Choice Morsels

I grew up in the late 60's and early 70's, graduating in 1975 and back then, if you wanted to listen to music, you either bought records or listened to radio. Then, radio was as vital as cellphones are today for staying in touch with news or music. Everyone had one or more at home, and, if out and about, they could carry hand-size portable radios. Of course, everyone had radio in their cars. In was around 1972 that my Dad gave me a used radio he'd repaired. (Fixing electronics was his profession.) It had a boxy shape and played AM and FM. I was coming into my teenage years and started being more interested in listening to popular radio music.  They're rock classics nowadays, but Top 40 Hits of 1972 I remember well include:  Song Sung Blue by Neil Diamond Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress by the Raspberries Knights in White Satin by The Moody Blues A Horse With No Name by America If Lovin' You is Wrong, I Don't Wanna Be Right by Puttin' Game Down American Pie

Here's a nice shot I took yesterday of my front bed out by the mailbox: In the foreground, is a very healthy Coneflower covered in bloom heads. The pink is it's native color and they are considered native plants. Drought tolerant and prolific. There are 2 others in this bed, one that self-seeded. In the background you see a clay container I buried to rim in the ground. The greenery you see in it is a miniature burgundy Daylily and I added  hot pink Million Bells I purchased yesterday to the other side of this same container.  The pink shamrocks on either side of the clay pot are everywhere at this time of year as they are a native wild flower here in Northwest Florida. Some moved into my yard & garden and I simply relocate their roots place to place because they naturalize nicely.  To say something "naturalizes" means it "spreads and generally fills in an area." Some plants do so slowly and some are aggressive--and that's important to consider when p

These white flowers are called Alyssum and the purple leaves are Purple Shamrocks.  I planted this Alyssum last spring---it wintered over, blooming like snow all winter, and now that's it's spring, it's spreading slowly.  To find things that grow well in Florida is actually amazing---so I was so pleased with this Alyssum, I bought more seed to plant! This second picture is one of my favorite Garden Art Pieces: It's 2 clay pots, a smaller one set at an angle inside a larger one, 2 Chicks and lots of Chinese Stonecrop cascading over the side! And the eye-catcher is the ceramic frog. Dollar Tree has the cutest little garden ceramics! Last year it was these frogs. (I bought 3, each in a different position.) This year, it's mushrooms. I bought 2 red ones, though the garden space I plan to put them isn't ready for decor yet.

It's Azalea season here in the Deep South! Today's garden photos are of a side by side pair of Azaleas in my back yard: First, this nice shot of end of day sun lighting up some of the flowers on this dark pink Azalea: Second, the light pink Azalea next to it: Azaleas bloom in sort of a wave either working bottom to top or, like this one, from one side to the other. I took this shot, because you can see a fullness of blossoms in the front toward far side, but the side facing my camera is still full of buds.  Nor do they necessarily bloom all at the same time. I have two bushes in front and one is fully in bloom and the adjacent one is still mostly covered with buds. Though pretty, they require hedging maintenance; otherwise they grow into massively huge shrubs, 15 feet round!  There are dwarf types now---I'd recommend those, if you wish Azaleas.

   It was Christmas, 1969 when Santa Claus left me a Green Ghost Game, like the one this one pictured below.    The game consisted of the cool glowing board that stood on legs about 4 inches above the floor with black decorative pieces you slid into slots to decorate it.  (a spooky house, shipwreck &  tree). It included 1 large ghost spinner, 12 mini ghosts, 4 player pieces, 3 trap doors and keys to open those doors plus 3 card board box "pits" that fit under the doors that held "creepy" things. (feathers, plastic sticks and length rubber band's which represented "batwings" "bones" and "snakes" respectively.) To play, the game board, spinner and mini-ghosts had to sit out in the light several hours. Then, in a dark room, you'd set it up, dividing the 12 mini-ghosts between the 3 boxes, putting the boxes under the doors & distributing the keys among the 4 players.  The large ghost spinner clicked over a metal tab when yo

Today's featured Garden Photo is my Maple Tree that's pretty red with seed agasint the green of other trees in the background! I guess Maple seeds are nicknamed, "whirly birds," because of the way they spin to the ground when they fall. These are the single wing type. Some Maples have double wing seeds.