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July 28, 2015

Central Florida...Gardening And Gators.




We had a rainy day yesterday, gentle showers, throughout the afternoon.  It was somewhat cooler, than it had been most mornings.  I decided to grab my pruners and start a few cuttings, from this...


I don't have a potting bench, but as it was misting off and on, I worked under the umbrella, on my back deck.



I did a tray of assorted coleus.


I use regular potting soil, and the 4 inch pots that I save each spring, when I buy annuals.


I also did a tray of toad lilies, desert roses, and a couple other plants.


I've never rooted a desert rose before, but hey, why not?  Free plants are all good.


These should all root quickly, especially, if our wet weather continues.


I'm going to root a few more trays over the next few days.  I also need to pot up the hydrangeas that I've been rooting in water.  If you remember, these cuttings were taken in June.


A few gallon size pots, to start some 'old garden' rose cuttings in.


These will stay in the shade for a while, eventually, I'll sit them out in the garden in dappled sunlight.  They won't get planted in the garden, until spring.


A new birdhouse, my Honey built for me.


And another... for me, but they're really for our winged friends to raise their families in.


We had a visitor yesterday, lying around in our boat ramp.  One of its siblings, somewhat shyer, was also chilling out in the water.  We usually have a couple small ones, like these two-footers, in our canal during summer.  They find their way out to the lake, when they get a little larger.












Soon, after I saw the gators, it began to rain too steady to remain outside.  I took that as nature's way of giving me 'permission', to go inside and be a little lazy. 






  














14 comments:

  1. What a great way to utilize a rainy day! Are your cuttings for yourself or are you going to sell them? I'm sure they'll love the misty weather!
    Thanks for stopping by The Maple Hill Hop!

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  2. Good morning Janice ~ It's great to see your cuttings. I've yet to take any from my coleus, but I better do it soon. They are really easy to root in water, plus they do well just by sticking them in a pot of good potting soil too. We've not had as much as rain as you've had but it was cooler for a morning or two, then the last couple have been like walking out into a sauna. You start sweating as soon as you walk out the door.

    Those gators are cute, little, although I wouldn't want to try to pet one. :-)

    Happy propagating for your lovely gardens. ~ FlowerLady

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    1. Amen, to not petting the gators! I don't have any small pets, so they don't worry me too much.

      You are so right, the heat and humidity are back with a vengeance. My shirt was soaking wet this morning, and I was out a very short time. I was trying to tidy up some pots, but I think some of the plants in them just need changing out.

      Take care in this heat.

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  3. p.s. I forgot to add that those birdhouses are fantastic!

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  4. Janice - I love your birdhouses! He did a wonderful job! I would love to put up some nesting boxes for owls, I'm trying to get hubby to make them for me. You even pot up your cuttings nice and neat! I've usually got dirt all over the table and all over me, haha! I had to call the FL alligator hotline once when we had an 11 footer out back (over in Miami) - the first automated choice was " Press 1 if you have an alligator under your car" - funny and maybe not so funny because it must happen a lot! Yikes! Hope you are having a lovely week!

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    1. Lynn, that automated answer is just too funny! Our lake front neighbors have had to have a few large nuisance gators removed, they were getting a little too friendly. I hope my two little guy's mother is out in the lake, but you never know. Thanks for the compliment on the birdhouses, he enjoys doing woodwork. Hope you're having a great week, also.

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  5. Janice, good for you to be taking cuttings...isn't it wonderful to get so many free plants?! Very satisfying. I need to be more organized to get going on that but I am still running around, trying to weed and cut back as the daily rains are making a rainforest out of my garden. Loved the birdhouses... and the gators. Do you get nervous with them around. We don't have any lakes near us so I never see them. Our resident bear is around again so I have to check very carefully when I go out that he isn't joining me in the garden!

    Kate R

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  6. I know what you mean about plants growing wild, right now. Unfortunately, the weeds are loving all this wet weather also, aren't they?
    I won't say the gators make me nervous, but I do treat them with respect. We've lived here 19 years, and I've yet to see one out of the water, in our yard.
    My brother, who lives in Ocala, also has a bear visitor. The bear tore up his bird feeders several times at night, and hauled one of his trash cans into the woods. They have to take their feeders in at night, now.
    Take care in this heat, and beware of bears.

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  7. Yes it was a good time to root some cuttings. Hurray for the much needed rain. I love the color combinations in your backyard - very warm and inviting. Coleus really make a nice addition for color and texture.

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  8. Thanks, Susan. I always miss the coleus and caladiums during winter, they're a bright spot in shade.

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  9. The birdhouses are so sweet--I'm sure there will be occupants soon! The gators, not so sweet but cute in their own way.

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  10. Your husband's birdhouses are really neat--so colorful and fanciful. They're just perfect!

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    1. Thank you, Leslie. I think they're perfect too, and so is he.

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