Finally Captured This Black Serpent Digitally

This is one of two snakes that I've seen in my yard within the past couple of months. What a beauty!

Them May Be Giants - Crinum asiaticum 'Giant Crinum Lily'

 What with a break in humid ninety degree temperatures to a breezy relatively dry
 upper seventies. I better take advantage these glorious conditions and do some
potentially back and shovel breaking digging.
.

Giant White Crinum - Crinum asiaticum planted from bulblets eleven years ago
and have yet to bloom. Look great as a Stand but need more sun light and
sometimes covered in unsightly rust.

Nearly broke this steel shovel in two while digging these giants from their lair.

I've read where they don't like to be moved but I have no other choice. Yard
space is at a premium thinking that this very spot could be better utilized by
another. As indicated by this all knowing Bromiliad flouresence pointing to
this same location now vacated by the Crinum and could be the new home
for a Paw Paw tree.

I happen to be rich in brand new t-shirts, what better way to sun shade this Paw Paw
from some potentially damaging sun rays. Bare in mind what was too little sun for these
giants could be way too much for this Paw Paw.

Now, I have to figure where to plant these giants.

Sun Loving Crinum

Sun is not what it gets. Last year I did thin out the sun robbing Crape
Myrtle tree. This year paid off with three blooms to last year's one.

Running about a month late in the season too.

New Addition: Broadleaf Podocarpus - Nageia nagi

A yogi and gardener like myself brought me a plant from her yard. I needed
to trade out pots so as to return the pot and stake along with it's intended
Karma. Right?

 I had ran out of my composted soil and needed some light material to fill
my container that I was using due to the heavy sandy material that was
used and is is ubiquitous here in Florida.

I remember something my father said to me about asking and receiving. As such
was in this case and sure enough my answered was above me residing in the
carport's gutter that was in need of clearing. Not only was this well rotted and
composted but nice and wet from yesterday's rain. Black Gold!

Spiranthes Among The Ruins

What few last sprouts of Horsetail that tried to regenerate but was devoured by
some snails now finds an orchid not indigenous to Florida in it's ruins.

Rare But Not Unseen

Spied this seed pod from a variegated Confederate Jasmine this morning.
















Using a hand truck to move a potted planter from the backyard to one of the
only spot in my yard that has some sustainable amounts of sunshine.

I've seen one or two pods on my standard Confederate Jasmine, but once again
this is was the rare occasion, considering how many hundred of thousands of
blooms this plant produces and so few seed pods.

Thoughts Go Out to All Those In Orlando

An all too familiar news of violence with hope that one day it will become the
unheard of sort of violence.

To find words that already haven't been said. Words that still have meaning in these days
that we live.

Tolerance, Mental Health and Love Thy Self, come to mind.

New Plant Varieties of Tomatoes

A so called Black Cherry Tomato from the nursery of Bonnie Plants in care of Doty's of Winter Haven.

Should this planter look familiar is was nursing some cuttings, which were showing signs of taking but
I know it's track record and they would have stayed had I not found these new varieties.

Purple Cherokee, same source, although it may be too late and too hot but might get lucky.
These are planted a bit closer to the house and get a tad less afternoon sun, hoping that
might make the difference. The Spanish Moss covering is to help shield these tender plants
some shade from our unforgiving Florida sun. That is until these plants get situated and in
turn eat up what ever sun I can steer towards them, knowing that hours of sunshine around
my yard is at a premium.

Thought I would try introducing some minerals in liquid form to help boost and give these
plants a great start. I hope they do a better job for these plants than so called supplements
that are pushed on us humans.

What A Soaker

One week into the hurricane season and already we are on our third named
tropical storm, named Colin. I don't imagine the rain portion of this weather
system has reached it's conclusion, while I survey my property.. Small branches
from the oak tree here and there.

 I did notice that snails were out taking advantage of all this moisture. Will have
to keep a watchful eye on my new bulb plantings for both snails and slugs. I
don't know what preys on sails and slugs. To bad it wasn't Dragon Flies,
 because I've been seeing more and more of those lately also.

Garden wall sentinel.

As for the new bulbs they are getting the best moisture
that nature can provide. What with just a handful of yellowing leaves
from the newly established bulbs. I was more concern with sun scald.
These cloudy last few days helped spare these new recruits to this here
garden, one less peril of the garden life.

Late Spring Compost Recipe

I already had some per-composted Bald Cypress needles that I had scraped
off the carport roof earlier this year. That was my requisite brown (black)
Good thing I still have my debris shovel I had kept from my garage demolition
days. Comes in handy to shovel up this Cypress material.

 The rich footprint where the cypress material left it's mark.

 My Sleeping Hibiscus needed a good trim which provided the other
half of the mix, providing the green (leaves only). Husking corn comes to mind
as I was stripping off the leaves from their stems.

The contributing green source material. There are just two red blooms that
were revealed after the trimming.

I managed to scrape up a small pail of last's year's compost. This provides
the Starter culture for this mix to get off to great start. Not much different
from a Sourdough starter culture for making bread. It wasn't until after I
scraped this together I only realized that there might have been little left
of the compost but what I did scraped together regardless will provide
the needed beginnings of bacteria and other micro biological things that
will get to feast on these gathered nature's offerings.

Not to mention a dozen or so earthworms that were already working away
in the Bald Cypress material.

Chopped up the green material with a machete to some degree. A good
salad tossing to mix everything and a bucket of collected rain water to
bless this union of natural materials and adding the needed moisture to
hasten the breaking down this mass of carbon.

This will be my third year in creating a compost, which comes has come in handy
many times knowing that I have this resource.

This is only filled this composting bin about half full that will get some more over the next
couple of months. With the occasional turning and tossing this material and  the challenge
of scrounging up the needed brown material to balance the abundance of green material.

Silhoetted Blossom and Water Marked Stones

Budha Bamboo Has Landed

It must be going on three years now and finally settled on a letting this wondering
specimen to set down roots. This is a clumping bamboo which is more desireable
than the type than have runners. Trust me when I say you don't want to be on the
receiving end of a runner.

This rather dry and semi shaded location may not be the most ideal but perhaps the
best that is available.

                                   Now let's let time do it's thing.

Towering Ivory

This Yucca's first time bloom for this location. So not only has it's sculptural merits too.

Purple, Green and Seedy are the Theme

Today's catch from my potted garden are some Japanese Eggplant. This is probably one
of the few times where the term 'seedy' may be a good thing. I had just potted some
Eggplant cuttings that may have been premature are my part. Patience has been a term
that some have described or declared upon me behalf, just not in this instance.

As for the Purple Fingerling Potatoes are from our Dixieland Twilight market.

The Eggplant was seedy, which may not be the best for eating, which I will soon
find out. So I collected the seed and put them in some potted compost, which now
are just scrappings by now, yet fine enough for seeds. Far from being sterile as most
guidelines insist.

  

Garden Circle Once Barren

The cycle continues of replanting and waiting for that moment to inspired to create.
I've had the idea to repopulate this garden circle with some Amyrilla bulbs that I've
started from seed, which can take anywhere from five to seven years to produce a
bloom. This collection of bulbs run from four to two years in the making.

Yesterday afternoon after taking a break from some yard detailing in the front yard
and about an hour and a half before darting off to a yoga class. Is when I get that
all familiar spark of wanting to put these bulb and bulbettes a permanent place to
thrive. This task has it's drawbacks, first one being that it can be a hard on the lower
back. To a point of almost not going to yoga, which I was very grateful to have gone
and respecting my body's state of being tasked out.

With a handful of bulbs to go and have to make a decision whether to yoga
or not. Yoga wins out and when I get home to make another decision to
finish planting the remaining bulbs or wait till the first thing tomorrow
morning. I did have trouble getting to sleep last night and a prompt bulb
planting did cross my mind. Nothing that some task lighting couldn't
remedy.

I did wait for the mornings first light along with a dressing of some Bone Meal,
Fertilizer and a top dressing of the remaining Compost should assure that the
approximate hundred and thirty bulbs get a good jump on life. Not to mention
the garden hose dragged across the yard and will stay put for the next couple
of weeks for a daily dosing of some city water.

This garden circle will be barren no longer. I also threw in some Rosemary
cuttings that have taken root and a Florida native plant that shall remain
nameless for this posting. 

Last Flowering Of The Season

The last of the Amyrillas have bloomed and what seems to always be the case
that catches my eye. This year's batch of blooms were a late start and not
the big show that seems to make it's appearance every other year. Having them
shaded by a large oak tree delays their bloom cycle, which to me gets my
attention knowing how other similar flowers in other yards have already bloomed
and faded.