Florida Summer Gardening

Yes, it seems endless.  In Florida you never know exactly how many months summer will occupy. It begins too early and wanes too slowly and always too late for my liking. This week the calendar indicates the return of one of my favorite seasons.

September 2015; Part of the back garden from the pergola

If only Florida got the memo. Florida doesn't seem to read calendars. Especially when it comes to the change of seasons. I think we can all agree Florida does summer very well. It might be the only truly predictable season. Hot and humid. Hot and humid with a chance of rain. Hot and humid again. No need to look at the weather report. Hot and humid. You can bet on it.

The Birdhouse Garden. All the foreground plants were planted last summer. You can read about it and view more pics here.

So, while it still feels like summer in Florida I'm going to do some catching up here. I'm back tracking a bit and posting a few photos from the summer garden that, due to my own procrastinating, I never got around to including here.

The pathway that leads to the rest of the backyard beyond the Birdhouse Garden.

I admit, as far as gardening goes, I used to loathe summers in Florida. Go ahead. Put your hands in the air if you do or ever did dislike Florida gardening in summer. My garden suffered because I dreaded the humid conditions that greet you like a wet, warm blanket (yuck) when you walk outdoors in summer.

Summer glories. Rudbekia from seed flowering in large galvanized pots mixed with salvia and Caladiums.

Over the years I have changed my attitude about Florida summer gardening. I get out very early in the morning for summer gardening. My body seems to acclimate better to the humidity when I get started early. Even though the humidity tries to swallow me, drenched me and sap the strength out of me. Humidity is a bully. It is mean. It aims to drain all the good energy and inspiration I start out with. You know it's true if you garden in Florida.

So many inches of rain this July and August. 

I won't let humidity get the best of me. These days I actually wait for summer to do some of my work. Spring is Florida's dry season. Summer is Florida's rainy season. We might not know for certain when the steady rains will start, but rest assured, they will start and then you can count on them. Rain will come. The steady rains inspire me.

Deep pink Pentas surround my blue bottle tree. 'Tapestry' and 'Radiance' Caladiums keep them company adding color all summer long.

I'm inspired to go dig up those baby Pentas that seeded themselves in the spring. I move them around to more suitable locations. I'm inspired to divide and transplant ornamental and native grasses, lilies, and many other plants with a rhizome root system.  Sprigs of Pentas, African basil, Salvias, Amaranthus, and Coleus (plus many more) root quickly in small pots in these summer conditions. When I know it's going to rain, it propels me onward to get outside before the rain and get my small rooted cuttings in the ground.

The back corner of the NE side grew up to be full size plants this year. Last summer this entire area was planted from cuttings and divisions. 

Summer rains save me so much time and energy. Irrigation from heaven. It waters-in all my summer plantings without any help from me. I don't have to drag hoses all over the garden to make sure the sun doesn't zap the soil too dry before the roots get established.

Caladiums thrive in hot and humid conditions. 'Debutante' in the front garden. 

I really appreciate rain-cooled summer days,too. Any drop in temperature on a hot, steamy day in Florida is a reprieve. I've learned to enjoy every season in my Florida garden. I'd rather be outdoors than anywhere else.

Since we built the pergola at the end of last winter, that is where you'll find me most mornings at the break of day and as often as possible at the end of day, too. Every season. Florida's summer no longer dictates to me when or if I garden. We've become friends. We get along much better now that I accept summer's conditions and I've learned to work around them.

What about you? Do you loathe summer or have you tried to make friends with it?
Happy Gardening,
Meems

**** Come hang out with me and other gardening friends for daily updates from Hoe and Shovel on Facebook... here's the link
:*** Hoe and Shovel on Facebook**

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If you've just arrived to this page as a new gardening friend or perhaps missed the back story about how we moved from our home and garden of 30 years to the house next door you can catch up here. 

All material © 2007-2015 by Meems for Hoe and Shovel Gardening Blog. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

Why I Wait to Plant Caladium Bulbs

'Puppy Love'

It is so very tempting to jump the gun and plant Caladium bulbs in springtime when the soil and air first begin to warm. New shoots of Caladiums from the year(s) before respond to the seasonal transition and lingering sunshine. Out they come, slowly unfurling into glorious shocks of brilliant color. Fingers itch to put more of them in the ground right away.

'Burning Heart' is the larger, background Caladium with 'Tiki Torch' bordering.

It's perfectly acceptable to plant Caladium bulbs anytime after your last frost date and when the temperatures warm to above 65F (or so) consistently. But, I like to wait. Caladiums respond best to warm, moist soil, and humid air. These are the conditions that make them best suited for summer foliage plants. As my Florida gardening friends are well aware, our spring season is typically very dry.

'Classic Pink' in the front garden.

I don't know about you, but I tire of dragging hoses around to my newly installed plants in the spring. Caladiums do not tolerate drought conditions for any enduring length of time. As a matter of course, they prefer our summer rainy season. Happy they are to receive a good daily downpour as long as the soil they're planted in drains well. You don't want to put them where water collects.

'Puppy Love' in the front garden.

As difficult as it may be to wait past spring to plant, I do. My bulbs are ordered early from Classic Caladiums for the best selection. I don't actually have them delivered to my doorstep until June and often don't get the last of them planted until July (or later). At that point the soil is warm (day and night) and our summer rainy season has kicked in full force. New sprouts from bulbs rocket out of the ground in a matter of days and colorful foliage unfolds in what seems like time-lapsed speed.

'Celebration' under the blue bottle tree and 'Radiance' on the right in the back garden.

Happy heart-shaped faces of reds, greens, pinks, white, and even salmon colors shine for the entirety of summer, and often into fall, when planted later. The general life-span of Caladium plants each year when they sprout or re-sprout is about 150 days.

'Tiki Torch' mixed with 'Desert Sunset' in pots.

I prefer my annually planted bulbs, with their dazzling foliage show, to peak mid-August into September when many of the spring blooming flowers have faded.

'Lemon Blush' and 'Desert Sunset'

Summer is Caladium season. They thrive with very little attention once the rainy season begins and provides them with plenty of nutritious water from heaven.

'Classic Pink' to the left and 'Lemon Blush' to the right.

My garden is chocked full of Florida-Friendly and Florida native plants, but Caladiums are the stars of my summer garden. Waiting to plant them until after the spring dry season is well worth the patience required.  Especially when August rolls around and there is still ample color gleaming in my garden from their easy-care foliage.

*** All Caladiums shown are varieties from and sold by Classic Caladiums.

*** Other articles I've written on Caladiums.

**** Come hang out with me and other gardening friends for daily updates from Hoe and Shovel on Facebook... here's the link: *** Hoe and Shovel on Facebook **

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you've just arrived to this page as a new gardening friend or perhaps missed the back story about how we moved from our home and garden of 30 years to the house next door you can catch up here.



All material © 2007-2015 by Meems for Hoe and Shovel Gardening Blog. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

Dripping Happy

The phrase 'April showers bring May flowers' was not written my a Floridian.

In Central Florida it is a true gift to receive any substantial rainfall in the month of April or May. Spring is our dry season.

With our dry season most often come drought conditions and watering restrictions ensue.
Our county is allowed one day to irrigate. For your own county restrictions you can click here. Did you know watering thoroughly (rather than often and more shallow) only one day per week actually encourages roots in your lawn and plants to go deeper and builds drought tolerance?

Yesterday we received a much needed gift of rain. It was a good, steady rain that tapered off and on to a drizzle and soaked the parched, sandy earth of my garden.

This morning it was still dripping with liquid happiness. The nutrients contained in rain are unlike any other substitute.

Our true rainy season can begin anytime from June to July as it coincides with hurricane season. Rain will continue through October while humidity and temperatures are high. Most of Florida will receive an average of 50" during this period.

Tree cover helps to hold in moisture as does good mulching habits. Even so, without rain for weeks even in the best conditions the garden dries out.

So we are thankful today for the heavens opening up on our little 'ole garden and bringing some much needed relief.

Refreshed and renewed!

I hope your garden (and you, too) is singing happy songs today. I know I am and I'm sure I can hear hallelujahs of thankfulness coming from my plants.

Happy gardening, Meems

**all photos taken today ~~ click on any photo for description/location.

Florida Gardening:: A Seasonal Re-Cap

It's the time of year when it seems Florida either has loads of rain or none at all. Our plants already have to adapt to sandy soil, sweltering temperatures, and unbearably high humidity. By this time, they've recovered fully from winter's random freezes, waited patiently (with help from irrigation) through our dry season (which is oddly during spring), and summer rains have kept them nourished in plenty. Plants and humans alike breathe a sigh of relief once the atmosphere is right for the 'hit and miss' pattern of rains to get started.
We learn to choose plants sutiable for our summer heat and humidity because we know at the outset they have to endure a long period of these tough conditions. Right plant, right place is a Florida-Friendly principle to practice for the greatest success rate in any Florida garden.

All the summer rain means the plants we chose to survive sunny, dry conditions (Mexican sage, bulbine, beach sunflower, sedum gold, achillea to name a few) can become very unhappy with days-on-end of rain. Other plants can suffer from the onset of fungus and disease with so much moisture.

Gardeners are well aware our fall season is likely to feel and act just-like-summer with the added factor of hurricane season in full force. Once in a while some of the cool air from the northern states might push its way this far south; then we enjoy some refreshing dry air for a brief visit. It's all random. The cool (dry) air doesn't stay very long.

Nevertheless, these September days are ever-so-gradually getting shorter and the sun is obviously making its rotation into the southern sky. I revel in the beauty of the autumn shifts in light and shadows.

The understated changes in Florida's seasons are keenly noticed by gardeners. Dormant caladiums that sprouted in March/April are gradually fading and going to sleep for the winter. Although the bulbs I planted in July/August remain perky and bright. That's why I like to hold some of them back to plant in mid-summer. It extends the foliage display well into fall.

Thanks to Classic Caladiums for giving me many new selections of bulbs to trial this year I've had a blast experimenting with them. Many of them are from their 'Sun Series' exclusive varieties which you can read more about here.

From the sun series 'White Wonder' has decidedly captured my attention and my heart. Giving it the ultimate test, by taking the chance it would perform exceedingly, I planted it in my front garden. More precisely, at the driveway entrance and along the roadside. It has not disappointed from any aspect.

This variety is bred for full sun exposure~~an amazing quality for any caladium. It has a mounding habit and tops out at 18" tall which makes it ideal for borders. They are planted on a slight slope where the soil drains rapidly. Flourishing with rainfall alone all summer and quite a bit of sun exposure 'White Wonder' passed the love-test in my garden. I will miss them greatly when they fade away for a winter reprieve.
Some beauties hold out for autumn to begin their bloom time. Such is the case with this young Brugmansia suaveolens grown from a small cutting that Chris from the Great Wall of Lutz passed on to me two summers ago. The first-ever buds on it froze in last December's early freezes. So this is actually the first time it has flushed out with success.

Intriguingly simple beauty from these complex trumpeted blooms.

After two weeks of virtually no rain we've gotten about 3 inches in the last 3 days (loads or not-at-all). I'm grateful and so are the plants that thrive on moisture like the magnificent Australian Tree Fern.

In the midst of end-of-summer dry/wet conditions and the continually high heat index ~~even though it is officially fall ~~ now is the time to crank up the vegetable garden again. It is always a guessing game depending on your location in the state. My green beans are putting on their second set of leaves. If it stays too hot they won't like it. A warm season vegetable that seems to like it less humid. Slightly cooler, drier air would be perfect for them to live a stress-free life. At least that's been my experience. Seeds are cheap so I keep trying even when conditions are not ideal.

[Take a look at this vegetable planting guide for dates of when and what to plant.]

Okra on the other hand respects the heat AND humidity ... growing well in the worst part of summer. It's a good thing we happen to like this odd vegetable. It's one that causes many noses to scrunch up in distaste at the mention of it.

The Cuphea ignea is taking up lots of valuable real estate in one of the framed beds in the back corner of the edible garden. Hummers and butterflies favor the long tubular flowers that bloom almost all year long. They visit frequently so the flowering shrub remains even though veggies would vie for that sunny spot. It's all about the choices we make.

Learning what grows well in our own gardens and placing them where they will be happy is what makes Florida gardening so thrilling. We do our best with the conditions thrown our way and we learn as we grow. All that said... I'm looking forward to some drier, cooler air... what about you?

** All photos are from this past week in my garden. Clicking on them individually will take you to captioned photos on my Picasa Website.

Summer Rainy Season

Florida characteristically endures a very dry spring and our rainy season coincides with the onset of summer. This season started out kind of slow in June and July with irregular, hit and miss afternoon thunderstorms.

Agastache 'black adder' has been blooming since early spring in the front garden. Since it prefers the soil dry and the sun shining the blooms are not quite as perky in late summer.

August rolled around and the heavens no longer held back. We started the month out with six inches in one day.

As long as caladiums don't sit in soggy soil they are most appreciative of our humid rainy summer. These are on a slight slope next to the street in the front garden where it drains quickly.

It's a good pattern for Florida gardens to get so much rain in summer and one we count on for establishing our spring plantings. Regular readers may remember the front lawn renovation with the removal of the turf grass coming out in stages. The last of it being removed just this past spring. You can review the initial posts with before photos here.
These two views (above) of the northerly view looking across the driveway reveal the rapid growth just one summer of sunshine and rain can bring.

I have to say I don't miss the grass one tiny bit. The combination of new plants mixed with the established plants seems to have made a comfortable blend.

The maintenance is practically care free now that everything is all settled in and cozy.

Florida-Friendly plants mixed with natives turns out to be a very good fit for taking the place of grass. It suits me and it suits the environment we are working to develop in our garden.

Humid With a Chance of Rain

It's a good thing there are some summer bloomers that don't mind humid, hot conditions.

The July garden offers just that. Day in and day out. We start out warm and we end up warm. Crape myrtles come alive at the onset of summer and thrive in our humid conditions.

Florida's rainy season begins in summer following our long, dry spring.

We are grateful for the six plus inches of rain that started the rainy season off with much needed heavenly liquid.

As a result of our consistent warmth and rainy conditions the garden grows like a jungle.

Frequent walks through the garden to pick up fallen branches/sticks, pull weeds, soft prune and to pick off dead flowers is beneficial.

Getting out very early (or late, or both) and staying in the shade through the middle part of the day is advised in this kind of heat.

Weeds grow as fast as the plants and can get out of control quickly if ignored.

It's the season that reveals the plants we've sited correctly (or not) for size, sunlight needs, and water requirements. Putting the right plants in the right place is essential for summer happiness.

It is easy to see which plants are quite content as they continue unfurling new growth.

There are a few Agapanthus blooms that first appeared in May still scattered about in the midst of July.

Their numerous trumpeted flowers shaped into large round orbs atop tall scapes are providers of nectar to all sorts of flying critters.

In the front garden where spring's new plantings replaced the last bit of the lawn there it's easy to see how rapidly they are filling in with all the rain.

Caladiums have popped out of the ground so happy to be a part of the summer scenery. Some return each year. New ones planted to fill in the gaps go in the ground June/July every year also.

There are pests that thrive on summer's feast of overgrowth and hide in its lushness. The Eastern Lubber grasshoppers are my biggest problem in the summer garden. Without a predator (except me) to ward them off they eat huge portions of my big-leaved tropicals leaving them tattered and unsightly. This one unpolitely chomping on the sweetly scented blooms of butterfly gingers.

Colorful foliage of Stromanthe in the shade resembles a water color painting from the back side of their lovely leaves.

Over in the sunny edible garden weeds have gone awry and need to be tamed. Soon. But the flowering perennials and annuals loving summer's heat draw the hummers and pollinators regardless of the overgrown weeds.

Gardening in the summertime in Florida can be challenging. It's when I am MOST grateful for my mostly shady garden that protects me (and the plants)from the direct sunlight as I work.

Like every other season the garden is where you'll find me in my free time. And like every other season the summer garden has its glories. I want to be right there in the face of them so I don't miss a thing.

Happy gardening wherever you are! Meems

**All photos taken Sunday during a stroll around Hoe and Shovel. For photo identification click on the photo. You'll be taken to my Picasa Web Album where each photo is captioned. Back click to return to this post.