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July 6, 2016

Gingers Are Blooming



I love ginger lily plants!  They can color up a shade garden all summer long, never minding the heat.  The blooms on my 'Disney' ginger lily are seven inches tall and the plant itself is six foot.  This one is planted in shade, getting only dappled sunlight.






Curcuma, another ginger lily, also blooms all summer long.  They multiply rapidly, and should be divided more often than I do. 





My purple blooming curcumas are making me wait for their blooms, they're just getting started.



A nearly white bloom...



Hostas are blooming too...



Bleeding Heart Vines on the fence, white and purple.



My favorite new plant of this year is my Blackberry Lily, Iris Domestica.  Tiny flowers that remind me of toad lilies, about an inch and a half across.





I started these purple coneflowers from seed in February.  I'm thrilled to be getting my first blooms...



The coneflowers are planted in front of another summer bloomer, Tithonia,  Mexican Sunflower.





I'll save the rest of my blooms for a later post, and give you an update on my chickens.  They're about 12 weeks old now...half way to becoming egg layers!  We let them out to free range every evening, but 'free' has it's limitations.  No, they are not allowed in my shade gardens, but they have plenty of area to roam.





This one looks mean, but she's a sweetheart...they all are.



They rarely stand still when they're out, unless they dig up something good, so this is what most of their photos look like.



Until next time...




6 comments:

  1. What a beautiful collection of gingers you have! I love how fresh they look even in the mid-summer heat, and the flowers are all so wonderfully "weird" and interesting.

    So glad to see an update on your chickens--they are looking great! Will they let you pet them and hold them? They certainly are lucky to have such a beautiful place to roam.

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    1. Thank you Leslie. Luckily the gingers are all sturdy plants and do well with Florida's heat.

      I have one chicken who's a true lap sitter, and four that tolerate me fussing over them. Then, I have the one who's completely aloof. Their quirky behavior makes for good entertainment. _Janice

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  2. You have so many gorgeous plants. Do you have any shampoo gingers? I don't know what the fancy name is, but my friends have some and they would fit right in with all of your beauties!
    How exciting to know you have eggs on the way!

    Love your coneflowers. For some reason, I've had so much trouble growing these. Maybe not enough shade here.
    Thanks for sharing you wonderful space.

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    1. Daisy, I can't tell you how many times I've tried to grow coneflowers over the years! That's why I started a flat from seed this spring. At least if they don't return next year, I will only have the cost of a seed pack invested. I don't know the answer to growing them successfully as I've tried them all over my yard without much luck so far. Maybe this will be the year they reseed!

      I do have the shampoo ginger, commonly called pinecone ginger. You can squeeze the cone and get a soapy substance out of it...so cool. _Janice

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  3. Your chickens are so pretty!! Your blackberry lilies are speckled while mine are not. Must be different varieties of these plants.

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  4. Look at those gorgeous chickens! They look so happy and they must be so much fun to have around! Everything looks wonderful in your garden Janice...I tried Tithonia for the first time this year after I read about you growing it. What an amazing flower and the hummingbirds just love it too. Everything is beautiful as always!
    - Kate xxx

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