They Say It's Winter

I'm certain all my Florida gardening friends remember that awful winter of 2010 when we experienced an out-of-the-ordinary winter.  If you don't remember, state wide there were several back-to-back below-freezing days/nights. I think we all vowed to give up tropical plants and only replant with cold hardy evergreens after that winter. 

Seven winters later it's hard to remember how we felt when all our pretties turned black and melted away from that unusual spell in 2010. 

This winter has been like spring. More so than last year when we considered that one to be mild.

We've been able to have a few fires inside and outside, but not very many nights/days have been cold enough.

Mild mornings and evenings mean we spend a lot of time outside. We eat outdoors often. We prop our feet up and read and drink coffee. It is Central Florida's season to be completely comfortable outside.

Whether it's too cold or just right Florida's winter season is a time for Azaleas and Camellias. This garden has some ancient shrubs of each.  To see them flowering makes the front garden feel like spring.

There are other plants that offer color in Florida's mild winter. Bromeliads love our mild weather. Many varieties color-up just for this time of year.

Begonias mixed with bromeliads add lots of pizzazz along my back walkway.

Winter is an excellent time for seasonal veggies. This year I'm only growing some heirloom kale and collard greens. But, oh my, are they yummy.

Even the butterflies think it's mild enough to keep hanging around.

The hardest part about the weather being so mild is trying to resist the temptation to garden like it's spring.  I'm ready to cut every lanky and overgrown shrub back by February 1. It is advisable to wait until the last chance of frost date. I try to comply. Not so much because I think we might have some sudden freeze, but more so because the bushy shrubs protect the plants around them even when those temps drop into the 40's at night.

Truth be told, I haven't done very well adhering to those good practices with this spring-like weather. If all goes well, at least I'll be way ahead when spring does come around. Heck, it might be time to  cut back again by that time.

They say it's winter, but the only clear indicator around here is the calendar. How is your winter going?

Happy Gardening,
Meems


***** I post to my Facebook gardening page almost daily. If you'd like to join us there to keep up with Hoe and Shovel Gardening here's the link: Hoe and Shovel on Facebook or https://www.facebook.com/HoeAndShovelGarden/ if you need to copy and paste. ~~ 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 (text and photos) © 2007-2017 is authored by Meems for Hoe and Shovel Gardening Blog. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

Winter Wonderful

You thought I didn't realize it was the first week of spring with my title. Truth is, I admit, I started writing this blog several weeks ago.

It WAS a wonderful winter and I also realize I have been absent from this blog. Not at all absent from gardening. Honestly, could Floridians have asked for a more beautiful winter season?  Winter is probably the time of year I love most. It's so refreshing when the temperatures drop into the 40's at night and the daytime temps rise to high 60's. Dream weather for me.

Although there isn't nearly the maintenance to keep up with in the garden during winter there are still plenty of gardening days to keep a Florida gardener busy. The weather is so inviting with all that beautiful sunshine and less humidity, it makes you want to find ways to be outside,

This year I sprinkled baking soda on some of the winter weeds growing within the lawn and discovered it killed them without killing the grass. It mostly worked on the one pictured and the Oxalis that invades during winter.
FYI: It didn't faze the more difficult weeds like dollar weed. I know. That would have been too good to be true. 

Weeds and more weeds right? Weeds you don't even see during the other seasons. They pop out because it's also their favorite weather. Cool nights, warm days. Rather than let weeds go all winter and collect them all at once when it warms up, I feel so far ahead of the seed heads that can spread the weeds when I'm diligent to pull them along and along. You will love your garden much more when it's time to trim back in spring if you aren't scurrying around also managing winter weed control. It's so much easier to pull weeds when it's cool anyway.

Florida has so many months of hot, sweltering heat that the cooler months inspire me to get in gear on new projects. I wait for a cold winter day to start new planting beds. This year that meant a mid-January weekend. I watched the weather and in anticipation of a day staying in the 50's F (no sweating on that day) I had potting soil and mulch delivered to be ready for my project.

The southwest end of the front garden. It needed a bit of a balancing refresh. The northwest end (next to the driveway) is all plants. I've been thinking since we moved in here that this end needed plants instead of grass.

For over a year I've been mulling over a solution for this corner of the front garden. The grass needed to go, but there are two pine trees that shed badly above this space. If you have pine trees you know how messy they are. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the needles for mulch. But those same needles get caught in every branch of every shrub and literally layer on top and through the branches of underplantings beneath the trees. It's a catch-22. Love the pine needles to collect for mulch; dislike them hanging in the Azalea shrubs and drowning out the smaller ground covers. In the end I've decided to keep the pine trees and make the best of it.

This photo is taken from the opposite view as the one above. The end of my property line is a couple of feet beyond the cardboard. A strip wide enough for one mower swipe.

First I put a layer of thick cardboard/newspaper over the grass, then a layer of approximately 10-12 inches of potting soil (not top soil which is too heavy), then a layer of 2-3 inches of mulch. This combination will smother/kill the grass in 8-10 weeks (quicker in summer with heat and rain.)

In this photo (taken from the street) it isn't finished, but a good start with perennials and low-lying shrubs.

You know I was chopping at the bit to plant it, but I wanted to make sure the grass and weeds were DEAD before I broke through the cardboard with my shovel. It saves me lots of heartache over the long haul when I wait long enough for the smothering to do its duty.

Making decisions about what to plant in this spot has been interesting. I knew for certain I wanted to add Agapanthus. My elderly neighbor supplies me with an extremely hardy and vigorous variety that we haven't been able to find in garden centers. There is a good number of these beautiful lilies planted at the northwest end opposite of this. It should look pretty great when they all bloom at once. That probably won't happen this year. For some reason Agapanthus like to hold out on me for a good year after being transplanted. I dug up about 20 of them from my neighbor's yard to transplant here and so far they all seem to be adjusting pretty well. I just cut off the leaves that yellow from the shock of dividing the bulbous roots.

This was the best BEFORE photo I could find taken in early January.
From the street you can see the entire corner is entirely lawn. It has a gentle slope toward the street/rocks.

From the street you can see the entire southwest corner of my front yard is entirely lawn. It has a gentle slope toward the street/rocks. You can also see the two 50' pine trees on either side of this space. Again, pine needles make beautiful mulch, messy plants.

Photo taken the first day of spring, 2016,  from the street. See, I really do know it's not still winter in spite of my title.

I'm not quite finished with it because, of course, there will be Caladiums.  So far, Agapanthus, 'Little John' bottlebrush shrubs, Coonties, Dystilium 'Blue Cascade' (a new shrub for Florida/me), Foxtail ferns, Giant Apostle's Iris and bromeliads. Every plant choice is low growing (below 4'), drought tolerant, cold hardy, Florida Friendly or Florida native and they all do well in high-shifting shade. Low maintenance was the primary goal!

Another view of the front garden this week with some of the Azaleas deciding to peak for spring's arrival. We like this patch of lawn that breaks the expanse and gives the eye a rest between gardening beds.

I've removed a lot of grass in this new garden already, but mostly in the back yard. I don't have plans to remove anymore in the front after this. Do you remember my front yard projects from my old garden? There wasn't a blade of grass left in that front yard by the time I took out one section at a time. 

The weather this week in West Central Florida? A surprisingly cool front came through making the beginning of spring feel a bit more like Florida's winter wonderful! I'm loving every minute of it. Happy spring.

Happy gardening,
Meems


* I post to my Facebook gardening page almost daily. If you'd like to join us there to keep up with Hoe and Shovel Gardening here's the link: Hoe and Shovel on Facebook  or if you need to copy and paste https://www.facebook.com/HoeAndShovelGarden/.

*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 (text and photos) © 2007-2016 is authored by Meems for Hoe and Shovel Gardening Blog. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

Winter is Arriving a Little Late

Camellia japonica

Who can complain about Florida's winter weather? Not me. It's my favorite season of the year. This winter, like so many others before this, we have had gloriously mild weather. Just the right amount of rain when needed, abundant sunshine and perfectly cool but not cold has been our daily report. Until now.

A view across the top half of the back garden. February 2015

Cold hardy Old Garden Roses 'Old Blush' in bloom February 2015

Tomorrow morning in most of Florida including West Central Florida where I am it all changes. That northern blast that has brought record lows to our friends north of us is bearing down this far south with all its might.

Not as much tree cover in this garden as my old garden. Philodendron 'Rojo Congo' are too big to move. Hoping for the best.

It's been predicted we'll see the temperature drop to 32°F and as low as 27°F for about 6 hours. Just long enough to damage the crops of farmers and certainly enough to turn Florida gardeners' tropical plants to mush. Does anyone remember the winter of 2009 or 2010? They were worse.

Lots of Salvia 'Wendy's Wish' will be wishing for blankets they don't have tonight. 

I'm a bit of a weather-holic. I watch the hourly forecast on a weather app and online. I've been hoping the forecasters were wrong or just exaggerating because, well, it happens often. Even if they are wrong by a few degrees or hour or so, it's likely we still get freezing temps (not sure how low) and for several hours.

These pots will be left out in the open. They are a mix of perennials, annuals and herbs. Most are cold hardy.

Still. We can't complain. There are far worse scenarios in life than a few plants looking brown and ugly for a while. Most of them will not die. They will come back from the root.

African blue basil will not like the cold temps. My beautiful Queen Emma Crinums and Cordylines will fold under the pressure also.

Selfishly, I wish this wasn't happening. Especially so late in the season when everything is looking so pretty. Selfishly, I wish I didn't have so many new plants. I started most of my herbaceous perennials from root cuttings and they've only been in the ground since last June/July. All of that can be overcome in the long term. 

Lots of cold-hardy oaks, palmettos, azaleas, Indian hawthorn and giant liriope in the front gardens. 

Looking on the bright side there are loads of great cold-hardy plants in this garden also. AND... since it is so late in the season, we won't have to look at brown for very long. We can cut it off in the next week or two. Our last chance of frost date is 2.15.15. Oh, wait. That was 4 days ago. Ha!!!

Front garden azaleas are blooming so pretty right now.

If this cold weather wasn't right on top of us we would have all been out in our gardens this week with pruners and loppers in hand cutting back overgrown winter foliage. Old Man Winter seems to be mocking us visiting us so late.

I hope you stay cozy and warm until we see better weather. Here's some reliable researched information on what to do for your plants when the cold weather comes. 

One thing for sure. My blue bottle tree won't freeze tonight. 

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

A Quick Weekend Project :: Repurposed Ladders

Believe me when I say it has been a VERY long time that I've wanted a pergola in my garden. I can't even pinpoint for how long I've seen visions of dappled shade from wooden rafters overhead. It was a dream that never came to fruition in my OLD garden. I'm happy to announce that we just finished having one built in the back yard of my NEW garden. I'll detail the process of building the pergola in another post. You needed to know about the pergola so I can tell you the next story.

During the build of the pergola (December 2014)

Under the pergola my ultimate plan is to create a multi-purpose area. We opted for a roof to keep it dry underneath. It's big enough for a seating area and a work area. Foremost, the idea is to have a gardening work area. I'm waiting right now ... I do a lot of waiting ... I know you do too ... most of us do when it comes to dreams. The plan includes having a work bench built for potting and projects. Then I'd like some open, stacked shelving where I can put my trays of seed starts and plant starts. Everything gets accomplished in stages around here. I'm good with that...continues to teach me patience. While I'm waiting for the next phase of my plans, I decided to improvise on the stacked shelving for the interim.

Clear polycarbonate roofing over the pergola

I've been holding on to an ancient wooden ladder for quite a long time. I knew I wanted to repurpose it for something in the garden, but wasn't sure what/how/where until we moved into this house. The previous owner left me his slightly shorter ancient wooden ladder. With two wooden ladders I'm ready to get busy. Do they even make wooden ladders anymore?

This is by no means an original idea. I've seen ladders painted and displayed in other situations. In the back of mind I imagined I would make a display for pretty potted plants using the ladders somewhere out in the garden. Clarity has struck ... you know, like an aha moment... when all those swirling thoughts come together and you can SEE IT. I will use the ladders under the pergola for my temporary stacked shelving. It's the perfect place and use for them.

My old wooden ladder is 6' tall.  I've had this ladder for over 36 years. It was the first ladder Mr. Meems and I ever bought together. I've puttied, caulked, painted, stenciled, drilled, papered, washed, nailed, leveled and scraped climbing this old wooden ladder. It was long ago replaced by a fancy metal one or two. The new life I'm giving it will be a bit of a memorial to the tasks accomplished up and down those steps. 

Here's how my weekend repurposed ladder project went down.

First, I scrubbed the ladders with a good cleanser and brush to be sure they were ready for paint. They've been resting idle for a long time. They dried in partial sun and overnight. In the meantime, I raided my ample supply of spray paints to determine which bright colors I'd use to transform them.

I had bought an extra can of Rustoleum Summer Squash with this project in mind a few months ago when I used it for some autumn decorating. After all this time it was still my first choice. It is a delicious golden yellow color that says 'smiling sunshine' when I look at it.

The second color for the shorter ladder was almost as easy to decide. I've been spray painting clay pots with Rustoleum Lagoon and I'm loving how it blends with green/chartreuse plants. I wanted something bright and quirky, but I also kept in mind colors that work with my garden/house. 

I gathered some old salvaged wooden planks of varying sizes out of my garage to place on and between the rungs of the ladders. I just had to paint one of them (again Rustoleum) Paprika. The others are already gray. (Rustoleum is getting some free advertising here. I do love their spray paint because it is primer and paint all in one.)

The posts under the yellow ladder are leftover pieces from the pergola that I painted Rustoleum Espresso. They make another layer for more trays.

Pergola is east-facing with lots of filtered morning sun.

I'm ready now to gather up the grow-trays of baby cuttings that are hiding out in the garden hither and yon. This protected area is going to be perfect for starting seeds, too.

Plants that need shade are placed toward the back. It is nice to have them all in one spot. There is a water spigot under the pergola which makes it easy to manage watering duties for whatever plants/seeds end up resting here.

I hope you are enjoying your gardens this season if you live in a warm climate like Florida.
Happy gardening, Meems

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All material © 2007-2014 by Meems for Hoe and Shovel Gardening Blog. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

Hollis Garden ~ Winter Beauty

On a cloudy winter Florida day a few weeks ago, my sister and I drove to Lakeland and one of the many fun things we did that day was visit Hollis Garden.

It's a small treasure tucked away in the Historic District of downtown Lakeland. If I hadn't been trying to find it, it could have been easily missed. Hollis Garden opened in 2000 and is located on the Southeast side of picturesque Lake Mirror. Mark and Lynn Hollis donated $1.5 million to build this lovely green botanical garden in the heart of the city.

The gardens are a refreshing oasis of soothing green and vibrant colors designed with plentiful walkways for easy access.

Formal hedges throughout create walls for themed gardens.

Trickling fountain in the center of the entry portico.

Large entry planted with seasonal annuals of petunias, Delphinium and verbena.

Stunning Ti plant in the 'red garden'

Swan balustrade that separates the gardens from the sidewalk along the edge of Lake Mirror

Stained glass feature in the 'yellow garden'

Luscious edibles were planted throughout among annuals and perennials.

Petunias loving the cool weather of Florida's winter season.

I'm in love with Bamboo!

Perfectly trimmed hedges are not my style personally, but I do appreciate seeing them in other gardens. Their sculptured forms create spaces within them that contrast beautifully.

Simple hanging containers add so much life to a plain column or wall.

Sugar cane! The sight of these beautiful canes brings back so many childhood memories.  My dad would cut them open while out in the woods and give them to me and my siblings to chew on pure sweetness.

Bright blue Delphinium and red verbena combine for lots of colorful pizzazz in Florida's cool months of winter.

A falling concrete water rill is the central feature that divides the gardens in half.

Stunning roses just outside the gardens.

Pink!

Succulents in the hottest, sandiest point along the back entry caught my eye with their bright orange blooms.

And this is what it looks like in the middle of winter! Florida is definitely the place to be when the snow hits up north. Which is why my sister visits and coaxes me to fun places while our weather is divine.

Spring is coming soon for those that didn't make it to Florida and have endured so much cold this year.

Happy gardening,
Meems

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