First Color

These tiny gems, do appear larger than here. No bigger than a blueberry and
not the supper sized variety either. Small in size , but big in taste these
Everglade Tomato take the prize with it's first blush of red.

Jupiter Eat Your Heart Out - Cortaderia selloana - Pampas Grass

No violent winds or extreme temperature fluctuations needed here to
great these whorls and swirls.

Don't let your guard down though because these innocuously looking curls
will slice and dice the unwary.

Round Two In Establishing Some Liriopi spicata - Creeping Lilyturf

Five weeks in from the first round of transplanting some Lilyturf
was a resounding success. I'm going to forgo the umbrella this
time for some sacrificial branches from an abundant and generous
line of Podacarpus to provide some needed shade. Hense the 
instant forest to the left of some well established Lilyturf.

To get these transplants off to a good start. A covered bucket of rainwater
on standby to provide a daily douse of needed water in our
midst of our dry season. Why establish them now you ask?

The sun is gaining strength and it won't be long before the
heat cranks up to stifling. So getting them in now would
increase it's success . Along with a daily task to get them
established goes with the nurturing aspects of the joys
of gardening.

Fourth Macadamia Nut Bloom

The novelty has not worn off yet. Perhaps not until the blooms
produce their first nuts. Also I'm finding out that blooms will
set on last matured first growth, which is typical of most
fruit trees.

Also having to spritz the Aphids with with some soap and water to keep them at bay.

New Eggplant Variety Found

Shikou eggplant will get it's debut as a replacement for an underperforming
Turkish tomato plant.

Time will tell, with lots of TLC too.

The Passing Of A Sweet Soul

This man was a friend of the family, my two youngest brothers. I've only
met him a handful of times over the years. Once you meet him you never
forget him.

I thought I would give him a Constant Gardener send off.

Cheers mate!

Clip Clip Here, Clip Clip There... Juniperus chinensi - Sea Spray

Aptly named and trimmed out the dead and spindly bottom growth out
to give it cleaner lines. Detailing such gives me that often sought meditation
like experience that I seek when in the yard.

The name tag that came with this plant and from a big box store, is suspect
but I will have to dig a little further to find otherwise.

Emergence - Cardboard Plant = Zamia furfuracea

One of several favorite specimens that I have.  I'm still letting it get some
height by letting the new growth stretch out over the old. This plant is
in the same family of Cycads that still retain some of their ancient
origins.

This orchid is throwing out some new blooms and is extremely fragrant.
Too lazy to go digging for an ID but this is one of several orchids that
I have that puts up with our heat and proliferates with very little
in spite of the with little human intervention which comes in the
form of some waterings from some collected rain water.

I'll Follow The Sun

As the daylight grows longer I started to shuffle my potted vegtable
plants accordingly. Found one tomato plant with blossom end rot
so I discarded that and hope to find some more eggplant seedlings
to take it's place. I'm sticking to vegetables that do well in pots and
our harsh sun, what little I have of it.

How Many Perched Peacocks Can You See?

If you said two, look a little harder. These birds were perched in friends
yard. There must be at least twenty birds that she supplements their
diet with seed and shitty white bread. Fortunately the birds have ample
bugs to fetch under plenty leaf litter that her urban forest creates. 

Stealth Movement In Motion

Yesterday I just returned home from an outdoor Rooted/Movement
workshop, day three. Only to find this beauty practicing it's own more natural
movement. No need for a workshop to brush up it's motion in it's
urban nature.

Big Blue's Day 27 Since Launch

Agave spire is now twice the height as the parent  and competing
in height with Bald Cypress trees.

This morning's silhouette.

Today's Photo Shoot And Model

A stray that has made it's self at home. So in a ten minute time frame
this cat made the rounds for this photo shoot. Cats being cats and with
no direction. I think it's a natural and not to mention, being photogenic.
She must of thought that my recent installations were missing something.

Now she's really getting into it and pouring on the pose bit.

Turkish Tomato Plants Thriving

This one wins the 'Most Beautiful' tomato plant', with it's dappled
highlights from the waning sun. I'm lucky to get nine hours of sun
in my most sunniest spot.

These Florida native 'Everglade' Tomato wins the 'Most Prolific' tomato plant.

The Turkish tomato plant on the right gets the 'Most Robust' tomato plant
in the bunch. The stems look like they are on steroids.

This is the first ever growing tomato plants where I've pinched out the
suckers. We shall see if this helps any in the limited lighting conditions.

This one wins the 'Most Advanced' tomato award. This is last season's
new growth on old stock. This tomato plant only gets mid afternoon to
evening sun also.

I have twice as many plants that will only produce only half as much
tomatoes and have some cuttings started to help stagger this urban
crop.

Big Blue's Mid Grand Finale - Day 20

Still making it's way to the heavens.

Pampered Cacao Tree Update

Late winter leaves have matured and new leaves follow. This is nearing
it's third anniversary in my care. To think that it was only a seven inch
sprout. I'm going to try and push it into bloom this year and start giving
it some bloom boosting agents and see what transpires.

Today's Urban Wild Life

This Great White Egret is quite at home in our urban wilds. Plenty to
eat as it goes on with it's hunt.

I would to think this garden guardian found that hornworm that snacked
on this season's first tomato. This hornworm would have been quite a
juicy snack.

It spies something bigger than a fly.

So pedestrian.

Big Blue's Mid Grand Finale - Day 14

Establishing Some Liriopi spicata - Creeping Lilyturf - Revisited

Thru some cuttings on these newly transplants. To give a chance to
survive both, sun and the human process of being an avid gardener.

Another down pour of rain today helps with the chances of surviving.

Disturbed Soil Survivors And Remnant Souvenir

This disturbed soil(sand) survivor most likely came from the soil
removed from my poured porch project last summer. The excess
sand was wheelbarrowed to the back of my backyard and then
brought back to level these pavers and from a long nap they
awaken.

It's been years since I last saw this specimen, the Prickly Poppy -
Argemone pleiacantha. This specimen has large white poppy
blooms with a yellow core. Once this matures the foliage turns
to a blue-gray.

You can see the bits of concrete in this recovered sand that was exhumed. 


Also found in this recovered sand is another of many souvenirs from when
this house was first built in 1927, a remnant from times past. A china chard
from a cup or saucer.

Little Wonder Big Fragrance

This native Florida briar has big thorns and little flowers with a big honey
like fragrance. One of several Smilax varieties.

Macadamia Nut Tree Gets A Major Trim

After gifting me with it's first blooms and no nuts this winter. 

I thought I would read up on it's care and only to find out that it 

needed some trimming to open up at it's crown. This specimen

could bloom multiple times through out the year.

Big Blue's Trajectory Is Locked In - Day 12

Getting set to pierce the sky and hope it manages to miss the power lines
this time around.

Helper Tree Gets A Major Trim

This tree is over thirty years old but doesn't look a day over fifteen, due
to it's heavy trimming. Otherwise this tree has no business being this
close to the house. Most defiantly a volunteer and as most Camphor
trees here in mid Florida are sensitive to our hard freezes that occur
on occasion. So being on the west side of the house and relatively
close to the house gives it a better chance of not getting burnt by
a hard freeze.

This tree helps me climb up on top of the roof of my house more
confidently than using a ladder. So once every two years It gets a
a trim and shaping to keep it's symbiotic relationship intact. 

This tree has been perched on by many of Spring migrating birds.
Numerous stray cats, that I've seen through my kitchen window
and who knows how many other critters that I've that have gone
unseen.

Big Blue Leviathan Revisited - Day 9

Seedlings VS Cuttings VS Well Established

The race,  a study, what works and what doesn't.

The first set of tomatoes is just about a tie, between the cuttings
and last year's geriatric, relatively speaking, Turkish tomato.
That is until a Hornworm took out a big chunk out of the cutting's
tomato. All but one of the classic signs of this garden pest was
there, until that is, until is was gone. Like to think a hungry bird
spotted it and brought that feast home to it's partner or babies if
it's not too early.

So that makes my established tomato in the front and leading.

My next observation is to see if the seedlings tomatoes catch
up with the cuttings.

Winner of the second round. Plenty of new growth through out this tall
specimen, with the fruits of it's labor at the top. Judging from the size
of it's tomato this would have won the first round.

Stake Em & String Em Up If You Got Em

Yesterday's Epic rain trampled a couple of my tomato seedlings. So it's time
to stake them up. The warm temperatures and what little sun I still have
make these tomato plants grow so fast it's almost like you can see them
grow.

What An Epic Easter Egg - One Epic Downpour Of Rain In The Middle Of Our Seasonal Dry Season

In edition to refilling two fifty-five gallon barrels (manually)
might as well fill up two fifty gallon Hefty garbage cans (manually)
for some auxiliary Dry Season storage and fished out my never used
lids that could of been tossed out many a times, to keep the mosquitoes
out.

Rinsed my dusty car off with the over flow and doused a few 
fortunate few recently planted specimens.

Driveway is sitting in two inches of standing water that
should not last, as the ground sucks up the bountiful.

We Got Them In Green To