Choice Morsels

  Today, I thought I'd share 3 pictures of things in my Garden in full Spring Bloom! Everything is signaling that, here in Florida, winter is over! My Porteguese Squill: So unique looking! Had bluish-purple flowers that gradually unfurl from the center! My Winter Jasmine is looking pretty now! It's actually been blooming a few flowers ever since November, but now that's spring is on, it's really getting covered! I keep it trimmed in this draping form. Finally, a have a large cluster of Spring Snowflakes appearing around a stump in a back bed where I planted the bulbs years ago every spring! This photo is a close view of the flowers. They remind me of little white skirts edged with green dots, like small upside down tulips.

It's rainy, cold and windy outside today. Yesterday was bright, sunny, still cool, but pleasant enough to work outside some trimming off dead branches of Mexican Heather and pulling up frost-bitten Vincas, which I'm quite sure have left behind abundant progeny. I haven't had to buy Vinca in years because they self-seed so well. We hired a gentlemen who has a yard service, who lives around the block from us--- to do the over-all up the accumulated winter pine straw and leaves, mow, trim and hedge the bottoms of my Pampas Grass, so I can move right into caring for my flower beds. Reworking the veggie bed with raised beds still awaits. My yard looks all neat & spruced up! Today's Garden Pic is Winter Jasmine, a shrub loaded with cheery yellow flowers that brighten up the otherwise drab winter landscape!  It began  blooming early in January.

Today I've got some nice spring shots I caught on a moderately sunny day: Winter Jasmine Bright yellow flowers start dotting bare branches in late January! First Gerber Daisy Bloom! Oddly, mine do better in cooler weather then in the heat of summer. This orange one was the first up just recently. A Shot of That Bit of Yard by the Mailbox With Excess Clover I Was working on Last Wednesday: This is a non-mow area I've been  naturalizing with various ground covers and low-growing bloomers.  I bought some Blanket Flower seed to sprout and put in this area. Blanket Flowers are a native flower and should do well in this sunny spot.

Today's North Florida weather is a day time high of 50 degrees F and tonight, 25 F with a "real feel" of -13!  I have all my blooming daffodils, gerber leaves, amaryllis, hydrangea's & the Winter Jasmine covered. They'll have to stay covered tonight and tomorrow, which is predicted to also be below freezing. It might be hard to believe, but I remember a Febuary in like 1986 or 87, when we were living in base housing, we had humid temps over 80 degrees F! That was unusual actually for here. Needless to say, that particular year was a drought year, starting out so hot so early like that! Still, I need to go out and work on trimming down the pampas grass--or something, while it's dry & sunny. It's after 12. Probably the heat wave time for today. :) Todays' Garden Pics: My Winter Jasmine shrub in full regalia!  You can see leaves are starting to pop out!  It must be pruned right after blooming to keep it shaped.  Apparently, according ...

I have things in my garden I don't know the names of, but I like to. So, I spent this morning searching the web, trying to figure out what these flowers I have are: Let me introduce you to Summer Snowflakes! These are a member of the Snow Drop family of early spring bloomers. There is also a "Spring Snowflake" that performs better further north, according to what I read, but the "Summer Snowflake" is best for the deep south. It looks something like a giant Lilly of the Valley, with a row of 3 to 5 white bells with the little green  markings.  It's sort of an old fashioned heirloom flower obtained by passing from gardener to gardener. I've never seen it in garden catalogs. It's a bulb which I got from extensive, but abandoned garden, that was behind the flower shop where I used to work. (The lady who used to own the flower shop lived in an apartment behind the business portion and cared for the garden until she died.) She liked sharing...