Florida Garden Iris

Many years ago I researched which Louisiana Iris might be suitable for my Florida garden. I'm sure there are more types than what I have, but this one was what I started with. I ordered 'Sinfonietta' from an online source and 6 bare root plants were mailed to me.

As I do with most brand new plants that I don't have full confidence planting, I placed them in two different locations in my old garden. When we moved to the house next door last summer of course the Louisiana Irises were among the list of plants I wanted to be sure to bring with me.

This new garden has more space in more areas with more sunshine. I just said more three times in one sentence. You get the picture right? Louisiana irises can take full sun. In my garden each patch gets between 3-6 hours. Which seems to be plenty.

To get 'Sinfonietta' started here (after digging/dividing from my old patches) I cut off all but about 4" of greenery, knocked off the soil and planted them in three different locations here. Their greenery perks up in the winter season. They have adapted well in this new garden. Blooms started right on time in mid to late March. One of the locations bloomed later than the other two and still has a few flowers while the others are finished for the year. Yes, it's a quick bloom time. But, oh, what a beautiful display while it last.


For more on irises you might also like:
Irises That Won't Shrink From Florida's Humidity
More Irises for Florida
A Must-Have Iris
The Irises Have It
Louisiana Iris

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Happy Smiling Zinnias

It turns out that I had uploaded some photos for a future post just before the surprise attack on my hard drive which is why I am able to publish this post without the use of my own computer.

Pitiful whimpering going on here.

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There's been some talk about some of the "firsts" here at Hoe & Shovel this spring. One of them being our very first veggie garden thoroughly challenging our abilities to grow from seed and to nurture to maturity the veggies we chose to plant. Another 'first' being the online purchase of bare root day lilies and cardinal flower. More on these in future posts.


Today, the 'first' we are featuring is the seed sown zinnias we put in the ground this spring. Hard to believe I realize... but I just hadn't thought too much about zinnias in years. They just gave me that oh so, common feeling. Although last fall I planted a few dwarf zinnias purchased from the garden store and remembered how cheery the colorful flowers turn out.

So what's wrong with common? Absolutely nothing if it is a great performer.

How Easy Can It Be?

Certainly not because of anything special this gardener has done... the zinnias have been blooming their pretty little heads off for weeks. And truth be told, I just can't get enough of them... common and all!

The seeds for zinnia are not buried in the medium but instead placed on top of the soil and patted into the ground. Watering lightly follows. Within a few days there are a jillion little green leaves poking out of the soil. Watering continues while the plants are developing.

Before you know it... there are tall leafy stems with buds forming. In a series of unfurling gladness, from this wildflower mix, there appears a sunny array of petals in many forms displaying every color of the rainbow that would make any gardener feel successful. Once they are mature, they cheerfully enjoy the heat and drought we are having here in Florida. Who could ask for more? (Well, I could ask that the IT guru can retrieve my photos from my crashed hard drive... but that's another story... yes, still whimpering).

I put zinnia seeds in three separate locations in the back garden. My only regret now is that I wish I had sown them in more places or at the very least I wish I would have sown more of them in the spots I DID choose. Back in March when I direct-sowed the seeds (because I was too lazy to start them in containers) I had no idea how well or not-so-well they would grow. It was experimental at the time... which does kind of add to the fun of it all... don't you agree?

There are so many varieties to enjoy with each one seeming to smile happily in the bright Florida sunshine. With a little bit of dead heading each day and now that I've staked the tallest ones up, they have readily moved to my list of favorite additions and turned into one of the bright spots in the back garden.

Shown above, they blend in nicely with the fountain grass, plumbago, indigo spires, lime green potato vine and purple queen as well as several more perennials behind them (not shown in this photo).

As a side note: if all goes well the Crocosmia bulbs (another first) I planted in front of them will actually decide to bloom on the greenery that is just recently popping out of the ground.
Admittedly, I didn't realize there were so many varieties and colors of zinnia. It has been fun to cut the individual blooms and make bouquets to bring inside.
It's a pretty certain fact zinnia will be an annually seed sown flower at Hoe and Shovel going forward. I'm even thinking I'll sow them again in September for our fall/winter growing season. Any flower that can withstand our heat and humidity for months on end is a sure winner. Common yes, but happy in my garden with little maintenance and it gets added to the list of must haves.
So it makes me wonder.... Do you grow zinnia? Are you thinking they are common, too? Does common matter to you?

It does seem most gardeners are on the lookout for the unusual... with new challenges to thrill our gardening curiosities. Have you successful "firsts" this spring? ... I'd love to hear what flowers you've determined make you happy as they smile back at you each day...

I'm counting on your happy spring comments to help me forget about my computer woes. :-)

The Seed Wants to Germinate

So many butterflies are out and about these sunshiny days. I followed this monarch around today for a bit until it was pre-occupied with drinking from the lantana and didn't mind me getting close enough for this capture.

Note to reader: I wrote most of this post last night, Monday, and didn't get it posted until Tuesday morning which explains the use of the word 'today'; turns out it should now be the word 'yesterday'You get the idea....
As a follow up to my last post here is the run down of the plan for the veggie garden and my quest to conquer my intimidation over seed sowing.

Great advice was given in a comment from fellow blogger and vegetable gardener Carol at May Dreams Gardens. She said, “Remember that the seed wants to germinate and will likely do so even without conditions being absolutely perfect.” Isn’t that simple?... but great words of wisdom and encouragement. Thank you, Carol. Believe me, those words cheered me on today as I finished my seed sowing.

My initial order of seeds came from Pinetree. Since I didn't have much of a clue of what I was doing and since it was all brand new to me, I duplicated some (not all-- because her garden is MUCH bigger than mine) of what Carol purchased this year. You might wonder why I copied her? I’d been stalking her gardening posts reading every one she ever wrote about vegetable gardening trying to learn as much as I could before I ordered seeds. I found a treasure! She has been doing this for a long time. Kudos to her for her always informative & helpful gardening posts!

Well I didn't know how many seeds to order since my space is pretty small. Needless to say, I way over-ordered in quantity.I’m wondering if they can be kept from year to year?If so, what are the rules for storage?
Here’s the purchase list:
Pole Bean- Kentucky Wonder
Cucumber- Bush Crop
Squash- Goldbar
Zucchini- Eightball and Cueball
Leek - Lancelot
Tomato- Black Cherry; Big Boy Bush

I sowed some of each of these seeds last Thursday. All of them direct sown into the raised beds that were waiting empty for the last two weeks. Can I just reiterate--I have lots left over. You may remember I wanted to start small with my two beds. Somehow I didn't realize how quickly that small space would be used up. Uh-hmmm.... first lesson learned- build more boxes?

Which brings me around to the original dilemma and was part of my intimidation- how much to order- how many seeds to use in each row blah, blah. Can I just confess that now I have more compassion for folks who feel that way about landscape gardening. It's easy to blow it off when someone says they wish they knew how to garden but this or that keeps them from doing it... NOW I know how that feels. This counts for another valuable lesson learned.

Late this evening just as I was wrapping up a full day of gardening the last of the seeds I ordered from Burpee came in the mail. Excitement like I had received a present was how I felt when I saw the envelope. This is what arrived today:
Blue Lake Bush Bean
Lettuce Looseleaf
Carrot Sweet Treat

Marigold (for the nematodes)

I used Carol's idea to make my trench with a yardstick- this worked out very nicely for me.

It was perfect timing. The perfect way to end a day full of gardening glory. I already had my tools out and I was dressed for gardening. It wasn't long before my newly arrived seeds were tucked away in the warm, moist soil eager to germinate and do what they were meant to do-- grow.

I’ve decided it doesn’t really matter if my garden doesn't grow exactly like I hope. Gardening is a gift of life and this aspect of it will be a remarkable learning experience. Sowing seed and growing a veggie garden is a dream come true. I will learn as I go and make mistakes along the way just like I have with landscape gardening all these years. And besides… seeds want to germinate. So what if they aren’t sown exactly precisely? I have confidence in them--they will find their way out of the ground with a little water and sunshine.

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Double Excitement Today!
The first box from my American Meadows order came today as well. 6 bare root Cardinal Flower (above) plants. The size of these was a bit of a surprise. I kind of - well not kind of - I definitely expected a larger plant. Ordering plants through the mail is new to me as well. I immediately put these in the ground as they are to stay wet at all times.

What a beautiful way to end a BEST day in the garden. I dug up, divided, and transplanted society garlic. I'm using it as a border around one of the beds I've prepared for the day lilies and the rest of the mail-order plants I'm still waiting to be delivered.

A really big thanks to all the veteran seed-sowing gardeners who don't mind sharing tips and how-to's and also lending encouragement to newbies. This seed-sowing experience has helped me realize that just because one thing comes easy to us doesn't mean the next thing will. We all need each other and we each have some thing to offer. As different as gardening is in each part of the country it seems sowing seeds is pretty much the same no matter where you live.

What about you? Is there an element of gardening you haven't tried yet because of timidity or maybe like me you're letting the 'unknown' keep you from trying something new? Well that and hubby urging me not to add more to my to-do list. Let's face it, that's never going to happen. :-)

Spring Run Down

It’s been several weeks of pre-spring chores around Hoe and Shovel making the best use of the cooler temps to get as much accomplished in the garden as possible.

My gardening days have included dividing daylilies, agapanthus, liriope, african iris, spathiphyllum, amaryllis and fountain grass, too. These varieties are easily transplanted to new homes immediately which gives me instant reward & satisfaction while making the most of what is already available in my garden.

Agapanthus in 2007

Other plants like draceana, variegated schefflera, snow bush, and mexican petunia I've placed in pots waiting for them to root which will make transplanting them a more sure success. Although I have to admit, I do take the tops out of the schefflera and dracaena and literally poke them into another bed (or even a container arrangement) at times. As long as I keep them well watered, they will establish just fine using that method.

Daylilies from Hoe & Shovel 2004 Garden

Some of the plants I put in the ground in October I’ve moved to more suitable spots. There’s been trimming of trees, pruning perennials, vines & shrubs, lawn fertilization and seeds sown.

I’ve planted some vegetables for the very first time. I'll give the details of these in a later post.

Speaking of firsts…This is the way it’s gone so far this year.
1) I’m working to incorporate several native plants into my landscape this year. It is taking me some time to get it figured out...Loads of research and some not so easy to find. I’m mixing them in with my tropicals mostly.

American Beauty Bush- Photo taken by Meems at a local National Park

So far I’ve planted:

American Beauty Berry
Blue Porterweed
Scarlet Milkweed
Fire Bush
Fire Spike

Fire Bush at Hoe & Shovel- not to be confused with Fire Spike

2) Not necessarily natives but I've also planted:

Brunfelsia or Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow (shown above)

and another Princess Flower shrub (shown above).

Every year for many years I’ve ordered caladium bulbs online or by phone… pre-internet days. Typically I place my order for approximately 500 of them in February and have them delivered in May. That’s done for 2008.

3) Another first for me… I’ve ordered some bulbs and bare root plants online.

Here’s the list of what I’m waiting for the postman to deliver: (all photos used below from American Meadows.com)

Louisiana Iris- Bareroot plants

Olive Bailey Daylilies- Bareroot plants

Cardinal Flower- Bareroot Plant

Belladonna lily or Naked Ladies– bulbs

Crocosmia Lucifer- bulbs

Triteleia Mix or Pretty Face- Bulbs

I have my beds ready for where I want to plant these... all plants I’ve never grown (with the exception of other types of daylily) so it will be interesting to see how they fare in my garden.