Choice Morsels

Today's Garden Pic of the Day is of a Torch Lily or Hot Poker! The photo was taken in mid-April this year!  You can see 4 O'clocks flower buds in the background. I have several Hot Pokers, but this is the only one that bloomed! H ere's a shot of recent plant purchases: Purple Veronica and Creeping Jenny. The Verconia got put in a sunny back flower bed, where it will have room to spread. I've never had it before, so it's something  new to try. The 5 Creeping Jenny plants I spaced along a barren sandy strip of soil that's opposite my front door that grass simply won't grow well in. (pine roots & shady)  It's a low growing ground cover that I hope will spread and eventually fill it in. It's so low, it can be mowed over. 

My friend, Jacqui, asked me how I manage caring for all my flower beds & garden.  There is always something that needs doing and,  in her case, she has a much larger yard with more extensive landscape she's trying to get established.  I replied, "I just focus on one project at a time." Especially in the summer Florida heat. I can't stay out all day like I could in the cool spring. I have to choose particular tasks on days I have allotted for working outside.  This past Monday, the single outdoor project of the day was hedging & shaping the large gardenia shrub out front. That took about 2 hours and I took a cool down break for 30 minutes somewhere in there. Today's single outdoor project was re-working a small section  of the back bed by thinning out the native day lilies from other locations and moving them to form a border there. I worked for about an hour, then went in for lunch. While I was inside, a summer thunderstorm suddenly popped up a...