Choice Morsels

This shot is out along my front walk: Purple Shamrocks, Dusty Miller in the background, Shasta Daisy greens to the bottom left and directly behind the strawberry pot & shamrocks are the tall spikes of my Siberian iris.  

I have two containers of Red Salvia brightening up my December! This one near the front door and one on the back patio I see out the sliding glass door! Actually, I took this shot in November and more Salvia has popped up both containers and come to bloom as well, so there's a lot more! When the blossoms turn brown, I break them off and put them on the soil in the container, so any seeds can grow.  Temps have been down around 36F degrees at night, but that doesn't bother the Salvia, Vinca or Alyssum. If temps do threaten to freeze, I'll cover the Salvia and that usually works pretty well. I hope you have a very Merry Christmas & also a Happy New Year!  

 This is my Maple Tree in my back yard: Actually, it's reasonably pretty this year. The trick to good fall color in deciduous trees is it has to get cold gradually. If cold comes on too suddenly, the change is swift and leaves fall too quick for a good showing of color and that's true regardless of location. Here in Northwest Florida, there are plenty of deciduous trees mixed in among the evergreen pines, magnolia trees & live oaks: Maples, Pecan Trees, Cypress, Sycamore, Scrub Oaks and all of them color as the weather cools between November & December. Pecan Trees turn a brilliant yellow. Cypress range from burnt to ruddy orange. Scrub Oaks turn a deep red tone. Anyone with a Japanese Maple gets burgundy. This Maple is called a "Florida Maple" or a "Florida Sugar Maple." It's a wild tree that was already established on the property when we built our house.