Colors of May

It is the month of May that urges the return of Agapathus blooms. And so many others.

Lily of the Nile (A. africanus) as it is often referred to is an anticipated bloomer each year.

It is loved for its sturdy foliage in every other season.

Springtime, though, is when it sends up its large pom-pom of individual trumpet-shaped flowers on tall scapes for amazing appeal in the May garden.
And while I'm out with the camera let's have a look around the garden.
Cane begonias

Native oakleaf hydrangea

Variegated Shell Ginger (Alpinia zerumbet)

Closer...

Closer still. (The evidence of why it is called "shell" ginger)

Spathiphyllum or Peace Lily

Black and Blue Salvia

Salvia my neighbor gave me... anyone know the ID?

Crimson Pentas

An Easter lily ~~ ONE. A plant stuck in a pot from two Easter's ago and never expected it to bloom. It's a complete fluke. But enjoying it all the same.

Day lily 'Olive Bailey'

A volunteer sunflower.

Caladium 'Red Flash'

Expectation or Surprise?

In every garden there are those specific, faithful plants in which the gardener anticipates the arrival of an annual bloom time. We know it is inevitable. It's like waiting for the seasons to change. You know the expected time it will transition you just don't know the exact day the change will appear.

Often these are the very plants that faithfully supply hardy foliage and steadfast characteristics throughout the year. We love them for that. We depend on their stalwart performance as we pay little attention to them due to many other endeavors going on right around them. But they are easy and carefree and don't insist on being the center of attention. Their supporting role is to be noticed occasionally as the backdrop or a specimen in an otherwise multi-layered setting.

In the case of Variegated Shell Ginger (Alpinia zerumbet) it is the elongated yellow and green striped leaves that make my heart go pitter-patter. In my filtered, high-shifting shady areas they stand out brightly against varied textures and layers of greenery.
Then one spring day, seemingly out of nowhere, a bud is staring me in the face. It's as if all of a sudden, in an instant ~ a blink even ~ this beautiful burst of wrapped up energy has emerged. Was I too busy caring for all your neighbors to notice or did you really sprout overnight? Elation fills my emotions as if this were the first I'd ever seen this favorite of the perennials bloom.

But of course I have seen them bloom before. Every year when these exotic blooms appear they catch me by surprise. As if I didn't really expect them when I most certainly do. I anticipate them to fill the air with their lightly fragrant flush of musky ginger each May.

So tropical yet so resilient to the elements. The towering oak trees overhead protect from brutal afternoon rays as well as occasional frost and freeze making these Florida-Friendly gingers a perfect fit in my garden.

Is your anticipation mounting for a favorite perennial to bloom?
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Quick Tips For Growing Variegated Shell Ginger:
**Be prepared to wait as it takes a few years of maturity for them to initially send out their exquisite flowers.
**Plant them as a background or middle layer that fits in with a 5-6 foot setting.
**Add plenty of organic materials to sandy soil to make this plant happiest
**Can be grown in the ground or in a container
**Rhizomes can be divided to transplant

Wintry Garden Blooms

Last spring a concentrated effort was made to increase the middle story volume in the garden. The level between low-lying shrubs and the very tall canopy of oak trees. By adding several specimen trees with a mature growth habit of 10- 20 feet in height the middle story will eventually fill out and complete a much needed design element.

Two young 7' Raphiolepis indica Indian Hawthorn 'Majestic Beauty' standard trees are putting on their pretty pink blooms for winter. Majestic Beauty is cold hardy through frost and drought resistant in summer and attractive to all sorts of wildlife. Slow growing but worth the wait.

One of my most loved salvias is the Mystic Spires. The elongated spikes of blue-purple are also a bumble favorite. This one does better for me in cooler months. I usually re-purchase a few each year. This one is planted in the center pot of the circle garden.

Tropic Snow Peach Tree

Another addition to the middle story last year was the Tropic Snow Peach tree. This variety provides a sweet white flesh and only needs 200 chill hours which makes it good for zone 9. Last year I was amazed at the sight of real peaches.

Several doses of organic compost, aged horse manure, and seabird guano have been its food of choice over the course of the past year. Fingers and toes are crossed for a peach harvest in May.

Often I look up from the family room couch to see this view in the distance. It is even more visible from the back patio looking directly southward beyond the length of two neighbor's yards. It is an inspiring view with the morning sunshine illuminating the background of cypress trees edging the conservation area while the foreground remains shadowed by dense shade. (Photo from December 2010)

This weekend it was a dreary view. Rain fell lightly for most of Saturday. Sunday remained cloudy although no precipitation as predicted which made for a nice afternoon to get lots of gardening accomplished.

Small but Powerful

Do you know that feeling when you walk through the garden and a wonderful fragrance wafts through the air to surprise your senses? That's the way it happens with the Osmanthus fragransTea Olive blooms. They always catch me off-guard.

They aren't especially attractive shrubs. I'd even go so far to say they are rather non-descript. For that reason three of them were sited on the back side of the berm last spring. Evergreen and cold hardy (as well as fragrant)they withstand frost and freezing temps which carries all kinds of weight in my garden. They've grown about a foot in one year.

The bloom clusters are very tiny. But the light, lemony fragrance is fresh and extremely potent. So much so that when it wafts past me from several feet away I have to try to remember what it is that smells so divine. What a treasure they are for the winter-weary garden!

Cold Hardy Files

A single white-flowering yarrow was given to me a couple of years ago when I attended a library talk on day lilies. At first sight I loved the foliage on this plant.

Two springs and summers have passed and it has not once bloomed for me. I suspect lack of enough sun is the reason. With that in mind I rooted several small pots of it last summer and moved it to the sunniest place possible.

It has spread nicely in the front lawn renovation next to the street. I'm happy with the airy, feathery, limey-green foliage that stays bright in summer and winter. But I have to admit white blooms would be a thrill, too. Hopefully we'll get some this summer with the increased sunshine-dosages provided.

More on the Louise Philippe roses to come. But wow! What a show off he is being right here in the middle of winter.

Here's to the winter garden adding joy to your day. Thank you for dropping by, Meems

Those Drippy, Exotic Blooms Are Back

Like clockwork it is the glorious month of May when we look for these drippy blooms to appear.

When the Alpinia zerumbet, Variegated Shell Ginger was initially planted ~~ eons ago (read:ten years) ~~ the luscious blooms were not even a factor in their consideration. Little did this gardener know they would indeed bloom.

At that time the decision was made to situate them as a mid-level layer curving around the length of the front border that hugs a large stand of oak trees.

Gingers were selected based on the need for a perennial in that area to take the place of my then habit of switching out annuals every season.

This lovely specimen met the criterion for my LOVE of foliage with their outstandingly large leaves ~ each one reaching out 18" - 2' from its stalk and 6-8" wide~~ coupled with their eye-catching, stripey foliage. Consideration for height capabilities and Florida-Friendly low-water needs along with their ability to thrive in shifting shade were characteristics that also grabbed my attention.

It took a few years but, once maturity was realized, to my utter delight and surprise each beautiful spring a slender, arching bud forms at the end of nearly every stalk of green lushness. (Look closely at the above photo and you will see an evil creature lurking between bud and leaf.)

When those elongated pendants pop open a waterfall of bulbous pods cascades from the mother leaf.

Opulent, creamy white pods with pinky tips echo the color variations from the buds' covering they are borne on as well as the stems of each new stalk on these wonderfully tropical plants.

Planted in large groupings in the front border and clusters of them repeated in the back gardens adds continuity and impact while brightening the understory of oak trees. Many additional ginger plants have been gained by digging up an entire plant and dividing the rhizome for transplants.

If the drippy pods were the final result of these blooms this gardener would be completely giddy.

Instead, as if insistent to exceed the previous glory in the blooming process, as time passes, each one of those puffy, bulbous pods individually bursts open to reveal yet another phase.

Hidden inside, waiting its turn to appear, is an exotic ruffly bloom colored in yellows and oranges resembling a seashell.

Can you tell the variegated ginger is one of the all-time favorites in my Florida -Friendly garden! It ranks as one of my must-have perennials. The drippy, exotic blooms are just a bonus adding to the dramatic effect these plants add to the landscape.

June's Flowers, Bees, Seeds, Bulbs and Okra

Let's have a look at a few of the flowering pretties that have happily opened up over the past couple of weeks. Starting with a couple of Florida natives...

A small flower born on the tips of wispy, tall stems, the Plains Coreopsis tinctoria aka Tickseed, started from seed in February are flowering along a border that gets only a couple of hours of afternoon sun. This year was my first effort with a few wildflowers just to give them a try in my not-so-sunny garden. Taking a guess as to where to plant it, I'm happy as a lark they are blooming.

The Stokesia laevis, stokes' aster blue danube, is one of the native plants purchased on my trip to the Dunellon native nursery back in March. This week its loaded buds opened up with their wonderfully compact but airy (considered blue) bursts of color. We will 'soonly' be making babies from this successful bloomer (read: divide and transplant after bloom).

Purchased in January (on sale) at my local nursery I didn't plant this pretty vine until March after moving it in and out of the garage during our unusually cold winter. Now clamoring up the arbor on the opposite side of confederate jasmine in the back yard it is blooming for the second go round.

Not a native but one of the top ten vines in Florida's Top Ten Garden Guide. I've been on the hunt for a Queen's wreath, Petrea volubilis since I first saw it blooming in my neighbor's yard a couple of years ago. She offered me a cutting but I wanted my own large start to this pretty wisteria-looking flowering vine. I've never seen it for sale at a big box store.

The almost-spent stalk of Salvia, 'Indigo Spires' made the post today because of its attractive visitor. Bees of all shapes and sizes just flock (do bees flock?) to these plants. You can see a better view of the overall setting in the top photo under my header above. These are common perennials here and easy to love as they quickly grow to the size of shrubs. I adore the spikes of purple as much as the flying critters do.

Okay. Please bear with this Florida gardener as I make over the simple pleasures of my 'first ever' seed-planted Cosmos bipinnatus from American Meadows.

A bit of a back story.

Since I've been blogging these sweet flowers were noticed in just about every garden north of Florida. I should add here that the general gist I perceived from those gardeners was an attitude of "oh, and the cosmos are blooming, too, but, hey! they are the weedy wildflowers that always bloom as summer wanes." Me? I'm thrilled they are blooming.

Cosmos were not a flower commonly seen around our area. (For the first time ever I did see them in 1 gal. pots in garden centers earlier in the spring.) I sowed my Cosmos wildflowers from seed. And wonder of wonders they are blooming.

I just love the airy foliage on the tall stalks and the variety of bloom colors produced. Readers will be seeing these frequently as I get used to having them around. So ignore me, humor me OR... just pretend to be as thrilled as I am.

Four (very large) bulbs of Amaryllis belladonna or naked ladies purchased from American Meadows were planted last spring. Absolutely nothing came from those bulbs. Until this year when the green strappy leaves appeared in very early spring. Only one of them is blooming however.

But for one bulb it is loaded with pale pink lily blooms planted among the Agapanthus, lily of the nile. For a very interesting story about the Belladonna lily supposedly being the only true Amaryllis you can click here to read it at the American Meadows site.

Three Firebush, Hamelia patens, shrubs were damaged badly with the freezes this January winter. Their unique tubular flowers have made a comeback this month after spending the spring putting on leaves again. I've yet to see a hummingbird which are reported to love them, but plenty of butterflies find their way to their pretty red and orange blooms.

If I had known how very pretty the flower of an okra plant was before now I would have planted them in more places. It reminds me a bit of a pansy. Such a deep magenta in its throat contrasting with a lovely shade of pale greenish-yellow it is a striking flower.

When I ran out of room in the veggie garden this spring I seed-sowed Clemson Spineless Okra from Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co. over in the wildflower-native garden. Across from that planting bed among the coleus and xanadu is growing squash plants. It is so exciting to have veggies planted among the landscape as if it is ordinary. It used to be a practice seen in cottage gardens. It seems to be making a comeback. Comeback or not, I can tell you it is quite fun.