More on Irises for Florida

This petite beauty is a giant.

Giant Apostles' Iris Neomarica caerulea 'Regina'. Giant must refer to the height of its foliage because the small flowers are only about 2.5-3" across when fully opened.

Wider than typical iris blades stand a solid 3 feet tall in vertical formation of bluish-green foliage.

Each bud takes its time in the morning hours to unfold its way into full glory. Every curled up petal is just as stunning as the final display.

Exotic features with specks, stripes, spots, veins, depth, texture, purple-blue, brown, white, lavender will put a song in your heart along the way.

Although it repeatedly blooms on the same stalk each one only lasts a day. It will 'walk' as the blade becomes heavy bending toward the ground and roots to form another plant. Mine are growing effortlessly without any special attention in filtered light.

This one gets me all gushy over it so I've photographed it numerous times which you can see here for more.

Neomarica caerulea 'Gracilis' is very different in stature from 'Regina' with much shorter, glossy, bright green foliage. The bloom time is similar as well as the walking habit to produce new plants. I like using this one to fill in spaces where caladiums will come up in between. That way there is something green growing in the space when the caladiums fade away.

Neomarica longifolia has very different characteristics from 'Gracilis' and 'Regina'. It has dull almost ripply or puckery foliage at heights of about 2' and the yellow flower is smaller. It can tolerate heavy shade and will walk to produce nice size clumps that bloom almost all year long. This is the newest one to my garden passed along to me from my sweet elderly neighbor.

I couldn't leave out the trusty African Irises even though I recently featured them in their very own blog post which you can read here if you missed it. Love them! Use them in planting beds or in containers.

Which iris only blooms for a couple of weeks (at best) and decided to pop out a few days early to greet the beginning of spring?

Louisiana Iris 'Sinfonietta' in all her brilliant bluish-purple array. I've gone on and on about my admiration for her short lived blooms over the years. Be sure to notice the bee butts as you scroll down through the photos. The little cuties crawl in and out moving around the flower until they fly to the next.





















You can get all the scoop on her here and read what I've written in past posts if you'd like more growing information on Louisiana Iris.

Which irises are you growing in Florida? Or wherever you are?

When Winter Decides to Pass You By

Spring began in December at Hoe and Shovel. I know some of my gardening friends right here in Florida were visited by some dipping temperatures this winter. But here we were barely noticed by winter.

Only two or three nights when we dipped below freezing and hardly a plant was affected. I always attribute my protective microclimate to the canopy of mature oak trees.

I've diligently worked to install cold hardy plants into every planting bed as insurance for harsher conditions. That way *if* I lose my tropicals the entire garden isn't devastated.

But WOW! this year has been so nice. And SO different than the last four winters when we had so many frosts and unusually cold nights.

When winter passes you by it means getting to see winter bloomers that haven't flowered in January or February or March in many years.

Beauty that inspires outdoor activities, playtime, gardening time, breathing deeply, meditating pauses.

With mostly spring-like days encouraging growth of all the plant life there are annuals wildly sprawling when ordinarily they would be knocked back by natural conditions.

Don't worry the fast-growing Lantana camara is contained in a pot. It hides the well pump in the berm.

I'm thinking the Musa Sumatrana that seems to take forever each year to come back from the cold will finally put on some good growth and look its best by the end of spring -- for a change.

Never has the spinach tree bloomed in winter. It is a tender one that my friend KH (hugs, My Friend)gave me from a cutting. This year it has a chance to actually look like a small tree.
The butterflies love the small white blooms it produces.

Tropical leaves of all sorts continue to stand tall and erect through *the winter that wasn't*.

Tropicals are happy.

Color and blooms abound.

It's been a bit strange I have to say. Instead of cutting back due to frost damage I'm cutting back greenery and even flowers just for the sake of pruning perennials for their health. I like it for a change. It reminds me of the mild winters this area was known for when I was growing up.

It will be interesting to see how different the garden looks by summer. Starting out with almost no set backs. Gardening is always full of surprises. Happy 'official' spring!!! Isn't it exciting!!!

*** For ID or more information on any photo just click on it to take you to the web album with captions describing each one (you'll have to back click to come back to the blog).

A Must-Have Iris

In Florida's tough growing climate it's a bold statement to say no garden should be without African Iris (Dietes iridioides).

I'm saying it. I've sang their praises many times on this little ole garden blog.

If your environment includes sun, part sun, filtered sun, or shifting shade from a tree canopy this plant will be a work horse in your garden. It might not flower as well in deep shade but its evergreen color will still add a strong vertical element to any area.

With the mild winter conditions we had this year all of mine began blooming in February. One of their common names is fortnight lily. Interestingly, the open flowers only last a period of 24-48 hours. The tall, stiff stems they bloom on will produce an amazing profusion of white flowers every fortnight (two weeks). You don't want to cut them back when the flower is spent because the next bloom will come from the same stem.

Here you can see baby plants produced by the mother plant. Clumps of African iris spread on rhizomes which can be dug up and divided. Just separate the 'blades' that resemble a fan and transplant elsewhere. I'm pretty sure these small babies are from seed since they are away from the clumping plants. I dig up these young ones to move to more locations around the garden.

That's some of them above. You may remember my winter projects adding more planting beds to the back gardens. It will take them about a year to look like a full plant ~~then they will just continue to clump into larger plants.

African Iris is not native but it is SUPER Florida-Friendly. If you are in zone 8 you could notice some freeze damage but in my garden they sail through winter. Long, dry spells do not faze them either. They are quite tolerant of poor soils and I have found them very quick to get established without much pampering.

Look beyond the circle garden seating and the sparkly white blooms will catch your eye scattered about in the butterfly garden and wildflower garden.

On the opposite side of the back garden peer through the native garden to the back side of the property line and you can see African Iris twinkling with brightness through the greenery.

Walk around that area and you will see how I'm using them as a layer in the border on the north side. I put them there because they can take the cold winds of winter. They were just small starts just like in the new area when I first put them there in spring of 2009.

Do you love these easy plants, too?

I've been posting photos of African Iris on my Facebook page since February. Don't forget to click over there and LIKE Hoe and Shovel so you can join in on the discussion! Would love to see you there. Meems

Building My Garden :: A Steady Pursuit

I don't think I can stress enough how vital it is for DIY gardeners to enlist all the patience one can muster when it comes to building our own gardens. It is gradual. It takes time. It takes diligence. Some efforts are more successful than others and adjustments have to be made along the way. Even the best laid plans occasionally need to be altered. It's a lifelong endeavor after all.

The best news? It CAN BE DONE.


My hope in sharing my garden with you is to encourage your desire to build your garden. And to remind you it can be done no matter your level of experience.

I'm basing that partly on the fact that mine has grown one planting bed at a time. Literally. I have connected the pieces as I go along. It will never be *finished*.

My back yard started out as grass from front to back and side to side. You can read the history (of sorts) here in an article I wrote that chronicles the progression of the back gardens. The same methods of step by step, season by season additions apply to the front garden which you can catch up on here if you'd like a reference point for that evolution.


I've written numerous times highlighting additions or expansions where I labored over digging up the grass first. You can refer back to some of those past grass-digging-and-replacing-with-plants projects here and here and here and here. And for even more backstory ... every reference to lawn removal projects here.

When the water-well had to be replaced in winter 2010 it proved to be an excellent time to build the berm on the northside of the back garden. The length of it is approximately 90' and the widest part of it is approximately 18'. I call it a berm because it gradually rises [creating a mini-hill] to about 4' longwise down the center. In my last post I referenced yet another tweak to the front side of the berm where I removed even more lawn.

Honestly, the amount of lawn I have left is barely enough for the grandkiddos to have a decent game of backyard baseball or soccer. If it weren't for them I would remove it all. I have visions, people. I can't help myself.

Taking advantage of our mild winter weather each year I dive into the 'dirt-hauling' projects while the temperatures are cooler. What you see above is looking from the northside across to southside of the back yard. The pool and the house are to the right (not visible in the photo). There were many aspects of this area that needed some improvement. You know how certain things about your garden just don't seem right? I don't let that bother me. I just keep doing what I do and eventually an idea will come to me that makes sense and with a tweak here and a tweak there makes it a better fit. At least that's the idea.

Continuing to use the layering method I explained in 10 Easy Steps :: Making a New Planting Bed I thought long and hard about how to extend this planting area. It is a well used area for foot traffic. There are entry points from every direction that are necessary to avoid blocking.

The mulched area is the space left to be used as a pathway. The ground slopes down a little here away from the back patio area. The area with dirt is what I planted out.

I purchased a few plants such as gazania, gaura, and cosmos but the rest of what I chose for this sunny spot came from my garden or seeds.

Dividing existing plants is an easy and inexpensive way to continue to build a garden. I tend to spend more money on the foundation than the pretties. Good soil, compost, and organic amendments to give the planting it's best chance for success is priority.

The pretties are sure to come when the foundation is laid properly. Adding a few inexpensive annuals gives me enough initial satisfaction while I patiently wait for the perennials to take root and fill in.

The wider view shows how this new area fits in with the view to the circle garden and beyond.

The new planting faces east but gets quite a good dose of mid-day sunshine. Not very many opportunities for that in my mostly shady garden. As usual, with thoughts of mixing natives together with great Florida-Friendly choices I made my selections of what to blend together.

Divisions of Louisiana iris, spiderwort, blue-eyed grass, stokesia, bulbine, gaillardia and African iris will spread out and take up the space as spring/summer lends a sunny hand. Seeds of zinnia and coreopsis will assist in a meadowy feel with a splash of wildflower appeal.

Have I mentioned how much I love using pine straw for newly planted and seeded beds? It is light and airy and allows the seeds room to breathe while still protecting the soil from drying out too fast. Yummy stuff. A thicker layer can be added as growth progresses.

The view from the back patio looking to the northeast in the back garden. You can see the last winter project in front of the berm.

Here it is with both projects completed.

There you have it. One more immature planting bed added to the garden. While the rest of the garden has its foundations settled into place long ago and digging roots down deeper each year I'll have fun nurturing more babies.

You can do it, too! One step at a time! It's what makes growing a garden one of the most rewarding aspects of life. What are your plans for spring projects or for tweaking your garden?

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Speaking of winter projects... my latest Lowe's article is posted. It highlights another long pathway I built in December and January. You know what that means? Even more grass is bye-bye.