What a difference a Pressure Washer machine makes

I borrowed a pressure washer machine from a neighbor to pressure clean the stone in the back garden.  What a difference a pressure cleaner makes ( See my previous post )  The wet and humid weather in South Florida turns stones black quickly, so a pressure washer is a part of the garden tools in the shed.   

This week at the DragonFly Garden

Another invasion of caterpillars, I am not familiar with these little guys.  They managed to strip down to the bone, one of my Devil's backbone hanging baskets, all in one night. 

This is the most beautiful Hibiscus flower in my collection, for some unknown reason I don't get too many flowers from this plant.  I am always ready with my camera when one opens up. 

The only bromeliad in my collection that doesn't get any help from me, it finds its way to my garden all by itself.

This is the time of the year when the Starburst plants are full of flowers.  My plant has been overwhelmed by other trees around and it does not flower like it used to (it needs lots of sun during the fall months)

Spike spiders make the best webs in the garden.

Birding and gardening throughout the month

One of the pleasures of gardening in South Florida is taking pictures of the birds visiting the garden, especially during the winter.  This year we have not had as many visitors as years past.  We have the regulars coming every day for a meal at the bird feeders and those that stop by during the winter months.     

This hummingbird comes to the garden every year during the winter months.  He loves my Firebush plant but this year most of the flowers are facing my neighbor's yard, so he's not very visible from my side.

This morning I took a picture of these two Zebra butterflies mating.

When there are no tomato plants around, the Hornworms go after the Angel's Trumpets plants.

Flowers this month

The Milkweed is looking good, lots of food for the Monarch's this summer 

January the best gardening month in South Florida

This month, I was busy in the garden taking advantage of our great weather.  I decided to do, a do-over in my side garden after a full year of growth.  Most of the plants you see below were already there, but I had to do some serious trimming and pulling out many plants that did not below is such a small space. 

This corner of the garden gets shade all year round, perfect for ferns, coleuses and elephant ears.  I pulled out several elephant ears plants that had taken over and were covering the plants' bellow.

Bromeliads dominate the other side of this garden bed.  During winter this area gets little sun, but in summer is full sun.  Most of these plants can handle both extremes.

The back garden was due for a little update, some mulch and replacing several old and tired plants.  In this corner, I love to plant Mexican heather, when fully grown they look great and the bees loved them.

I was supposed to pressure clean all the stones around the garden but my water pressure machine is broken.

Can you see all the ripen star fruits in the tree?  I try to give them away but I get a few takers, it is an acquired taste. 

I'm taking the month of February off from the garden.  I will try to enjoy what South Florida has to offer during our winter, starting with the Super Bowl next week.  ( I can't afford the tickets, but they have several free events around town.)  This year I like both teams and don't know who I will be rooting for.  Maybe the 49ers since I have friends who live in the bay area.

My first post of 2020

I am looking forward to a good 2020 and I started the new year working and taking photos of my garden.  I have many plans for the garden this year, this month I'm starting with the side garden.

Bromeliad flowers have the most vivid colors.

The Bromfelsia bush (Yesterday-Today and Tomorrow) is full of flowers.

My neighbor's mango tree is also full of flowers

I rediscovered this Yuca plant in the back of my garden. I don't particularly care much for these plants but I found this one in the trash bin of my former office several years ago and I couldn't walk away.  After some cleaning, look at her now. 

My parent's house is on the market and for the last few weeks, I have been moving some of their plants and garden decorations to my place.  The last plant I need to move is the Rosebush below.  This rose comes from my grandmother's garden in Cuba.  My father brought a cutting with him after he visited her in 1975 before she died.  Cuttings from this plant have been given to relatives from Vermont to Texas.  I have been a recipient of a couple of these cuttings over the years but every time they don't last.  I have come to the realization the roses are not my thing.  I need to make this work, this is the original plant.  I don't know if I should transplant to a container or put it on the ground. (the soil in my garden poor)  Should it be in full sun or shade?  Any advice is welcome.

The DragonFly Garden 2019, a year in review

January -  New glass art, all over the garden.  All these colorful battles came from my Dad's collection.  

February -  The mango trees were in full of blooms

March - My bromeliad collection continues to grow.

April - Angels Trumpets were in full bloom.

May -  More butterflies were all around in the springtime. I added many butterfly-friendly plants.

June -  The first mangos of the season were harvested in June

July - Another change to the garden this year was the addition of many orchid plants, all added to trees all over the garden.  Most of the plants came from my Dad's garden.

August -  A disappointing Dragon fruit harvest this year.

September -  The first-ever Avocados were picked at the DragonFly garden. 

October - The snowbirds arrived in the garden this month.

November - I added more colorful croton plants.

December - Starfruits were ready to harvest this month.

From the DragonFly garden, I hope you all have a healthy and happy NEW YEAR

The best Christmas gift, a meditation garden

This past year, my youngest and single daughter purchased a ground floor condominium that came with a neglected outside patio.  She turned the inside of the condo into a beautiful home, the outside was always my responsibility.  The decision for a Christmas gift was an easy one this year, do the garden I promised her when she got the condominium.  She wanted a low maintenance garden, a place to meditate, to sit and relax with a cup of coffee.      

This is the before picture.  Taking the white rocks out was the hardest part of the job.  I wanted to paint the walls but the condo association would not give me permission.















The birdbath, containers and some of the plants came from my dad's old garden.  This garden is surrounded by large trees that provide lots of shade, so bromeliads from my garden were the best choice.

A garden statue will go in this corner of the garden, unfortunate it did not make it on time for the holidays.

I found these stepping stones in my dad's garden, he had painted flowers on all the stone.  The color of the flowers had faded, so with a little paint, they came back alive again.  It makes me happy to see that part of my father's garden continues in my daughter's new place.

From my family to yours Merry Christmas and a Happy Hanukkah