Here was a nice surprise. An Airplant nestled in between two pine trees decided to put out a flower. A splash of color among a lot of greenery.
The little raised brick garden I put in about a month ago is coming along nicely with its red Salvias and white Pentas.
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| Looking South |
But the butterfly garden is yet again sadly neglected and completely overgrown with Spanish Needle (which we all know the butterflies love). Also a pretty creeping plant Beach Sunflower (or something similar), has become rather invasive and crowded out the Milkweed and Coleus. Nothing will grow under Beach Sunflower. It's completely drought resistant and thrives in our sandy soils. So after pulling out two wheelbarrow loads of weeds............I was left with a whole lot of nothing butterflies like, except for the Dill.
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| Looking North |
So a trip to the big box store was in order. Verbena, Lantana, Trailing Petunias and Kangaroo's Paw, Begonias, Pentas and Mona Lavender "Plectranthus."
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| Kangaroo's Paw |
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| Verbena |
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| Lantana |
I have a rather shabby little fountain which I set up and got running. Maybe in a month or two I'll treat myself to a new one. The splashing of the water is very relaxing.
In order to define the space, I added some bricks around the revamped area and included a few pots of different colors and textures to add some height - Dianthus, Catmint, Mums. I'm fairly happy with the result. It just needs to fill in a little bit. Perhaps some Moss Rose/Portulaca would do the trick.
Tip: I added half a teaspoon of water crystals to each plant hole I dug and then I watered the area thoroughly with a soaker hose.
This area is outside our patio so we can enjoy the view. Now I think I need a couple of pieces of garden art, but a gnome or plastic flamingo isn't on the short list. Something more rustic perhaps. I'll work on that and get back to you with an update in a week or two.
Nice looking Florida gardens! Enjoyable weather for another few weeks. I am dreading the heat. Thank God for a//c! You sure have a cute little raised bed! I like that.
ReplyDeleteIt looks great! I love your plant selection and shabby little fountain. I have one quite similar and I agree, the sound of running water is very soothing. When I first purchased it, my neighbor came over the next day to tell me that they thought we left our hose running all night. LOL
ReplyDeleteI had to move all my lantana to the front and side yards because the dogs love it. Unfortunately it's toxic to them.
Looking forward to seeing what kind of garden art you add. I tend to like the rustic look too.
Glad to see another FL garden blogger. You've got a nice selection of flowering plants. I'd like to get a simple fountain to hear the running water. Garden art here can be anything, cement atatues, rustic and rusty iron bits, whimsical, whatever feels/looks right.
ReplyDeleteThank you for visiting my blog and your kind and encouraging comment. I really appreciate it.
Happy Gardening ~ FlowerLady
Thank you all for your support, ideas and encouragement.
ReplyDeleteTo: Julie, Ugh the heat! How come I forget about that every year? Us gardeners are very forgiving and have short "season" memories.
To: Elizabeth, nice neighbors your have! I haven't had the same problem with my two dogs chomping on the lantana. I think the pytochemical is courmarin (?) Same as grass except stronger?
To: Lorraine, thanks for joining. Yes rustic is the way to go, I'll have to visit the Goodwill store and see if there are any ideas to be found.