Vernal Equinox ~ 2016

Happy 'first day of spring'!!!  Everywhere we go, we see signs of it...Redbuds in bloom, trees leafing out, and racks and racks of plants for sale everywhere.  I'm waiting patiently for a week or two when I can see if I have room for any new purchases.  Meanwhile, I'm happy to see the return of some old friends...

'White Queen' Caladium, first of many.

Salvia Farinacea's returning everywhere, it's 'Victoria' or 'Sally'.

'Formosa' Azalea

'Mrs. G.G. Gerbing' by the back deck.

Saucer Magnolias, M. x soulangeana...I have no idea of the cultivar.  While trying to identify them, I learned that there are over 100 named cultivars, so mine will be the light ones and the dark  ones.  Real scientific, huh?

Light pink bloomer...

Dark pink...

Devil's Backbone

Even prettier with a Gray Catbird visiting.

These begonias have been in this pot for years.  I trimmed them up a few weeks ago and they're ready to bloom another year.

Holly Ferns are putting on their luscious new growth.  They spread around easily in the shade gardens by way of spores.

Desert Roses are beginning to bloom, but still scantily clad with leaves.

Yesterday, while enjoying a drizzling rain on the front porch, we saw our first Hummingbird of the season.  He headed straight for the Aloe, but the flowers have not quite opened yet.  There are numerous plants on the market sold as hummer enticements, and I have some of them.  I can only say that I've never seen a hummer on some of them, while Aloe has always been a magnet for hummers in my yard.

Some of the last Camellia blooms of the season, 'Dr. Tinsley'.

What could say spring better than a Carolina Wren building a nest?  We watched these two work together all morning.  I was delighted to see this one find a piece of  hydrangea bloom for the nest, next year I'll leave more scattered about...

By the end of the day, a beautiful nest!  We have enjoyed watching these two for several years.  The first year they nested on the porch, they built on top of the post that's under the box.  My husband added the box after the first brood flew.

One last thing to share,  this morning the Wood Ducks were on the bird feeder.  I took this photo through the window, but he's still magnificent.

I hope you're having the spring of your dreams!

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day~November 2015~ Central Florida

November, and yesterday was the first day it didn't feel like summer in Central Florida.  We had a lovely taste of autumnal weather, but it's going to be a short reprieve.  The forecast for next week is the mid to upper eighties, and dry.  There are plenty of blooms, but not the camellias that I thought I would be sharing in November.  My Sasanqua Camellias, which started blooming late September, have nearly bloomed themselves out.  Our hotter than normal temperatures accelerated, and deteriorated the blossoms.  But, I do have roses...

Like red velvet, Don Juan.

Autumn Sunset

Gene Boerner

Red Cascade

Intrigue

Some folks don't think of Knockouts, as 'real' roses, and that's fine.  Instead of comparing them to roses, think of them as a shrub.  Many of us in the South grow azaleas, and they only bloom a few weeks in the spring, if a late frost doesn't lay waste to the blooms.  How much better, a shrub that blooms ten months of the year?  My Knockouts...

On to something completely different, Turks Cap.

They show up like a bunch of  little lipsticks, standing straight up.

After a few days, they begin to nod, hence one of their common names, 'nodding hibiscus'.

Around the gazebo, Gloriosa Lilies are still blooming.

Tibouchina, too.

Aloes are still blooming also, but the hummingbirds that visit them during summer have left us.  The little bird you see on the plant, I believe, is a Palm Warbler.  They're winter residents of Florida, but the interesting thing is that he drinks the aloe nectar just like the hummers.  I couldn't catch him in the act, but he got his fill...

Black Eyed Susan Vine on the front fence.

This ginger is new to me this year, I only know it's a 'spiral ginger', so called because of it's leaf placement.  I don't know the variety, and haven't seen it in bloom...

...I soon will though.

Until next time...happy gardening.

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day~October 2015~Central Florida

GBBD totally slipped my mind, until I turned on the computer this morning.  And what a morning it was...cool, breezy, just a delight.  I'm putting this post together at 3:30 and it's now 89 degrees.  In spite of our cooler mornings,  summer is still very much with us in Central Florida.  Fall has not had much affect on my plants,  just a few yellowing leaves, here and there in the shade gardens.  Here's a few blooms...

Saucer Magnolia

Clair Matin Rose

Pink Pet Rose

Knockout Roses

These are some of the cuttings I took a few months ago from my old garden roses, so happy to see one blooming already...

This is the 'mother plant'.

 A couple other blooms out front, then we'll go to the back...

Aloe, a hummingbird favorite.

Crown of Thorns

Jasmine, in the shade garden.

Blue Ginger, these blooms have lasted for months.

A lowly, but lovely, coleus bloom.

  

Clerodendrum Vine, just beginning to show color.

Another, on the fence, further along.

Sasanqua Camellia

The tree above has a beautiful bloom, a crepe paper look...

Sasanqua Camellia

Just one more camellia...

A couple more plants that seem to bloom all year round in my garden...Gloriosa Lily.

Clematis

Common water hyacinth looks so much like a flower from a hyacinthus bulb.  It seemed as though the whole canal was blooming today, so even though it's not my bloom, I'll share the photo.

Happy gardening!