Rakes and Blades Garden Club

Brigadoon, Brigadoon, blooming under same old skies

2009-10-02T20:23:00.000-07:00

Day 5 of the miracle. I am still at it outside. I didn't accomplish very much today, mostly just raking up all of the weeds I have been pulling. I have a huge pile of stuff to throw out in the trash on Sunday night, so I have most of my weekend planned. I will be at Cahill's house helping him since his new flooring is starting to be installed this weekend. I will help him move some of his treasures into the garage to get it out of the way while the work is being done. I will then come home to work on the yard...hopefully. I will keep you posted!

Day four and still sticking with it!

2009-10-01T21:49:00.000-07:00

I was out early this morning. The cool weather was such and eye-opener that I wanted to see what was going on in the garden early today. I managed to empty one part of the garden of all that tall weed grass that was obscuring the plumeria cuttings, cannas and night blooming jasmine. I managed to get rid of a barrel full of weeds, so it looks so much better now. I am skipping around the yard to keep me from getting disenchanted or bored. I still haven't gone over the fence, but probably by the weekend I will be out there with the muriatic acid getting rid of the main bane to my existance!

Promise, Day Three

2009-09-30T09:35:00.000-07:00

I suddenly feel like I am in Brigadoon - this is the third day of the miracle!

I started the day off right, moving all of the plants I have been propagating from the patio out to the different locations around the yard that I want to plant them. This will get them acclimated to the sunlight they will be getting. I try to do this everytime I plant anything new in the garden. I leave them in the pot for about 3 days to give them time to get used to their surroundings. If I see them start to fail, I can move them without doing serious damage to the plant.

I started pulling vines again, this time the cucumber vine from the opposite side of the yard. My neighboring house is a rental property, and the owner is a tile setter and he keeps his machinery and supplies up against the fence on his side, and all sorts of things grow out of that area. Lately the cucumber vine has been growing non-stop, spreading into my yard and even barricading the gate on that side. I have been pulling it down, but cannot get into his section to stop it. That side and the back fence have venetian blind slats through the chainlink, so it isn't easy to see through or manage the problem through. The owner usually comes by on the weekend to get his tools and will pull down what he can. He is usually very good about this, but lately business is slow, so he hasn't needed his tools. I can't believe it - the economy is causing part of my garden weed problem!

I ended up pulling the tall grassy weeds that have sprung up along the screen room. They have grown taller than the jasmine so it is time to cut it all down. I think it is time I invest in a weed wacker to help speed up the process!

Promise, Day 2

2009-09-29T18:10:00.000-07:00

I was outside for about 45 minutes just before dinner - meatloaf again? I stuck to the nasty vine for the whole time, pulling stalks out of the tangerine tree, and cleaning up the fence as much as I could reach. I pulled more then 200 yards of vines off the tree, and just happened to look through the fence to see more of the vines. There is one stalk that is bigger around than my thigh! I didn't know anything grew that thick!! I will definitely have to get over the fence to get this stuff under control. I am seeing a marked improvement in the corner, so I am still sticking with my promise.

Day One of Promise

2009-09-28T15:31:00.001-07:00

So I promised myself I would spend at least 30 minutes a day out in the yard catching up on the weeding, and for general upkeep of the planting beds. I was out there for an hour today, working in the back corner. The weed grass was almost as tall as the heliconias, so I managed to make a good bit of headway in that area. I also trimmed back the surinam cherry bushes that have sprung up behind the heliconias. I plan to get into the easement to kill the roots, once I have the inside cut back.

I started by pulling all of the cucumber vine off the side fence. As you can see from the photo, the neighbor's fence is the culprit, spreading it all into my yard. I managed to get rid of the cucumber vine from the right side of the house, and was working on

Then there is the kudzu type vine. I have a couple of photos here to show what I mean. They have a small white flower, kind of like a 1 inch white morning glory. The stalk is very tough and ropey, with the outer husk quick to slough off leaving the green vine safe. It has climbed through my tangerine and up into the nasty weed tree behind it - about 30 feet into the sky. All along the back fence it has been invading the confederate and winter jasmine, and the three passionfruit vines, killing everything in its wake. It has started to cover the hibiscus and brugmansias, so I need to take serious action. I have started cutting every stalk I find, hoping to cut off the food supply. I am planning to go over the fence with muriatic acid to kill the roots if I can find the source.

Finally, I took some photos of the front of the house, showing the new half moon bed. I have a lot of plants in there, in small clusters - plumeria, crotons, chiflera, even a spindle palm. I will think of something else to put there once everything starts growing, and then mulch it all. I figured I

had to do something to cut down on the upkeep since we terminated our lawn service today. I may do as my mother suggests and cover every bit of green with mulch.

Sorry for the absence

2009-09-27T17:50:00.000-07:00

Well, it seems like I just never find the time to write anymore. That isn't the case, but I am just getting over a long, drawn-out session with the flu. I don't know if it was swine flu - there are some who will object - but for those of us without medical insurance, some things just go undiagnosed. I am still a little congested, but it isn't unmanageable and doesn't seem to be contagious.

So I finally got around to planting the half circle in the center of my driveway. I got a couple of plumerias from Scott and Joe a couple of weeks ago, so I used them as the basis for my design. I opted for a symmetrical design, with the plumeria on either side of a spindle palm seedling. Then I went to Ken's Trees on 58th and 58th on Saturday and bought a bunch of nice crotons for $7.00 a piece. I got 6 (2 of each variety) and planted them in front of the plumeria, with a pink majesty croton in the center that I got from Phil at a raffle two months ago. Then I put a dwarf chiflera behind the croton clusters, and finally a pair of Aztec Gold plumerias cuttings from my own tree. Now the circle looks full to my liking, and will be great as it fills in and grows bigger. I still have to spread out mulch, but that will come later this week.

I also have been working to eradicate those horrible vines from my yard. I started working in the back corner, and after a half hour pulled a black trash bag full from the fence and another full of weeds from the heliconia/ginger patch. I am planning to spend a half hour each day this week catching up with the weeding, and planting anything I have been cultivating. I have a bunch of gingers that need to go into the ground, and a couple of recent plantings that have died that need replacing.

The clerodendron I got from Brad just up and died last week. It was blooming very nicely, with big clusters of lovely scented flowers called cashmere bouquet. Then last week, it up and turned black. No warning, no nothing. It is still out there, all black and nasty! Likewise, I planted a plumbago out back and it up and died right off the bat. I think I would rather plants to that so I don't get too attached to them. I picked up a couple of nice plants at Ken's to replace them both, and I have a few night-blooming jasmine to fill in the patches. Hopefully I will get the rest of the mulch down to finish off this new bed. I have already decided that I will not dig a hole for the water feature, but instead will use those garden blocks to build a single layer wall around the black vinyl base. I will let you know how that works out.

Photos of all to come next time.

HELP!!!! I need somebody!!!!

2009-09-06T22:34:00.000-07:00

I am beginning to hate the rain! I don't really. I just hate having it all well up and produce mosquitos. I have been trying to keep the rainbarrel empty to avoid the bugs, and have even gone so far as to chlorinate the water, but they just keep coming back.

I have complained about the weeds before, and while I do hate weeding, I have something to talk about that is more than just weeds that have gotten ahead of me. I have two, count 'em, two invasive vines that have been covering my fence, tree, and plants.

First there is the weedy vine that puts out those orange pod things that smells so green when you pull them out. The house just north of me is vacant and this vine is crawling all over their fence and has spread to mine. I keep pulling it down whenever I am out in the yard, but I just cannot get control of it. It really took over two years ago, but last year it wasn't bad at all. This year it has started to spread out, so I think I can keep ahead of it. This vine is really minor, though.

The worse of the two is this horrible thing that is like kudzu. At first I thought it was a passion vine. It came from the free mulch, but from the shape of the leaves I thought it might be the Florida native passiflora. Jim N was visiting and he assures me that it isn't a passion vine, although it does have many of the same properties. This is very invasive and has choked out two of my passion vines, and the confederate jasmine. It is all through my tangerine tree, and is on top of the oak behind the fence. The vines have grown to 6" thick, and when you pull on them, the flesh sloughs off. I have tried Round-up on it to no avail. I have pulled miles of it out of the trees, and it has been a real struggle to get it out from the jasmine vines. I wouldn't care it if killed the two trees, since I have always disliked them. But they aren't happy just covering the trees. They are monopolizing the fence, and are starting to choke off the different vines I have growing on it. I try to keep it under control; I can pull out 10 feet today, and tomorrow will have 20 feet in its place. I hack at the stalks that I can reach on the ground, and can see where some has died, but the majority takes it as time to push out more vines. Does anyone have suggestions for me?? I am going crazy over this stuff!!!

HELP!!!!

A New Baby

2009-08-22T11:56:00.000-07:00

As you all know, I am fixated on Gingers, particularly butterfly gingers. Hedychium are my passion. While I only have 5 or so varieties, I am always on the lookout for new additions for my garden. Last year I found hedychium germanium on Ebay. It is a kahili ginger which means that all of the flowers come out at once, creating a "drum" of flowers on the top of the stalk, reminiscent of the kahili standards of old Hawaii. I planted my rhysome as soon as it arrived, and watched it grow. The seller said it grows to 12 feet in Hawaii, but I didn't expect it to grow as tall here. Three stalks were growing strongly last October, but I knew it was too late in our season for them to bloom. Still I was fascinated with them. They were very thick, but only about 20" tall. And they survived the cold snap in February! Mid-April new stalks appeared, and the older stalks started to die off. Well that is customary for gingers. I watched the new stalks getting bigger, soon dwarfing the older stalks. Then, lo and behold! A flower stalk appeared on one of the stalks! I was so giddy!! Sure, the stalks were short, only 24" tall or so, but the bud was there, as plain as day. I waited patiently, and then there it was - a beautiful cluster of yellow and orange flowers, all sweetly scented.

The new ginger is a wonderful addition to my garden. The sweet fragrance blends in beautifully with the spicy and sweet plumeria blossoms that are starting to arrive this month, and I am sure more will come as gingers tend to send up stalks in profusion once it starts to flower. My mauve pink gingers - hedychium elizabeth - have many flower stalks about to bloom, and Flavum is also about to pop. The only slowpoke this year is the white ginger, the most frangrant of the bunch. Hopefully they will bloom before they all fall over. I will keep you informed.

Thanks Rakes and Blades!!

2009-08-05T16:56:00.000-07:00

A couple of years ago I bought a pair of birds at Home Depot at the end of the summer. I have always wanted birds, but never thought I would have any luck with them. I didn't know much about them, but I know that they are very pretty to look at while they are blooming.

Well , I got the two because they were very low priced, and planted them. The orange bird I thought would do well under my angel trumpet in the corner of the yard. I really picked the spot because I wanted to be able to see the blooms from the kitchen table. I knew that it would take a few years for it to mature and start blooming. The white bird I put just outside the fence, near my bedroom window. I wanted a tropical look for that area and I knew it would grow fairly big. So I planted them both, put them on the drip system and promptly forgot about them.

Imagine my surprise when I went out a few weeks ago and found my first bird sending up a flower stalk! I was so excited! I was thrilled to know that the plant was finally maturing and I didn't kill it!! I am a gardener with low self-esteem, always thinking I am killing everything. I have been waiting patiently for the flower to open, and as soon as I did, cut it off to show off in the house!

This brings me to why I am writing. I must thank the Rakes and Blades club, and Dwayne S particularly. At the last club meeting, Dwayne gave the program showing us all how to take the cuttings from our yard and transform them into nice arrangements. I wanted to show off my first bloom, so I cut a bunch of shell ginger fronds and used them as the greenery in a rose vase with the bird as the centerpiece. My mother and I have been enjoying this lovely display of nature at every meal.

Now I am patiently waiting for the white bird to bloom. I can wait, though, since the excitement from my first bird bloom is still going strong!

good intentions

2009-07-27T19:25:00.001-07:00

I was so on my way to getting something big accomplished out in my backyard, only to have it shot down by - a tooth! I have an absessed tooth which sidelined me for the entire weekend! I was all set to get the planting bed finished - I picked up 8 more bags of mulch, bought 5 more shrubs to plant, even found a vital piece to my fountain design. Then this tooth sprang up and knocked me off my feet! Okay, so I haven't taken as good care of my teeth as I should have been. I knew I had a filling fall out that should have been taken care of, but since it didn't hurt, I ignored it, but planned to have it pulled before too long. Well, how long is too long??

My face was so swollen with infection over this weekend that I was useless to do anything. I was taking mega doses of acetyminophen, vicodin, aspirin, orajel - you name it! I sipped hot soup and packed on the ice bags, but nothing really helped. So, today I called the dentist and asked his advice - EXTRACTION!! So I am sitting here with a gauze packed mouth, minus one tooth, but still in pain. Hopefully this will pass soon, between the penicillin and pain pills, so I can get back to work outside.

ouch! I am so sore!!

2009-07-21T14:54:00.001-07:00

I have been using muscles I am not accustomed to using! Imagine! ME! Actually doing some work!! Well, it sure is taking its toll on me. Still, I am very happy to see so much being accomplished. I have planted a few more shrubs in the back, and have started spreading mulch. Here are before and current photos of the side of the new bed. Don't get on me for skimpy mulch, I haven't finished yet. I just wanted you to see the progress so far. I am pleased. I think everything will look wonderful together once they start growing bigger. I have been trying to mix flowering shrubs with those that don't bloom but have colorful foliage. I still don't know what everything is, but I do like the selection. I have a few plants that I need to relocate to this bed since they seem like they are not doing their best where they are. One is a hot-pink dwarf hibiscus, and I need to move the firecracker plant since it isn't growing where it is. I thought is was getting too much sun, but Jim says that is impossible. Maybe it needs to be in the middle of the yard to get what it needs.

Planting beds

2009-07-20T12:42:00.000-07:00

I have come to a standstill on my room. I have all of the blue painting done, but the molding is proving to be a bit of a problem for me. You can't cut a straight line if your saw blade is bent! I should have used the circular saw instead of the skill saw, but hindsight is terribly disruptive to your self-esteem. Needless to say, I have put off the moldings for a while so I can concentrate on my garden.

I have finally committed to finishing off the new planting beds in the back of the house. For the past few months I have been accumulating shrubs and small bushes for this area, and have been planting them gradually. I got a few more last weekend at Ken's Trees, so I think I finally have enough to get this bed firmed up. I bought a few bags of mulch, so I think I have a good start on what I want to accomplish.

I started by planting out one side of the bed, the left side of the yard, and made sure that my drip system included a head for each of the plants. I then took the line away from the area so it will be the last thing I put in place.

Next I pulled out all, or most, of the weeds that have been troubling me so much. I covered the area with newspapers to prevent the growth of more weeds. Since this area is not going to have any rhysomatic plants, I can put in a weed barrier without worry of inhibiting the growth of my garden.

I placed my garden ornaments on top of the newspaper, including the birdbath and bird feeder so they will have a firm foundation. Then I started to cover the newspaper with mulch, about 2 inches or so, to keep the paper covered, and to provide enough weight to stop the weeds.

I currently have about a quarter of the area done, and am working to get to the halfway point on the left hand side of the yard. I still have to plant all of the new items on the right hand side and dig the hole for the fountain base, so that will hopefully be by this weekend. If the rain holds off, I should have photos to prove all that I am bragging about.

flowering dumb cane

2009-07-16T22:00:00.001-07:00

So, after about 5 years of growing this cluster of diffenbaccia plants, I have a strange thing occurring - it is sprouting flower stalks. I never knew that the plant did anything but put out more leaves, but here it is, sending out an inflorescence. I have looked it up on line and see that it doesn't happen often, but it sends up a stalk with a covering that opens up to expose the flowers for pollenation - something that beetles are supposed to do. I see 3 stalks so far, so I will take photos as they start to develop into something. Maybe I am an idiot, but I never knew these things did anything but sit there, so it is a very nice surprise. I will probably be disappointed with the end result.

BTW, the pineapple has grown into its own, and it is currently a small yellow fruit nearly ready to pick.

My gardening helpers idea

2009-07-15T10:19:00.000-07:00

I was out weeding this morning and again thought of starting a group of garden helpers. I thought it would be a great idea to have a group of about 8-10 people who would help other club members with their overwhelming gardening chores, in exchange for lunch and participation in a set number of other gardening weekends.

For instance - you need to have help mulching your yard - it would take you three days of work to get it done yourself. You set up a saturday morning visit of the garden friends who come and do the mulching with you to get it done in a few hours. In exchange, you provide lunch/cold drinks for the workers, and then commit to joining the group helping others for the 3 days you would have had to work to get the job done yourself. That way, no one is working more than a few hours on any Saturday. It's kind of like a Habitat for Humanity garden style.

Does anyone have any suggestions to this idea? One person I mentioned it to thought it would be slave labor, but I see it more like a gardening co-op.

Finally - a new posting!!

2009-07-12T11:50:00.000-07:00

Okay, so it has been a while. I still am working in the garden, though not at often or as much as I could or should. The rain, heat and humidity have been a great excuse, but they really don't tell much. The weeds have been growing much bigger - taking over in some cases - and I really haven't cared all that much. I guess I am getting burned out on my own garden. I just went out to Ken's Trees and bought a bunch of small bushes to plant in hopes that it will spur me on to work outside again. I got a Ti, variegated ginger, croton, variegated scheflera, and a few other plants - 7 in all - for only $30.00, and he threw in a spindle palm for free!

If you haven't heard of Ken's Trees, then you are missing out on quite a great spot. They are located at 58th Street and 58th Avenue N. He sells all kinds of palm trees for the lowest prices I've seen, and also small shrubs and bushes. He advertises on You Tube each Friday afternoon to tell you what's on sale on Saturday. Check it out sometime and you won't be sorry.

The Rakes and Blades website has been updated and the newsletter is current. I guess I need to have a real shaking to get me on the ball again. Sorry to all of you who have been coming here expecting to find new gems of wisdom only to find ramblings or nothing new at all. I will try harder!!

rain, weeds, car, paint, yuck!

2009-06-24T09:27:00.000-07:00

So it's official - I hate painting! I have finally gotten my bedroom painted a grey-blue semi-gloss paint. Fortunately I used a good paint so I didn't have to prime over the deeper color it replaced. I now have lots of things to paint white - new moldings, doors, etc. so the room will be complete. I have one roman shade made, for the smaller window, and I think I like it. I don't know about the valance. I am torn. either it is too short, or too full, or too full because it is too short. I have to rethink it before I settle and grouse about it forever.

I am sending my apologies to everyone at this month's meeting of Rakes and Blades. I was all set to attend, had my plants potted, my shrimp pasta hot and bubbly, directions in hand and camera all charges and ready to fire. Unfortunately, my car was not in the same frame of mind or readiness! I hopped in the car 15 minutes before the start of the meeting since I live relatively close by. It was dead! Not a whimper, it wouldn't even unlock the doors! Naturally I called AAA to get a boost, but they warned that since it was a holiday - Father's Day - it would be at least 1 1/2 hours, which would have been the end of the meeting. Monday, with Brian's help, I got an "instant start" battery booster to prevent long waits for AAA. Then I, yes me, took out the car battery and got a new one - can you possibly imagine me being so butch????. This should not happen again!

I am still delaying going to Home Depot for mulch. I know I need it and I want it, but I just don't seem to have the energy to go and get it. I guess it is the thought of getting 25 bags, but I would only pick up 5 or so at a time. I should go for it, if only to punish the car! Thanks to all of the rain, the weeds have gone into overdrive, and are rapidly spreading throughout the yard. I need to mulch, if only to keep the weeds lower than the plumeria! So I am off to Home Depot today, so I should have some photos soon to show the planting beds, and my room.

A follow-up to the last few posts.

2009-06-08T18:42:00.001-07:00

Okay, so here - finally - is a photo of the vase that sent me to Home Depot to paint, carpet and otherwise upgrade my sleeping quarters. It was a great find at Pier One, certainly worth waiting 2 years for it to go on sale. Brian liked it so much that he bought me a second one because everyone should have 2 perfect vases??

This past week I got another vase, a different vase, as a very pleasant surprise from Brad, which is a near perfect companion to my vase! Thank you so much, Brad! I really appreciate your thoughtfulness. Since my birthday is next week, it was an especially nice gift!

I haven't been spending enough time in the garden this week. We have had a good bit of rain and the weeds have been flourishing. I shudder whenever I go out there and see all the work that needs to be done. I try to overlook the weeds as I also have so much in bloom. The big brugmansia is full, as the photo shows, as is the small one I got 2 months ago. They both are the common pink trumpets that smell, like Brian always points out, "like dishwashing liquid". I guess they do have a soft, soapy smell, but it's the look that is so overwhelming, certainly when the tree is full of those huge blooms. I am still waiting for the double white trumpets to open, which should be tomorrow.

I made cuttings from my night-blooming jasmine for the raffle at the meeting this month, and they are just coming into bloom. Unfortunately, the mother bush is full of caterpillars who have eaten almost every new leaf. I know they don't harm the plant, but the look of the bush is so depressing right now. I know it won't be blooming for a while. The thing is, the caterpillars strike overnight. Last week the bush was thriving, and overnight the plant is devastated. It must have hundreds of caterpillars, but I can't see any on it. They might be night crawlers the way the plant is a night bloomer. I just hate the thought of using a chemical pesticide to get rid of them!

A closet full of Angel Trumpets

2009-05-31T19:04:00.000-07:00

Okay, so my promise to blog has been falling by the wayside. That's only because I have been busy with other things.

For starters, Brian had someone steal a boatload of plants from his yard last weekend. They took a pair of crinum lillies, flax, bird of paradise, cannas, about 30 potted plants in all, as well as ceramic pots. That meant we had to move his remaining plants to other parts of his yard that would be more protected from thieves. It was an all day chore, so it was a good thing that he had taken the week off to get things done around the house.

Next we have been working on getting my room redone. We spent 3 days on my closet alone. It was gutted, with all the shelving taken out, carpeting removed, and molding pried off. I patched holes, and we painted it all white. 5 coats of white. There was some water damage from 35 years ago that kept seeping through the paint, so I had 3 coats of KILLZ to cover the discoloration, then two more coats of white. Then I put up all new shelving, adding a bunch extra to hold some of my collections of stuff. Maybe it was all the rain, but it seemed to take forever to get the walls white, and it also kept me from working in the yard.

The rain was very good for the night blooming jasmine. I got a big growth spurt, so I took a bunch of cuttings and they are already rooting! It's a fast grower, so look for a couple in the next plant raffle.

I was just outside and I find that all of my brugmansia have buds showing up. How great is that! I picked up 4 plants at the last meeting, and even 2 of them are budding up. I will soon know what colors they are. I know for certain what I already had, even though they never bloomed. I have an apricot that I got from John Starnes. It is still only 3 feet tall, but nicely full and it has those long, pointy buds that the apricot trumpets get. The double white I got from the Bulb Lady is finally growing and is loaded with buds. I am anxious to see that one open since it's 2 years old and only just getting its first flowers. I hope I got what I paid for! The newest trumpets are still a mystery since several of them are hybrids, but I am trying to be patient.

The hawaiian plumerias are really taking off, too. Two have bloomed, and several more are getting ready to. I have mostly dark pink-orange combinations, and a large white with only a slight fragrance. I'll be taking photos as more come into flower.

All of the rhyzomes I got at Green Thumb are taking off. I potted them all, and they are ready to plant in the garden. They will go into the back corner, but first I have to get about 25 bags of mulch to keep the weeds back.

I hope to spend tomorrow afternoon painting one wall in my bedroom, so I don't have too much furniture to move at one time. I'll do the back wall for starters, and work my way around the room, ending with the closet. That way I can hold off changing the molding and painting the doors. I am still visualizing the room with the new roman shades I have yet to make. As if I am not keeping busy enough, I sold 3 petticoats that I have to make this week. Yikes - I had better get to work!!

A new day

2009-05-21T09:31:00.000-07:00

It's a new day, but still raining. I'm not complaining for the obvious reasons. We need the rain! My plants are going great guns in back, flourishing in all the water, but I can't paint because it is too humid! I can't garden in the rain! No one has bought any of my eBay items, so I am not sewing - I am again a couch potato.

I attended the club meeting on Sunday and had a great time at Rick's home. It was so nice seeing friends who I haven't seen for a while. I filled in as photog as Brad was knee deep in flooring issues. He and Gary are refinishing their wood floors, so of course, rooms had to be emptied in preparation. I know I will be going through this as I get ready to paint.

Today my job is to spackle the closet to get it ready for painting. Brian took out the clamshell molding that held up a long gone shelf in the closet and those 4 inch nails took out some plaster. I have to patch all of those holes so we can paint the closet white. Then put up the new white wire shelving - thank you Closet Maid!

Nothing else to report. Brian tells me he is taking next week off, so if he can come over he will help me finally get the room painted. Then I can start work on my roman shades. It really is never-ending!

Mea Culpa

2009-05-17T13:04:00.000-07:00

I am so sorry for staying away from the blog for the past 2 weeks. It isn't that I have nothing to say, but have been otherwise involved. It is a very sad, yet true story, one that is just so gay I hesitate to tell it. I have been redecorating! Yes, it's true. I have been trying to make some sense of my bedroom. My bedroom has been a teal vision for the past 8 years. I found a great fabric - Monet's garden - that was awash in colors like an impressionist painting of a garden. I chose the subtle teal color within the fabric to paint my room and to select all of the accessories - which I lovingly found at Pier One, Home Goods, Target and Z-Gallery.

After 8 years of blissful slumber in my teal room, I found a new vase that I just had to have at Pier One. It was a large, shell-shaped aqua-blue vase with beige lines and just screamed out to me. I waited impatiently for it to go on sale - I may be frivolous, but I won't spend $100.00 for a vase unless it is Wedgwood! After 2 years, it was on sale and in my bedroom! Alas, it is the wrong color blue for the lovely teal walls and its subtle shades of aqua cannot be found in my impressionist window treatments - what to do, what to do??

Brian and I have been trying to find the right wall color - 7 color samples and 9 color squares on my walls was all it took to end up with the right color - a blending of all 7 color samples into a new color. The main reason was that I found the perfect draperies at Z-Gallery and while the color is a great match for the vase, it was a strange icy-blue color that was so hard to match in paint.

So, I have the paint, and I have the drapes, so what's the problem?? My closet has to have all of the shelving changed because my needs for it have changed. That means painting the inside of the closet which hasn't been painted in the 35 years I have lived in the house. I also want to change the wood molding for something more ornate and formal looking. I already have added a crown molding to the room which I was surprised really changed the look of the room. I also have to change the drapes I bought which are pocket drapes into roman shades and pleated valances. I was smart and bought an extra panel to make into a bedspread, so there is a good deal of sewing involved in getting this all done.

Right now, I am at the point of starting to paint the closet. I have taken out all of my possessions and clothing and they are lying in the spare room. The current shelving is down, but the holes are in need of patching before I can paint. All of the new shelving has been cut to measure and once the closet walls are painted, they can go in.

In the meantime, I have started these new planting beds out back, and have been trying to cultivate cuttings for our meeting. HOW DO YOU PEOPLE DO IT??? I can't manage to think with all that I have going on, and yet, I have friends who are on the go, redoing patios, redecorating, working full-time, and still have the most gorgeous gardens. I am at a loss! I generally work well under pressure, so I guess that is why I am faltering. I have no pressure to get this done. I am progressing at my own speed, which is a snail's pace for most people. So I have decided to put myself under some pressure. I want to commit to you that I will post to the blog every 3 days. That should be often enough to keep you interested, but also give enough time for things to progress. That will give me a day to work in the garden and a day to work on the room so everything will get done. It will also give me time to sew. We shall see!

new planting beds

2009-05-05T12:32:00.001-07:00

I have divided the middle of the back yard into three sections - left, right and water feature. As you know I have been wanting to add a water feature to my garden for a long time. I found a fibreglass ball at one of the Macy Prop sales a few years ago and knew that it would be perfect for a fountain. I also got a small architectural piece for a base, and a round pond piece to build it in, which I have to bury into the ground. I will pick up a bubbling pump in a week or so and finally put it together - for about $20.00 plus the pump. I hope it will look as nice in the flesh as it has in my head.

The left side was where I put all of the current potted plants I have. I situated them where I wanted to put them, and left them alone for a week to become acclimated to the sun and heat. They have been on my patio for ages, and were quite used to the filtered light from under the screens. Before I planted anything I want to make sure that they will like where they are. Also, I figured it would take me a week to get everything together before I planted - the irrigation system connected to the main line, etc.

I went with Brian to Home Depot and got the necessary hose and sprinkler heads to add onto the drip system, spending about $30.00. I already have the black hose that runs all around the house and fence, so I knew it would be a simple matter to tie in with a tee connector and go from there. I divided the 100 foot hose in half, and connected to a tee in the center of the yard. I looped each back upon itself forming two u-shaped lines emmanating from the center. These will become my planting beds. I placed a focal point in each, the birdbath in one, and the bird feeder in the other. I put the big plumeria cuttings on either side of them, future perches for the birds, maybe.

At the furthest end of each bed I plan on planting shell gingers because they clump into round clusters, much like a large bush would. I have two types currently, so they should be similar enough to blend, but different enough to keep from being totally symmetrical. At the closest ends of the beds I plan to put brugmansia. Since the center of the two will be a water fountain, I wanted to have a little bit of shade, and I like that the trumpets don't get too big to monopolize the yard. I got a nice hybrid (a pink and apricot cross) at the last meeting which is doing well, and I will look for a yellow for the other side.

I wanted to have a tallish plant near the shell gingers, so I decided on a gardenia for one side and a mock orange jasmine for the other. They are each about 40" tall, so they should be big enough to stand out from the rest and make a nice balance to the trumpets which will get about twice as tall. On the left side I planted the clerodendron from Brad and Gary, a variegated chiflera I got at Dani and Deb's meeting, and a painted ti - I think. I got it from Annie and Mitch - Hey Plantman - from the Saturday Morning Market.

I plan on putting all of the rhyzomes I got at Green Thumb in the center rows, once I have added more irrigation lines to the beds. Then I will put newspaper down around all of the non-spreading plants and mulch.

Brian and I went down to Scott and George's home the other night. They invited us down to pick up some plumeria cuttings they got from the land fill. I was expecting a few 2 foot cuttings but what we got were veritable trees! I don't know what color they will be, but that is part of the fun of getting plumeria cuttings. We had a very nice visit with them both, and saw their lovely Florida bungalow home in Old Southeast. It was a good time to get to know other club members better.

If you have any suggestions for me, or want to help my little garden grow, please drop me a line!!

Bryan

New Planting beds

2009-04-28T16:57:00.000-07:00

I have finally decided, after spending all afternoon in the yard, what my new planting bed will look like.

As I have said before, my current beds are 3 feet wide and all around the outskirts of the yard, as well as up close to the house. They are full of hibiscus bushes, plumerias, gingers, heliconias and passifloras. I wanted the new bed to contain some of the same elements, but also introduce new shrubby bushes that I have acquired at the raffles. Still, I don't want them to overpower the back.

Since the back yard isn't all that huge - 75 feet wide by 20 feet deep, anything extra I put in will monopolize the space. I have decided to put in a new bed that will be centered in the back, about 6 feet wide, and running about 50 feet long, divided in the middle for a fountain.

I started by thinning out the newly-blooming shell ginger, planting that along the left hand edge of the new bed, as though continuing the walkway from the back gate. I planted ten rhyzomes of the ginger into a small cluster.

Next I placed the garden ornaments that will have to stay - the bird bath, the birdfeeder, a concrete japanese lantern, garden stools. They are in small groupings -- the stools around the fountain, the bird bath in the center of one half of the bed and the feeder on the other.

Then I started spacing out all of the potted plants that I have been nurturing for the past few months from the raffles -- a miniature variegated chiflera, clerodendron, painted ti, a bright orange hibiscus and a deep yellow hibiscus, gardenia, and a hybrid brugmansia (pink/apricot cross). These plants make up one half of the planting bed, and the ginger rhyzomes I got over the weekend will fill in the center spaces allowing them plenty of room to spread.

I still have to fill in the other half, which will have more of the rhyzomes, a mock-orange jasmine, the dwarf shell ginger (thinned from my other bush), and I am looking for a yellow brugmansia since I don't have one yet. Either that, or I will transplant my white one there. I will try to make the two halves mirror images of each other, if only in size of plants. I will get a couple of hybrid hybiscus, a cherry red ti, and I am open to suggestion for anything else. I still have lots of plumeria cuttings that will be filling in.

Please let me know if I am wrong in my planning. I am unsure if all of these are sun tolerant. My yard will be mostly full sun, and I am pretty sure everything is okay with that. I will be extending the drip system through this area in the next week, so it will be low care once I put in the mulch. I'll be taking photos of the progress.

I am very optimistic that I can pull all of this off. The next project will be the front of the house. I want to get in there with a chain saw and remove all of the old shrubs - ixoras, portocarpus, sea grape, aloevera - all with 40 years growth. They are tired and I am tired of looking at them. I want the front to be much more tropical looking. And I want to finally plant the small half moon in the center of my circular driveway. I didn't think I would ever get that nasty city mulch out of the driveway, so I know I can get the front relandscaped too! Bryan

Green Thumb Festival

2009-04-25T15:19:00.000-07:00

Today was a mad-house! I made my way to Walter Fuller Park for the St. Petersburg Green Thumb Festival. The line for parking on the park grounds was horrendous! I arrived at the location at 8:45am, and waited in line for the cars to enter the parking area for more than 35 minutes, moving up one car at a time. When I finally got in, it was just a short walk to the event, which is nice - sure beats Winter Pride!

I was looking for friends among the crowds of people there. I had my site plan for the vendors, and knew where certain vendors set up year after year. I met up with Brian right away, and we stopped at most of the booths, asking questions about plants that we already have - why doesn't my hybrid hibiscus produce more than just 3 flowers a year? - what's the surest way to get plumeria cuttings to take root? - what's the best fertilzer for tropicals? Of course Brian was on the lookout for future guest speakers for the club meetings - always networking!

We ran into Bill Ryland who introduced us to cracker roses, and Richard Fried was shopping around as well. Then we walked over to the crafts area and visited with George and Scott - the Ren Men - and their shop "The Spathose". How clever they are with their blending of natural items and machine parts into garden art.

I ended up with a bunch of rhizomes and some fertilizer. When I got home I took a quick overlook of my garden, imagining all of the items I saw in it. I will be going back tomorrow afternoon to see what's left and make some final purchases. I saw many things I want, but am more careful to be selective. I will probably end up with some plumeria cuttings, to go with all of the gingers. I then took a nap in the air conditioning!

shell gingers

2009-04-21T15:17:00.000-07:00

So, I often buy rhisomes when I see them for sale cheaply. There is a guy who sells gingers and other rhisomes at the plant sales for only $1.00 or 2.00 depending on the kind. Island Stylin Nursery is the name of the company, and he does a whale of a business, 1 or 2 dollars at a time. He also has lots of potted plants of the same types for sale for the lowest prices. Do I sound like a satisfied customer? I have been buying from him for years, at USF and at GreenThumb. I never know what I am buying - by choice - so it is a surprise when the plants grow and flower.

Why am I mentioning this now? Well, I was very surprised to see one of my ginger clusters finally starting to bloom after a 3 year wait! It's a shell ginger, which is no surprise as the leaves give that away, but I was beginning to think it was a non-flowering variety. What a nice surprise to smell this sweet frangrance coming from the cluster that normally smells like cardamon. I wouldn't have been upset if it didn't flower since the cluster is very well shaped and stays neat, and of course has that very herbal smell when ruffled through. The flowers are a very pleasant addition. This is my second shell ginger and I now know that it is alpinia zerumbet. Knowing what type of ginger this is is quite an advantage. I will have to move it since they can grow into a very big clump which will need to be thinned out often if I keep it as is.

My other shell ginger is a dwarf shell. It also started as a rhisome from Island Stylin, and was a fast grower and bloomer, but without the herbal and sweet smell from the plant. It is very pretty to look at as foliage, and the flowers clusters are very attractive. I am anxious to see what else they have to offer this year so I can enlarge my knowledge of these wonderful gingers.

Monthly Meeting

2009-04-20T11:12:00.001-07:00

We met yesterday at Barry and Barry's home in Tampa. What a nice day for a meeting, getting together with old friends and meeting new ones. The Barry's are still working on their home, but it was very nice with lots of old world charm. The artwork on the walls really sets the tone for the house, and "the creation of adam", a personal favorite, was a welcome surprise coming in the front door!

The food was terrific as we have come to expect, although this month we had the luxury of a huge tray of sushi - hand made by a pair of our newest members. Ronald and Shiga really outdid everyone by providing such a splendid variety of food. I had never been courageous enough to sample sushi before, but I did try it and was pleasantly surprised! I don't know what I ate, but wouldn't hesitate to try it again!! It was delicious! Thank-you both, for the hard work and great addition to our potluck!

I got two plants in the raffle - a hybrid brugmansia and an unnamed heliconia. The brugmansia says it is a cross between pink and apricot varieties, so the flower should be interesting. I am anxious to have all of my trumpets bloom this year as they are coming back nicely after the freeze. The heliconia looks like it is a small variety, probably a psittacorum like Andromeda or Lady Di. Brian has a lot of different heliconias, so it could be something totally different from what I am thinking it is. Again, I'll have to wait and see.

I have finally decided to put in a new planting bed. I was unsure of what to do with the extra plants that I still have in pots on the patio, but I realized that they do need to be put in the ground. Rather than trying to squeeze them into the existing beds, I am going to create a new bed in the center of the yard, and incorporate the bird feeder and bath into it. My purchases at Green Thumb will solidify the design. So many plants shouldn't be planted in the middle of the yard because of wind damage and the like, but I think if I go for 3 foot tall plants I should be okay. The brugmansia should be okay on its own, and if it is a problem, I can always put up a false wall or screen to protect it. Again, a lot will depend on what I find at Green Thumb!

So much for now...Bryan

A new leaf

2009-04-17T15:43:00.001-07:00

When you see me next, please congratulate me. For the first time in over a year, my driveway is clear of mulch! I did it! I moved all the mulch - all 22 loads of it - to my planting beds that have been growing weedy. It was such a wonderful day today, slightly overcast, cool breezes, not all that humid, that I needed to do something. My choices were either to paint my bedroom or clear the mulch. I figured the mulch was the correct option with the water shortage since it will help keep the ground moist and my plants healthy. Besides, my mother's friend Pat came to visit and said she never stops when she passes the house because of the lack of parking space. That's pretty bad since we have only one car and have a three car circular drive. Well, it'd done now, and no more excuses!!

The rain this week was very welcome. I have a 55 gallon rainbarrel on the patio, right under the gutter and have been using the water from it to water all my potted plants. It was down to less than a third full before the rain, and it was soon overflowing! The weather reports say that we got only about an inch of water, but the barrel collected all of the water from the back end of the house. It gives me another resource for watering on those restricted days.

I was out digging in the garden this week to get something to bring to the meeting this Sunday. I decided on gingers since they have become prolific in the past two weeks. I will have different ones to choose from, so if you are looking for gingers, bring something good to the raffle! So far, I have potted up some white butterfly ginger (hedychium coronarium), yellow butterfly ginger (hedychium flavium), and some shell ginger - okay I don't know the latin name for this variety.

What's blooming this week? My confederate jasmine is fully engulfed in its star shaped flowers, and the night-blooming jasmine is ready to burst in another night or so. I also see lots of buds on the big trumpet, so photos will be coming in the next week or so to share all these gifts of nature. - Bryan

USF Botanical Gardens Sale

2009-04-11T14:17:00.000-07:00

This is the weekend of the USF sale. I usually go, but have decided to fore go the sale in favor of the GreenThumb Festival in 2 weeks. I hope you all got to go and found treasures for your gardens. Let me know if you found something special!

I am digging up a lot of my hedychium this weekend to prepare for the Rakes and Blades meeting next week. I have lots of shoots coming up, so while they aren't blooming yet, they will be in a matter of a few weeks.

I was out there today to check on the drip system and found lots of new things popping up. I have a Thai Beauty caladium that just popped through the mulch with its first leaf, which I almost forgot I had. It is on the pink side of the house. I say that because I have mostly pink flowers on that side of the house. There's the hot pink hibiscus, the morning glory tree, a couple of plumeria, a fuchsia bougainvillea, an apricot brugmansia, and the red schizopetalus hibiscus. Most of these are very leafy, so there is always a fairly lush look about that side. Oh, and there is also my white bird and some heliconia that has yet to bloom - very tropical looking!

I have a few plants that I won recently that are still in pots waiting for a permanent home. I was hoping to find places today that would welcome the clerodendron and the variegated chiflera, but I haven't found any spot screaming out to me. I have decided to wait until I get a few more and will put in a new bed in the middle of the yard, around the birdbath and bird feeder. I am also trying to find places for water features. I have an idea for a small fountain, based on a 18" fiberglass ball, that I want to put together. I also got three big fish from Pier 1 that are screaming to be made into a fountain. I guess I need to get a big base pond somewhere and go from there. I want to have a fountain that you can sit and watch for a few minutes of rest and solitude in the garden, maybe with a couple of small benches. I picked up a pair of bronze ceramic seats at Target a few months back that were on 75% clearance. They weren't exactly what I was looking for, but the price was right! I want to incorporate them into the scene.

I'm back! Didja miss me?

2009-04-08T15:05:00.001-07:00

So I took a week off for no other reason than I was kind of burned out. I will try to keep going on this blog since I have been seeing so many more hits on it. I guess I have a f0llowing!

I was outside checking up on my plants all week. The rain this week has sure been helpful. I see so much more growth on things that seemed to be hibernating. My hawaiian ginger has sent up a few new shoots, so I am anxious to see how it will bloom later this summer. Likewise, Elizabeth and Fluvium have both been sending up new stalks. I am very familiar on those flowers, so in late summer/early fall I will start to see the raspberry and yellow blooms that fill my screenroom with sweet-smelling goodness. And my white butterflies are more prolific this year than they have ever been. I intend to get more gingers at Greenthumb in a few weeks, so I have been saving my pennies.

The small heliconias have been starting to sprout, a little later than usual, but welcome just the same. I have andromeda, guadeloupe and lady di varieties, which are all colorful parrot-style heliconia. I also am happy to report that most of the plumeria have started to foliate. Hopefully all will bloom this year as they become established. Of the ill-fated cuttings I got on Ebay, one is sending off a flower stalk, while 3 others have started to show growth. I have been using mega-grow on them to help spur them on.

I have some questions to ask anyone out there about a few of my other plants. First, I planted a small brugmansia in the back end of my yard, in the semi shade of the bitter tangerine tree. It has almost tripled its size since I planted it last month, and the leaves are growing so big, but I have noticed something eating the leaves! I was told that brugmansia have no natural pests, and I have never noted any leaf damage on my large plant, but this one has had some kind of a leaf miner going to town on it. Maybe because it is still so close to the ground. Any ideas on what could be doing the damage? Better still, how do I
get rid of something I haven't seen??

Now on to something I have seen. I have some beautiful passiflora that Jim Nevers shared with me. I am really enamored of the variety of the flowers, with their SPUTNIK looking filiments and curled back petals. I have had about 8 different varieties, primarily the purple passionfruit and the yellow passionfruit. I did loose most of them to nematoads that killed them before they had a chance to take hold in the yard. Sadly, I had to remove the purple one since it was choking off some of the nearby plants, as clinging vines are apt to do. I will miss the hundreds of flowers that it produced during its season. The yellow one just brought it to mind since it started blooming this week. The softly scented flowers are so welcome, yet I am going to be more watchful to ensure that it doesn't get too invasive on my other plants. It should be easier since all of my passion vines are on the back fence now, not on the side, so I can see them from the kitchen table.

The exotic passifloras - the tetraploids - have yet to bloom this year. Last year was my first with them and they were pretty stingy with the flowers. I couldn't get either of them to fruit. Jim has shown me how to manually pollenate them, but I have been nearly unsuccessful. I had one fruit start, only to be stolen by squirrels! Still, they are growing and have several buds started. Blue-eyed susan and the no-name hibrid are side by side inbetween the yellow passionvine and the confederate jasmine vine, so it will be a very colorful fence once everything starts blooming.

Today I noticed a big caterpillar on one of the passiflora leaves - on one of the hybrids! I know that these plants are rife with possible pests, and caterpillars are very common on them. I haven't seen any damage yet, but it will probably start showing up now that I have spotted a predator. I hate to kill any caterpillars - it's like crushing a butterfly. Does anyone know what kind of butterfly this will become? I am interested in seeing what is being attracted to my meager garden.

Okay, enough fun for now. I have to work on getting Brad's newsletter converted for the website. More later - Bryan

New photos

2009-03-30T14:06:00.000-07:00

So here are some of the promised photos from my yard. First, here is an updated photo of my pineapple. You can see the purple flowers coming out of the scaly pockets along the body of the fruit. It now has a crown starting at the top, so it looks like a pineapple, if not in shape. It still looks like more of a bromeliad to me, but I am continuing to be surprised!

Second, here is a photo of the first of my hedychium elizabeth starting to sprout! I mentioned last week that I didn't know if it would come back after the frost, but I see today that there is a shoot coming up. Yeah!!!! I was concerned that it was gone forever. This is that butterfly ginger I talked about not being patient in purchasing - it is my extravagance!

And finally, I am very pleased to introduce everyone to the newest member of my garden. This is the gift iris that was sent to me from Hawaii. I guess it isn't all that special, a pseudocorus rather than an actual iris. The internet tells me it is a yellow flag iris, a common and invasive yellow spotted water iris. I am pleased with it since it says it will clump and is very hearty as long as it gets water. I am looking forward to seeing it spread, and I will try to contain it if it gets too much for my planting bed.

buying new plants

2009-03-29T16:48:00.000-07:00

This upcoming month is full of plant shows and sales. There's the USF Botanical Gardens Spring Sale, St. Petersburg's Green Thumb Festival, and many smaller shows and sales going on in the area. This is the time I generally buy new stuff for my yard. In my few short years of gardening, I have learned a great deal about what, where and how to buy new things for my garden.

1. Be wary of buying online!
Last October I purchased several plants from Ebay. I got some ginger and heliconia rhisomes from Hawaii and Georgia, which I paid very little for, and they are doing great. I bought 35 plumeria cuttings from Hawaii and almost all of them have shrivelled up and rotted. Unfortunately I paid a high price for a lot of cuttings under the mistaken impression that it was a small price for each cutting. You would think that of 35 plants, one or two would take off. Well, I am still waiting for some sign of growth, but nothing so far of the 10 or so cuttings that haven't deteriorated.
That's not to say that all ebay nurserymen are bad, not by a long shot! I have friends who put out wonderfully healthy plants and have a proven track record for the plants they supply. Some of them give extras. One of the ginger providers gave a small cutting of an iris as a free bonus, and it is just about to bloom in my garden. I'll post a photo when the flower is open. I can see already it is going to be a yellow flower.

2. Be knowledgeable before buying anything!
I attended a plant show a few years ago when I thought I needed plumerias to make my garden smell wonderful and to enhance the overall color of the garden. I found a seller who had cuttings available for sale as well as rooted plants - well, I thought they were rooted since they were in pots. I was swayed by the fact that they were in pots, so I paid a fairly high price per plant to get established plants. When I got them home to transplant into the garden, I found that they were not rooted plants, but just fresh cuttings stuck in pots. The price was high, so I was fooled into thinking I was getting more than I got.

3. Comparison shop - don't rush into anything!
If you are at a plant show, there is bound to be several sellers selling the same things. Compare prices/plants - don't buy the first one you see! I was interested in the butterfly gingers available at USF for one sale. I bought a few potted plants, for a reasonable price compared to others I found, but I splurged on a small plant of a variety I hadn't seen before. I had never seen a pink butterfly ginger before and knew that I had to have it. I paid 25.00 for a small plant at that show. Two weeks later, one of the sellers at Green Thumb had the rhysomes available for only 3.00! I quickly learned to be patient!

Have I learned anything from my purchases?
Well, I am very hesitant to purchase plants/cuttings on line, unless they have lots of positive feedback, and have been in business for a few years, and would much rather purchase a rooted plant than a cutting. I much prefer to purchase things I can see and touch.
I now have a mental picture of each of my planting beds and know what will or won't work in them. This way I am not easily swayed by some pretty items and will hold out for what I want. I also have developed some good resources from my experiences. I have preferred sellers who I don't hesitate to buy from. Likewise, I have some sellers I will not go near - burn me once!!

I am putting aside some money now for Green Thumb. I hope to make some sensible purchases there for a north-facing planting bed that is mostly shade, against the house in an area I don't tend to very much - (should be drought tolerant)! I'll let you know how I make out next month!

2009-03-26T14:16:00.000-07:00

I guess it really is true, that you learn something new everyday. I never gave pineapples much thought, they were something to put on ham, something that comes in a can, or something fresh that you splurge on for picnics. My cousin Judie brought over a pineapple cap that she had rooted, thinking I would like to grow a pineapple. This was about 2 Springs ago. I potted it in a large pot and put it in the center of the backyard, in the sun (don't pineapples grow in Sunny Hawaii?). I watered it occasionally, and it grew into what looked like a nice big agave, with about 3 foot long stalks. Wasn't I surprised to see the start of a red dome growing out of the center, about 2 weeks ago. So, now I have what looks like a bromeliad that is starting to crest.

Well, like I said, I never knew how pineapples form; I never gave the actual plant much thought. I know that the pineapple is a bulbous fruit, with scales on it. Today it looks like the plant is separating, allowing the fruit to branch off above the plant. I could see that the scales were becoming more pronounced, and now, I discovered that those scales are each home to a flower. I was watering and found all these lovely purple flowers coming out of the pineapple.

I never knew it happened like that!

It's raining, but not raining men!

2009-03-23T15:32:00.001-07:00

I woke up today to find it sprinkling rain. It wasn't a downpour, but enough to keep the patio wet and some noticible drops in the pool. It figures, doesn't it? I just get the irrigation working and it rains so I don't need it! I'm not complaining, mind you. It's good for the plants and saves $$$ on the water bill.

Water, water everywhere, and not a drop for my lawn!

2009-03-21T16:41:00.000-07:00

Jim Nevers was here yesterday to check out my yard and to see what passifloras I need to keep my own growing and fruiting. He saw just how bad we are at housekeeping - thank-you mom, for putting all the blame on me! He also saw just how poor I am at weeding and watering! He pointed out that many of my plants were too dry for the heat, and I needed to get busy watering to prevent a major killing.

I didn't know if I would be able to water due to our current water conditions, so I thought I had better investigate. I made the mistake of going to the StPete.org website to see what our water restrictions are in this water shortage. I really didn't want to know! After spending a half hour trying to decipher the most confusing set of rules, I have decided to go with what I think they are trying to enforce. Since I have a drip system, I am able to water when necessary, but never during daylight hours. I don't have a timer on my system, so I have to get up early to turn it on and turn it off. Today was not that day! I set the clock, but slept through it. It was just as well since I had half-heartedly planned to check the system since I haven't worked it for a while.

I finally got out there this afternoon, and I turned on my faucet to start the water flowing. Suddenly the ground was peeing up into the air in several locations. With vicegrips in hand, and pockets full of sprinkler heads, I set out to pull out all of the poorly connected tubing and replace with sprinker heads. It only took me about 30 minutes, but I ended up soaked and out of breath, but the system is working without problem. Again, this whole problem arose from the infamous mulching. I know that this drip system can be partially underground, so I just put all the mulch on top of the tubing. Little did I know that the weight of the mulch would pull some of the connectors out, and since everything was covered with mulch, I couldn't see where the problems were - I just knew that water wasn't getting where it was supposed to.

So tonight I am relaxing, with water flowing. The irrigation started 25 minutes ago, and I will turn it off in about 30 minutes. If all goes well, I will start irrigating every 3 or 4 days, to keep my plants from drooping. Now I have to plant the rest of the potted items in my garden so they can get the advantage of the fixed irrigation system! I thought gardening was supposed to relax you - I keep giving myself more work!!!

What's missing - what's new

2009-03-18T21:05:00.000-07:00

I am heady with all of the scents coming from my garden this evening! The freesias are in bloom, as are the winter jasmine, which are bursting with perfume. When I tell people I have freesias, they tend to argue with me saying freesias don't grow down here. I don't know about that, since I can't get most things I want to grow to grow. I can't get gladiolas, callas, azaleas, or gardenias to grow for me. I can get freesias, however.

I sent to Dutch Bulbs for a set of freesia bulbs and they have been coming back for three years now. They seem to bloom in cycles, depending on color. Yellows come in first, then the red with yellow centers and now the white. They all smell the same, though, but the white has the most powerful smell. So now all of the freesias are competing with the jasmine that are blooming. Winter jasmine on the back fence, and orange jasmine by the pool.

I have finally gotten around to planting the things I have acquired in the past 3 weeks. I have about 10 different plants to get into the ground. I started by planting the hibisci, since they have been in the place I want them to be for the past two weeks. I got three of them in the ground, and have one more to go tomorrow. I will also get the hollyhocks in tomorrow. I am hesitant about deciding on a final spot for them because I don't know if they will get the right light where I want them. I know I must do something because I am constantly picking them up after they fall over.

I am beginning to think that I have lost the majority of my heliconias in the freeze. My gingers are coming up here and there, although still no sign from my favorite Elizabeth - but there is no growth where the orange gyros and sharonii usually come up. Likewise, the Lady Di, Andromeda, and Guadeloupe are all still missing! Hopefully they are just late, but I don't know. These are all small varieties of heliconias, so even though the iris binoche is growing strong - it is a very large-growing species - the same can't be said for the smaller ones. With the GreenThumb festival coming up next month, I should be able to get all of the plants I want for a decent price, once I determine what I really need to replace.

More to come - Bryan

Meeting Day

2009-03-15T15:10:00.001-07:00

Today was meeting day, the monthly garden club meeting. As usual, I was totally organized, and ready to go out the door with everything pre arranged - Right! So I did pot up the tropicannas, and they were very healthy looking in their pots. I even put them in a box to make them easier to transport. I had decided on the taco salad for the pot luck, but it was 10 am and I still didn't have half of the ingredients. I didn't have my club shirt clean, and my camera wasn't charged up for the meeting. For some strange reason, I seem to do better getting to the summer meetings in the evening than I do for the spring meetings at 1pm. Well, miraculously it all came together and I got to the meeting on time with everything I was supposed to.

Deb and Dani welcomed us into their house, which was lovely with incense burning. The garden was well established and well-tended. The pool was very inviting, though no one jumped in. I don't want to talk about the meeting very much since that is what our newsletter is for, and Brad does such a great job with that. I will just say that there was a very nice turn out, with much food, lots of plants, and great conversation. Thanks Austin for the wonderful discussion on your passion - coleus. I didn't take any, even though there were plenty of them to choose from, because I tend to kill them every time.

In the raffle today I won two plants, a clerodendrom and what looks like a variegated chiflera. I know what the chiflera is like, as my neighbor has a huge one in the front yard, but I don't know much about the clerodendrom. It should be a welcome addition to the yard. Brad says it has white flowers that have a sweet fragrance. That is always welcome. I will need to decide were to plant it, though since most of the back yard is occupied. I have been having a hard time choosing plants for one of my planting beds, so maybe they will do well there. I try to let the potted plant sit in its future home for a couple of weeks before planting to make sure it is the right spot for them. This method has worked well for me so far.

In upcoming blog items I will try to tell you about each of my beds since there is so much going on with them, and since most have been plants won in the monthly raffles. You already know how ocd I am, so it is a struggle to keep the beds harmonious with each other. I don't know if I am succeeding, but it is fun trying. Bryan

New Growth

2009-03-10T16:03:00.000-07:00

I am so happy to see all of the new growth in the yard. I have already mentioned the winter jasmine, which I have a photo of now. I can't wait for all of the buds to open since they are so prolific! Now I can report that my orange jasmine is also full of buds. I will have the sweetest smelling yard within the week.

I went through the entire yard spotting new growth everywhere - the gingers are sending up shoots, the cannas, heliconias - everything is popping up and through. I was really worried about the plumeria because I cut it back this past fall for the very first time, and I didn't know if I did it correctly, if I had damaged it, or if it would continue to grow. I was so happy to see all of these sprouts coming out. They gave me immediate relief from worry about the rest of my plumerias. I am looking for space to plant all of the plumeria cuttings I have. I planted them in October, but they quickly started to fail, so I dug them up and put them away in the dark for the winter. Now that I see the growth on my established plants, I can see that it is time for the cuttings to go into the ground.

This is my newest addition to the yard. I won a pink brugmansia in the raffle at one of the last meetings. I planted it and it is nearly double in size already. I was hoping to get a yellow trumpet to go with the pink, white and apricot ones I have already, but I am very happy with a pink one. As soon as the white and apricot get big enough, I will be taking cuttings to give back to the club. I still have a few potted plants that need to go into the ground, and I will be planting everything by the weekend. The weather has been great, 80 degrees today, so I am sure I can start things off in the warm soil.

I already have dug up a bunch of pots full of cannas for this week's meeting. I chose the tropicanna praetoria to share. They are the varigated leafed variety with bright orange flowers. I have 2 varieties of tropicannas, although I don't know the name of the other variety. It looks the same, with varigated leaves, but it is a dwarf version and it has yellow flowers. I'm sure someone will be happy to get them. More to come - Bryan

surprise Jasmine

2009-03-08T16:39:00.000-07:00

Last night I was surprised to see the first blooms on my Winter jasmine.

This jasmine plant was a gift from John Starnes in Tampa who was a member of the garden club and who writes a lot of the gardening articles that appear in the St. Pete Times. He knew I was interested in jasmines and thoughtfully gave me a cutting of his winter jasmine (I guess this is the same as Spanish jasmine). Well, last night I caught a whiff of the most buttery sweet fragrance and followed it out to the back fence and my jasmine.

I mentioned a few days ago that my plant was full of buds. Actually, I am very surprised by the whole plant. I got the rooted cutting and promptly planted it behind one of my hibiscus plants, so it could climb the fence. This was 2 years ago! I promptly forgot about it since it was getting watered by the irrigation drippers. I was startled the other day when I was out pruning and discovered that it had been growing behind and up the fence and now reached well over the top of its 6 foot height. Of course it isn't readily visible as the vine and leaves are rather lacy, but there it is, and now it is blooming. I will include photos in a couple of days since 1 small flower isn't very photo worthy.

I hate our fence. It separates us from the Florida Power easement behind and our rear neighbor. There have been weed trees growing in the easement and Florida Power says it is our responsibility to maintain clear access. When we bought the house 35 years ago, the fence was up, completely locking us out of the easement. Unfortunately it didn't lock out the trees, or the damage they caused the fence growing through the slats. It is a chain link fence with venetian blind slats woven through. The cuban laurel and florida holly trees did a job on the slats when they grew through the fence, leaving open and bent areas. I am grateful for the passifloras and jasmine that are growing on it, that keep it hidden from view.

My other jasmine plants are all thriving, except for the night-bloomer. It has an ugly green worm that is eating all of the foliage. I hate to spray it because I don't want to kill off any butterflies, but they are really doing a terrible lot of distruction to that plant. Still, the plant is growing, so I can't complain too much.

I found lots of new growth in the yard, so I hope this will be a bountiful summer and fall with all the flowers. I'll keep you posted! Bryan

City Mulch

2009-03-06T20:53:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I can now tell you about the mulch fiasco! At one of our garden club meetings we had a discussion about mulches, particularly those available from Pinellas County. There were 4 different grades of mulch, some free and others not. I, of course, went for a free load of mulch from the city. I got 6 or 9 cubic yards of mulch delivered last February. I didn't start spreading it out right away and since it was only taking up part of my circular driveway, I didn't feel any rush. Well, in April I had a car accident and broke my wrist. That delayed the mulch spreading for a few more months. Today, a year later, there is still a pile of mulch in the driveway! That is not because of my lack of ambition, although there are those who will say so. It is because of the mulch.

I started spreading the mulch in my planting beds, starting in the areas that had never been mulched. I never had a weed problem, per se, but I was certain that I would be able to pull up any of the weeds that poked through the mulch. What I didn't expect is that the mulch would create its own mass of weeds! My only weeds up to the point that I mulched were those daisy growing weeds with the stickers that you can't get off the bottom of your pants or socks. I always managed to keep those under control since the dog usually ended up wearing all the stickers whenever he came in from outdoors. After putting down the mulch, I started getting this long ropy vine with yellow flowers. They took over! These weeds were choking off all of my gingers, and they are, I have found, totally impossible to get rid of! They have killed off my dwarf and hybrid cannas.

Of course I shouldn't complain - it's my own fault for being cheap and not using my usual cypress bark mulch. This stuff is already deteriorating, and for the most part is already gone. I guess it will be good for the soil, adding all of the organic material to the sand, but I truly wish I hadn't gone for the free mulch!

My Garden

2009-03-05T14:49:00.000-08:00

Okay. So I am a bit OCD, but not in an unhealthy way. I tend to want to get all varieties of something if I like the thing. For instance - I like butterfly ginger (hedychium), so I have all of the varieties I have found in this area and am now sending to Hawaii to get more exotic varieties. I have Coronarium, Flavum, Elizabeth, Kahili Ann, and now I have gardnerianum, so I have gingers in white, yellow, mauve pink, pale peach and now orange.

Likewise, I have the jasmine varieties - winter or spanish jasmine, night-blooming jasmine, confederate or star jasmine and mock orange jasmine. I know there are a few more varieties out there, but I haven't broken down to get them - yet!!

Now I am working on Hibiscus. I already have dwarf hot pink, single pink, double peach and double red, schyzopetalus, a powderpuff red hibiscus and I just got double pink, double white, double yellow (debbie morris?), a darker version of double yellow, and single nairobi orange. I think I am working on constructing a multicolor hedge across the back fence.

My friends and family are very surprised to see my garden since I was never one to do any gardening at all. Our yard was totally devoid of plants other than a terrible tangerine tree and some suriname cherries. Well, I joined a garden club as an outlet to meet people and make new friends. Our garden club has monthly meetings in member gardens, with potlucks and plant raffles. I was always bringing home plants that I had won and was filling up my patio with all of them. I finally broke down and started planting, so I wouldn't kill everything off. I started with a pink brugmansia in the corner of the yard and moved out from there. The hibiscus went along the back fence, and the gingers went against the screen porch. Things have progressed to the point that I now have a 3 foot wide plant bed that runs fully aroung the back of the house and another fully around the plot line, against the fence. That lead to putting in a drip irrigation system, and getting a truckload of mulch from the city (big mistake)! I will tell you all about that fiasco very soon.

My newest obsession is plumeria! I currently have 10 different color plumerias growing around the house, and I sent to Hawaii to get 35 more cuttings - thank heaven for Ebay!! I can't wait for it to get warm enough to plant them. I just took the first cuttings of my original plants and have been very anxious to see if they would sprout again. I am so happy to see the first leaves appearing on those bare sticks.

Well, I am pleased to say that in 4 years of my new found hobby, only a handful of plants have abandonned me, much less than I expected that first year. Oh well - enough for now. I have so much more I can talk about - passiflora, shell gingers, cannas, - you'd think I have acreage instead of a small back yard! More later - Bryan

Welcome to our blog

2009-03-04T19:02:00.000-08:00

This is the first blog I have ever attempted, and am only doing so for our garden club. Hopefully we can get a person from the club who is interested and competent enough to maintain this effectively. For starters, we are a garden club in St. Petersburg, Florida. We have been in existance for more than 4 years, and have a membership of 80 or so. Our website - yes, we have a website - is http://www.rakesandbladesfl.com/. I am the webmaster, so I am already kept busy with the club goings-on.

This past weekend I went to a great plant sale at a local seller's home. I got so many tropical plants - hibisci and hollyhocks - that my yard is sure to be full of color most of the year! Mitch Armstrong and Annie Sprague run one of the booths at the local Saturday Morning Market in downtown St. Petersburg, and they have a great selection of plants at very reasonable prices. I spent more than I planned, but I got much more than I expected! Check out their blog - heyplantman.

I am not a gardener by any stretch of the imagination. I have only resorted to gardening to clear up my patio of all the plants I have won in our club raffles. Since I like flowering plants that require minimal care, I have many hibiscus plants, brugmansia, jasmine, butterfly gingers and heliconias. Since we just had a freeze this past month, I was hopeful that I would survive without having to have a funeral for any of my plants and I think I have succeeded. Lots of things have died back or lost some leaves, but nothing has gone bye-bye! Yippee!!!

Well, this ends our first posting, and I will keep my fingers crossed that I can find someone to take over this for the club. If not, you will be hearing from me soon - Bryan