Sunday, April 28, 2013

It's an addiction

Yesterday I visited my local Home Depot; I was looking for a sprinkler head to replace a broken one.  I come home with fifty dollars’ worth of plants (I need therapy)

I replace a dying pinwheel plant with a new hibiscus. 

I couldn’t help myself with this white Mexican petunia, I have pink and purple but not white.

 
How could I resist this neat begonia, on sale for $6.99?

 
More flowers blooming in the garden this week.
The heliconias are putting on a show.
 
Red Hibiscus

Cactus flowers


Cactus flowers

The end of the vegetable season, these are the last of my carrots.    

Sunday, April 14, 2013

Hibiscus queen of the tropics

This yellow hibiscus is my latest addition to my collection of hibiscus plants in containers.   Hibiscus plants have been part of my garden since the beginning, is impossible to garden in the tropics and not have one of this beautiful plants.  Over the years I moved my hibiscus from planted on the ground to containers, I find they do best and last longer.
 
I found this mushroom looking thing in one of my garden beds, hard as a rock.

Blooming this week, my mango tree, the keylime tree, roses and dill.



 
Visitors 



Sunday, April 07, 2013

Cypress or Eucalyptus Mulch?


Like must gardeners I buy a large amount of mulch every year for the garden.   I used to buy cypress mulch until I read the article below in the Naplesnews on the pros and cons of different types of mulch.  This year I switched to Eucalyptus mulch, yes it is a little more expensive but i'm satisfied that all the mulch sold locally is grown in plantations for this purpose.   So far I’m satisfied with the way it looks and hopefully it will last longer.
Cypress: Cypress mulch is made from Bald Cypress and Pond Cypress trees, both of which grow in Florida’s wetlands. Tests indicated a low settling rate and good color retention after two years. Unfortunately, approximately 60 percent of the mulch sold at retail garden centers is Cypress and many people consider it ‘native’ mulch. That may very well be but production of Cypress mulch contributes to the devastation of our ecosystem. Because the trees are harvested from our natural wetlands, using it in the landscape is not considered Florida-friendly.
Eucalyptus: Most Eucalyptus trees are native to Australia, and are grown on plantations in Florida for the express purpose of mulch production. Studies showed Eucalyptus had a moderate settling rate, meaning it lasts longer in the landscape than pine-straw, but not as long as pine bark or cypress. Eucalyptus is also one of the mulches that showed the least change in color after a two year period.
Friday I woke up to this mess in the garden.  During the night a weather front passed through the area with up to 50 miles per hour winds.  The garden was ok, only a little messy.  
 
Blooming this week.   
The Yellow Buttercup attract many moths and bees.
 
 Blue Porter flowers are in full bloom
 
The Plumeria tree is coming back to life
  Mexican Petunias

Thursday, April 04, 2013

Kayaking Miami Canals

I’m taking a few days off from my nine to five job this week.  Today my daughter and I rented a kayak and cruised the Miami canals. 



Mangroves are an important part of our ecosystem, unfortunate they are not in great shape.  We need to do a better job taking good care of them.

No, this is not my home; some people sure live well in this city.
 
We reached Biscayne Bay, you can see downtown Miami in the distance.