Garden Pic Wednesday: Signs of Spring

-

I saw yesterday that one of my Azalea's had blooms along the bottom---a sure sign spring is on the way! They all bloom along the bottom first. 


 

The temps hovering close to 20F for 3 days in December froze the leaves off my Winter Jasmine shrub---which actually proved helpful! With the leaves gone, I could see more easily exactly where to trim it back. 


Comments

Post a Comment

Thanks for leaving a comment!

Popular posts from this blog

Garden Pic Wednesday: Amaryllis & Chinese Stonecrop

-
Image
I have 2 Amaryllis, each in a container out in my front beds: one is a dark, solid red and the other is this reddish-orange & white. Both have been faithful to bloom for like 15 years! Today's other picture is Chinese Stonecrop in one of my patio containers, which is just now starting to bloom. I'm not quite sure how it got there exactly, but it looks really good!
Read more

Writers Prompt Thursday: Cosplay Dress Up

-
Image
  A little known fact about me is I was once was an active member of an Official Star Trek Club.  It was around the spring of 1988. My husband and I were living in Eglin Air Force Base Housing at the time and we saw listed in the personal ads in the Base newspaper that someone was seeking people interested in participating in a Star Trek Club. So, we were immediately interested and called the provided phone number. Turned out it was a couple right there in Base Housing. who only lived a few streets away from us, named Chris & Tammy. We promptly met them and soon we and a few others became regular Club attendees. To become an "Official Chapter of Starfleet," we first had to choose a name for our club, which was considered our "ship," then we registered formally with whoever managed the Trek Club regional chapters in Florida at that time. It had to be a unique name not being used by any other club.  Then we members in order to become "official crew members,&q
Read more

Mama Kat Thursday: Worst Gift Ever

-
Image
The Mama Kat topic for today is:  "Share a story about the best or worst gift you ever received." You wouldn't think chocolate could be a  worst possible gift, but, in this case, it was. It wasn't even wrapped. It was just a Dark Lindt Chile Chocolate bar that a guy from our singles Bible study handed me. He was a regular at our Sunday night study, a Navy guy in the school for learning how to disarm explosive devices. He knew I fancied chocolate and he happened to fancy Lindt's spicy Chocolate Chile bar. So, one evening at our on base Tuesday Bible Study, he called me aside and handed me one of these Lindt Chocolate Chile bars.   "Here, this is for you, " he said. I said, "Thank you,"  accepted it and slipped it into my book bag to take home for later. " No, " he said, his face clearly displeased I'd dare keep it for myself. "I want you to share it with everyone else." What? You give me a gift, the
Read more

Mama Kat Thursday: May Flowers!

-
Image
This weeks Mama Kat blog prompt: "April Showers bring May Flowers. Show us your May Flowers!" A white ceramic kitty peeks out from behind Hosta that's between Red Saliva and  Pink Million Bells in my front garden container! **** A stone Hippo swims among wood chips beneath  a Curly Parsley in a container  on the back patio! (He's a gift a friend brought back for us from his visit in Africa.) **** In Florida, May brings Easter Lilies! My house was surrounded by dozens of these all blooming at once! **** May also brings Gardenias! This bush is heavy with blooms both new and old!  **** In Florida, May is blueberry season! These are container blueberries. **** My young tomato plants in my veggie garden! The one on the right is bred particularly for Southern heat & humidy; the other is a Roma. Both are determinate, meaning they only grow to a set height.  you look closely you can see Marigold leaves poking out from ,
Read more

Garden Pic Wednesday: Thriving Rose Bush!

-
Image
  Thanks to a garden club, I've learned how to better care for my rose bush and this year it's thriving! It's thick, bushy and covered in blooms! This is a Julia Child Floribunda Rose. I selected it because I wanted a smaller size rose for my front flower bed and this one grows a max of 3 feet tall and wide. I learned from the garden club the proper time to trim a rose and that's what has made it so bushy. Roses here in Northwest Florida need to be trimmed and shaped the week of Valentine's Day, Feb 14.  The right time will vary from growing zone to growing zone in different places where it's colder, but the correct time in any zone is evident when leaf buds are showing along the stems with even a few small leaves beginning to pop out. The other important thing is buying some Rose Food and fertilizing according to directions.  Tons are dark blue Bachelor Buttons are blooming adjacent to this yellow rose, so the show of blue and yellow is quite striking!  
Read more