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"Possibility and promise greet me each day as I walk out into my garden. My vigor is renewed when I breathe in the earthiness and feel the dirt between my fingers. My garden is a peaceful spot to refresh my soul." Meems






Welcome to my Central Florida Garden Blog where we garden combining Florida natives, Florida-Friendly plants, and tropicals.

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

the making of autumn

It has officially been autumn for almost a month now and i dare say only the calendar is aware of it. Someone forgot to alert the weather. other than a brief (i mean really brief) couple of days last week, we are continuing to experience very humid and hot days ... today 89 degrees and super muggy. tomorrow is predicted to be 90 degrees. whew!

Truth be told, even if it were mild and cool, in this area of the country we are hard-pressed to see any fall colors. sure there are some trees that bloom with bright yellows and pinks this time of year but we don't enjoy any leaves changing colors or plants going dormant that would offer nifty dried berries for indoor decorations.

In sunny, tropical central florida we have to be creative and make our own autumn.

Today I worked on a couple of small projects to add some colorful autumn decorations outdoors.


After making a trip to my local craft store for a few additional supplies, I was ready to begin.


This looks much better than the (at least) 4 year old fall wreath I did have hanging.

Now on to some living plants...
What better way to accomplish the look of a tropical, Florida autumn than with the colorful croton plant? All the essential hues displayed in one plant.

All my supplies are gathered. the croton i purchased has three stems. Gently removing the croton from the container it came in and using a small trowel, I separated it into three plants by tenderly cutting through the roots.


Once my pumpkin was hulled out i made some drainage holes in the bottom and it became my container and ready for some potting soil. I made use of one of the bird baths from the backyard and brought it around to the front walkway.


I wish I could say this was my original idea but I borrowed it from a picture I saw in a recent BH&G magazine. In my version i've used a croton, yellow bush daisy, pink dianthus, purple potatoe vine and some cuttings from a crepe myrtle tree. Around the bottom i planted a couple of white petunias and another dianthus.

It makes for a vibrant autumn combination. By utilizing a full potato vine which filled in all the gaps between plants, it gives the illusion of being a mature grouping. I hope it holds up in a rain shower. Of course we've had so few of those lately, I'm not too concerned about it.
a closer look


Finishing up with two more container gardens, I used all three of the croton stems, two of the bush daisies- again from one pot but separated them, and also an English ivy I split into two.


I bought more plants that i can hopefully get planted by the end of this week. stay tuned for that project.

Oh... i mentioned last week i would be getting to a 'big idea' project this week or next but I have put that one on hold. I thought for certain we would enjoy some great weather by now but since we haven't, I will wait until the humidity is low and then it will be a 'fun project'. I'll be patient. in the meantime, I am designing and gathering my supplies... which is part of the fun!

9 comments:

  1. Where is the picture of the pumpkin pie you must have made with the innards you scooped out? Surely you did, didn't you? Mmm, mmm, add some whipped cream and another creative fall project to enjoy!

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  2. i love your pumpkin planter...e will too because he's infatuated with pumpkins right now!

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  3. Love the pumpkin planter. It has been added to the to do list.;) We er E added some things to our fall display on the front. I will try to get you some updated pics.

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  4. sg: no, the insides of this pumpkin are buried deep in the compost pile. :-)

    mlm: thanks. e thinks they are BIG orange balls. i let him touch them in publix and he was thrilled.

    nt: glad you like it. tell E to look on pg 152 in her oct. BH&G for the original model.

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  5. P.S. I do admire your creative genius. I even take BH&G, but never get to look through it. So I went to pg 152, and voila! There is your picture demo! Perfect! But I don't have a birdbath, so guess I can't copy the model ;-) Really, you should hire yourself out to people who would love the decor, but just can't find the time to invest in so much effort. You would find yourself very much in demand, I am sure! I can't wait to see it all up close and personal.

    Oh yeah, it's too bad about the buried pumpkin insides. I really like pumpkin pie!

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  6. SG said just what I was thinking. I'd pay you to make one of those wreaths for my door! All your projects turned out fabulous! You must have gotten an extra creative gene. Maybe you got the one that missed me. LOL! I've tried being crafty. I really like the idea of being crafty. I'm just not crafty. I'll have to see if I can find the post I wrote a few years back about my attempt on a beaded gecko's life. It wasn't pretty.

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  7. Um, hello! Meems! Time to break out those business cards!!!!

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  8. we have been telling her that for a long time.

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  9. sg: you are a great encourager! i'm not sure i have the time either :-)

    sophie: you are very kind. arranging any kind of flower is something i truly enjoy!

    mlm & nt: thanks for the vote of confidence... not everyone loves me like you guys!

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Have a blessed day,
Meems


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