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Getting away for a little break from routine is always a treat. It's restful, refreshing, and good for the soul.

But no matter where we go or for how long there's nothing like returning home.

As is the way with most gardeners, I suspect, the garden is the first place we go to have a look around. Make sure all is well. Do a little picking and pruning. You know the drill.

Blue plumbago is a perennial shrub I'm quite sure I take for granted. I expect it to perform well and I hardly notice it most days. But with fresh eyes, after being gone, it looks particularly blue and particularly appealing in September's morning rays.

My favorite caladiums, Miss Muffet, with her limey green leaf and adorable magenta freckles rests at the feet of plumbago in the raised bed bordering the tropical pathway.

It's good to see the White Queen caladiums still perky and livening up the back gardens in so many places.

Oh, and that wonderfully fresh fragrance from the butterfly gingers draws me to her. So glad I haven't missed her blooming.

The rains we were enjoying regularly have stopped for the past couple of weeks making it necessary to run the irrigation system for the first time in ages. Musa acuminata 'Sumatrana' (Rojo) banana leaves hold onto some left-over drops.

Easily charmed by insignificant details the papery brown petals of fading oakleaf hydrangea make me smile and remind me of simple pleasures.
In the way-back naturalized part of the garden plump beautyberries are weighing down elongated limbs.

Looking so bright and cheery and ready to be devoured by the wildlife that will soon discover them.

Red pentas fill out many places in this garden. My only complaint is they get too tall. Otherwise they are an all-time favorite.

Oh, and there is one of those containers of Christia Obcordata 'swallowtail' looking ever so light and airy this early morning. A big hug and thanks to my dear neighbor for hand-watering some of the thirstiest containers while we were gone.

Large leaves. No, extra large leaves. So very fun mixed into the tropical pathway.

The blackberries have all started to pop out on the blackberry lilies since we were gone. What a wonderful plant. First the prolific flowers bloom for months, then turning to seed pods that a few weeks later burst open revealing the blackberries.

What a nice addition the polly alocasia turned out to be in the tropical pathway this summer. On returning to the garden they are looking especially appealing to me.

Such a nice surprise. Finally. Bud stalks on the Queen Emmas.

Until now Lubbers have literally eaten every single one. Here's hoping the new ones will survive to bloom.

Mona lavender is blooming its head off these late summer days. An entire bed of them sits at the feet of the cassia senna. A sun lover, the cassia is, while it protects and shades the mona lavender.

In the sunnier, more exposed side of the same bed the goldenrod has burst into bloom while I was away.

It is what I deem the wildflower garden. Although I must admit I'm a hopeless failure at growing wildflowers. It's a good thing I've evolved toward a more naturalistic garden. This back side of the south gardens is looking pretty wild.

Not just this day, but everyday, the pretty blend of foliage that makes Stromanthe tri-color a great Florida-Friendly plant lures my lens to capture the sunlight streaming through once again.

It's nice to see black and blue salvia return her blooms after being severely trimmed only a few weeks ago.

Mr. Meems and I had a wonderful vacation but truly there's nothing to compare with being home and back in the garden.

Fresh Eyes

It is so nice to go away for a time isn't it? We relax, we rest, we tour places and sights we haven't seen before, we take the time to talk, dine, shop, and just rock on the porch if we want to. I can only think there is one thing better and that is ... coming back home.

Let's start with the veggie garden today. A big, hardy shout-out to my loyal (and kind) widowed neighbor who painstakingly listened to all my droning detailed instructions requests for watering the veggie garden and all my container pots while hubby and I were away.

Truthfully, the garden is my biggest concern when taking vacation time. It used to be the kids but these days they are all planning their own get-a-ways and enlisting ME to watch their kids when they go. To that I say ... yay!

Anyway, I came home to the newly planted garden well taken care of and pole beans already climbing their way up the poles.

I've been busily gardening everyday since we got home. So much to trim, prune, plant, dig and generally clean up.

One thing I notice every time I take a break from the garden. When I come back to it with fresh eyes, I see it differently than when I left it. Upon my return, I was pleased about some things and .... well, not so pleased about some things. It seems so all-of-a-sudden the caladiums are rapidly wilting. What's left in the bed (above photo) won't last too much longer. I'm determined to leave them until they bow their big-hearted heads in an attempt to stretch their use as long as possible. Not so fortunate were several other beds where I snipped and snipped away to remove wilted caladiums and impatiens too. The impatiens will bud and bloom right back but the caldiums are gone until next spring.

My clean up project started right here on the back porch trimming away at the container plants that were spilling over onto the ground. I know I've shown you this mona lavender recently but it continues to awe me how this originally 6" pot turned into the profusely blooming, falling over the pot plant you see in the foreground. Every time I think I'm ready to yank it out, I have to stop myself and remember to let it stay until this flush of blooms drops off. It may be too late to plant something else in its place by then but I'll not worry about that now.

Did you notice the angel-wing begonia in the corner? I thought to actually measure it today. The tallest stalks are 6.5 feet tall and the width of the planting is over 4 feet. I can boast about its beauty because honestly, once I planted the stalks, all I ever have done is water it. So by its own inherent power it has become what it has become over these summer months. AND it just keeps right on blooming its blush pink drippy flowers.

Speaking of huge. The deep orange lantana residing in the SE corner of the property is all of 4' tall and what is visible in the above photo doubles in size as it wraps around the corner and behind here. I hand pruned some of the heavier, woodier branches just to keep them from entangling around one another. It's also a good idea to pick up the branches from underneath and trim off whatever is touching the ground and some of the weightier bottom branches. Once I did all of this the unburdened plant perked up even taller and it will be ready now to keep on producing right through the autumn season.

The sulphurs flit about so quickly it is not usually possible to capture a photo of them. This one landed on the Raphis Palm and sat there just long enough for a snap in its momentary resting position.

My fresh eyes are still very pleased with the deeply green topside and magenta-ish underside hues of dragon wing begonias. They are happily standing tall above the fading caladiums and in between lily of the nile and mexican petunia towering in the background. The huge impatien in a container pot in the foreground was dotted with caladiums that I pruned out. It really should be cut back as well... maybe next week.

This view reveals the back side (if there is one) of the same planting bed. One does have to walk around the bed to see this view of two beds melded together and only divided by a small arbored pathway. Tall and still blooming are the pink pentas posing in the foreground. Across the swath of grass there's the contrasting purple of persian shield layered in front of the still taller mexican petunia and behind a layer of indian hawthorne and variegated liriope serving as the continuous border around both planting beds.

Above you can see still another side of the same planting bed. This corner home to carolyn wharton caladiums blending in with the colorful brazilian red hots.

October is a month that brings so many changes to the garden. In Florida they might not be as evident as in other parts of the world. Still we notice them and there is much work to be done. There are some empty places where annuals brightly flowered only a few weeks ago. I finally transplanted some cuttings I had rooted this summer filling in some of the bare spots here and there. Next week I will dig out and pot up some shell ginger, some dracaenas, and liriope to get ready for transplanting. Actually I have quite a to-do list for the next couple of weeks which I won't bore you with since I am sure you have your own. :-)


Happy gardening all. Enjoy your days of October while they last.
Meems

Messy Flower Petals

Porches are important anywhere, I presume, but in the south they are ideal for our everyday lifestyle. We make use of them all year long. Often they help blend the inside of our homes to the outside.

Hoe & Shovel has yet to realize our dream home which would include a large craftsman style wrap around porch graced with plentiful rocking chairs. It's important to keep our dreams alive with images of what could be. But I digress.


Until then, we make great use of our humble and quite ordinary style screened lanai (or porch). It is partly under roof arranged with a couple of area tables and chairs for eating and relaxing. The remainder of it is open-air but fully caged with typical Florida-style pool decking and screening to keep all the buggies out. A brick paved patio just outside the screening transitions the hardscape to the back garden.

Countless family and holiday gatherings around the pool area have been the center of activity over the years. Most of our daily evening meals include cooking on the gas grill and then having our dinner (and many times breakfast and lunch, too) on the back porch.
The look of naturally aged cedar appeals to me more than paint at the moment so I've chosen to let the adirondacks weather naturally with time. Situated in the far corner (above) of the pool deck with the back garden in clear view, this is a primary summer spot for hubby and I to chit chat and enjoy coffee together. These days we wait until the intense temps of daylight taper off after sundown. A dip in the pool first helps us forget about the lingering humidity. During the rest of the year when temps are heavenly (winter and spring) and the sunshine is welcomed these chairs are privy to every visitor's conversation. This is "my corner" where I can be found doing much of my blogging, reading, and phone conversations.

Would you like to have a look around at the container plants making a mess on my back porch?

Container plants are 're-arranged' a few times each year. Much like a planting bed it becomes necessary to switch out plants as they no longer produce or sometimes I just do it for the season (like Christmas) because they are easy and fun to plant out.

Flower debris falling on the decking can be very messy. I go through stages of deciding I'm weary from the extra work they create then I'll make a definite effort to plant only colorful foliage. Yes, leaves are also messy but not nearly as constant as the tiny petals of indigo spire and mona lavender.

Sometimes it's as if I don't remember how the flower petal debris gets into the pool and on the pool deck and then requires so much more attention and I find myself planting flowers again. This spring I forgot.

I've forgiven myself for this lapse in memory, however, since the indigo spires (sometimes called mystic spires) and mona lavender have done so well in these pots providing so much softness of color and texture right through these sweltering summer months.

The swimming pool has given our family hours of entertainment and relief from the summer heat for all these many years. Much to our joy now our grandchildren are practicing their swimming skills in it as well. It is a blessed treat to take a dip after a day of long hours in the garden for me too.

The angel wing (or dragon wing?) begonia has a permanent home in the far corner year round. It is the one container that I don't change out due to its almost continual show of blooms. It is very messy dropping leaves and petals consistently. But since it has found a perfect home there I'll happily clean up the messes it makes.

The cobalt blue glazed pots in the opposite far corner were new this spring. I've been especially pleased with the lime green contrast of the creeping ginny and the variegated shell ginger (dug out of the garden) against the bright blue.

Darkness is pushed away each day as the sun comes up in view over the back garden. Even before the sun rises this is the table where most mornings I start my day with coffee and my Bible. I'm energized and refreshed by the sights and sounds of the outdoors as the day is dawning with all its promises for what lies ahead.

In the two pots to the left of the adirondack chairs I've combined african iris, dark pink polka-dot plant, miss muffet caladiums, variegated liriope, english ivy and mona lavender. It's been necessary to trim all the plants on the back porch back a few times since spring and still they are spilling over the sides of their pots.

This weekend I'm going to be busy with some renovation. Digging up some non-flowering plants from around the garden to create less-messy bouquets in these pots which will help solve the petal debris issue. I'm certain for a season I'll rejoice at less mess and then, who knows, when spring rolls around again and those pretty annuals are in the garden store, reason (and memory) is likely to fly out the window again.

Well, thanks for coming along with me on my back porch. I wish you could each sit in my adirondacks with a glass of iced tea and chat with me about your gardens.

Enjoy your weekend and happy gardening. Meems

Mona Lavender- Plectranthus

The Mona Lavender plant isn't in the lavender family after all. This attractive perennial (for the south- annual for the north) bush is an unfussy hybrid. It blooms continually here in central Florida as long as we keep the blooms pinched back and deadheaded.

I'm definitely partial to plants that have more than one feature. This one has its dark green, fuzzy leaves with intensely purple undersides and then sprays of lavender flowers dashed with deeper purple markings. So when it isn't blooming profusely it still offers a spot of color and texture.

They thrive in shady places or filtered sun. Mona Lavender will work well in the ground as a bedding plant - it looks wonderful in multiples displaying a lovely splash of its purple hue.

I've chosen to grow them in containers mixed with companion greenery of ivy, vinca, and liriope. They are protected by the screened lanai where they absorb the early morning eastern rays of sunlight.

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Following a slight cool front sweeping briskly by us it was a perfect Florida weekend. We relished the temps peaking at 72 degrees warming up from right around 55-60 degrees in the mornings. We ate all of our meals outside on the back lanai and lingered around with friends and family soaking in what has to be the reason so many folks from the north come here this time of year. I've placed the mona lavender right where we can enjoy it as we also savor these days while they last.

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October 2008 Update:

Hoe & Shovel gets an abundance of hits for Mona Lavender and this post. I thought I'd link a more current post as a follow-up to this information for those interested in seeing the progression of the mona lavender planted here in Feb. 07. Turns out I took them out of the featured containers here and moved them to containers where they could get more sunshine. Filtered through the screened lanai but they seemed to like that extra dose of sunshine. Click the link for further information.