very creative.

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  4. This is my first time visiting your blog, and I'm so glad I discovered it. Your gardens are amazing! I love the gazebo and your vegetable garden and all your ferns. Everything is so lush and gorgeous!

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  5. Hell-o. Thank you Leslie, for the kind words. I've had the garden for 19 years, but the blog for just two months...still feeling my way around. I totally love all the Florida blogs, now I'll have to visit you.

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