A Drop In The Bucket

I have finally gotten my little mini-project done! It wasn't much, but it sure was nice to get it done. The picture at left shows what it looked like before I started.









The picture at right is my completed project. I grant you I didn't do much, but for the small amount of time I had, at least some progress was made. As you can see I got rid of the water oak leaves and plucked out all the dead and dying leaves in each of the containers. I also went ahead and rearranged everything so that you could actually walk up the steps without feeling as though you were going to trip over something.

Once spring comes the poinsettias will get moved out into the island bed with my other poinsettias. I have surprisingly good luck with my poinsettias in the garden. I suppose this is because they come from Mexico originally. I would think they are well suited to the Florida weather because of that.

After finishing getting the steps cleared and organized I went ahead and decided to start on my next mini-project. The azaleas to the right of the steps look terrible. Of course they are also quite confused! Those poor things are just certain it is time to bloom. They have a few buds on them already! And have even had a couple of blooms this winter. (Picture of the blooms at left.)

Now not uncommon is the fact that they have buds coming up. The tee-tiny buds that will bloom into a zillion flowers that will set my allergies in a fit for weeks. This is one of the reasons why azaleas can't be trimmed after the growing season. (You can see one of the buds in the picture above left just below the bloom.)

Another uncommon thing though is that I have new leaves growing. I can only blame this on the unseasonably warm weather we've been having. It has been in the low to mid 80s for quite some time now. We had a couple freezing nights, but mostly it's been quite warm. I'm not complaining! Although I know cold weather is necessary, I'm okay with not losing all of my plants to the cold.

My next project is to get that little corner of azaleas looking good again. I went ahead and raked the leaves out of that area. Now I just need to put some mulch down. Thankfully there is no weeding to be done. Next weekend I will probably buy the mulch and take care of it. I might also get rocks to finish the border of that flower bed. But rocks are expensive so it might have to wait.

A No Gardening Day

I hate it when this happens! Today was a "no gardening day". By the time we went to Abbas' restaurant, the mall and then visited once we got back into Ocala, I got home after dark. So no gardening for me! :(

The day started out breezy and overcast. I was out of the immediate area all day so I have no idea if it stayed overcast. I understand the highs were mid to upper 70's all day and that we're to get to the low 50's tonight. Currently it is 54.

Needless to say we had no rain today so I should probably go ahead and water tomorrow. I'll try to get to my mini-project tomorrow as well.

Not much of a report today, but that's okay. It's a good thing to spend time with friends.

Happy Gardening!

And We're Off

I can’t believe the first day of 2009 is behind us! It seems utterly amazing to me. There is much I want to accomplish in the garden, but first things first. I’ve let the path to my door and my front porch get a bit scruffy. So tomorrow, since I’ve got a lot planned away from home, I’m going to get the steps up to the house looking good. I’ll post before and after pictures.

Today’s weather was overcast and breezy. The high was in the low to mid 70’s. The low tonight will only be 50. Of course we had no rain. There isn’t any rain in the forecast for the next several days.

Everything is so confused. I have blooming azaleas and princess flowers. Even my hydrangeas have a few new leaves on them. I hope we won’t get any really bad freezes. Not when everything is so confused. Even my Japanese magnolia had a few new leaves on it. But those got zapped by the last freezing temperatures.

As I was watering on Monday I was making a list of all the things I want to do in the garden. I believe I will cut in a few new beds and just pull maintenance on the beds that were sort of cut in by the previous owners. It’s obvious they really weren’t into their yard. I think most of what I had when I moved in was just what was put in with the original landscaping.

Well enjoy your own gardens and feel free to comment on this blog whenever the mood strikes you. And come back tomorrow to see how tomorrow’s mini-project goes!

Welcome!

Hello and welcome to what I hope will be an informative and fun blog about the trials, tribulations and successes of Florida gardening. Each area has its own unique requirements for gardening and Florida is certainly no different. I hope you will join me on my journey as I try to transform a barely landscaped yard into a relaxing oasis. I've already started on just a small section of the yard -- OK really just one flower bed was completed last year -- so we've got quite a journey ahead of us! I look forward to hearing from those of you who are so inclined to leave comments. Come back often to see our progress!