Garden Dirt Diary
February 23, 2026
Again?
Really? We’re so disappointed with all the weather services. So disappointed. Since the 1st of the year, we’ve had 3 different cold snaps where temperatures dropped below 40 degrees, super serious for Tropical Zones. Not one was predicted more than a week and half out. Not one. Including the one that is supposed to hit us over the next 2 nights. Yup, low of 35, 2 nights in a row. Where was that when we were cutting off the dead stuff from the last freeze? So disappointing. Planting season is important. And, the difference between 40 and 35 for us is HUGE. Blah!
Our planties all said it was Tropical Spring last week, for the most part. There are a few still dormant, recovering from the shock of us having a hard freeze, even covered. Those are the lucky ones, still nestled in their dead leaf blankets. The rest are in for a rocky ride. With signs of new life everywhere, we started trimming. For a moment, it was so exciting, new growth all over. Now, we’re just worried. Again.
Around Our Garden
We love new growth. All that green. It was everywhere. The Red Lobster Claw Heliconia looked like giant dry dying stalks, but down low, sheltering in the center, new baby stalks, just a foot to 18 inches, started popping out. Since we would like to encourage growth in the center, instead of spreading outward, we cut all the dead center stalks down to the ground or rhizome, if it was at the surface. We left all the dead stalks around the outside to discourage new ones from growing there. Also, it’s a screening plant. Cutting them all down meant leaving a big gaping hole in the screening. We dislike seeing all the neighbors while in the private happy place that is our oasis of a garden. It’s a personal preference. For more try: How to Grow Red Lobster Claw Heliconia.
There were also baby leaves popping out all along the branches of the shrubs. So happy. Waiting until the new growth starts makes trimming so simple. You cut above, or past the new green. Most of the tips are dead. It’s just a matter of figuring out how much to trim. With the new growth so apparent, the plant shows you exactly where it wants to grow and it goes pretty fast. We like that. The Golden Dewdrops, Philippine Violet, Bougainvillea, and Jasmine all loved the trim, last week. This week, probably not so much. I want to laugh.
Harvest
The Veggies all hit a growing spurt, happy in the warm sun. The Blackberry Bush has new leaves and the Artichoke is growing happily. The Arugula, Swiss Chard, and Peppers planted the week before last all look fantastic. And, our worry meter is all the way into anxiety land. Dang. And, Woo-Hoo! Those green babies are lovely, for now.
Unfortunately, we lost a few of the new Corn sprouts, 2 Tomato plants and some of the Buttercrunch sprouts decided to go seed instead of making edible plants. Dang. There wasn’t much to do about any of it. We have no idea what happened to the Corn. So, we replanted Corn seeds and chopped baby Buttercrunch. Replacement Tomato plants are growing in the nursery, just waiting for them to be big enough to plant. We’re glad it wasn’t last week.
With good growth, we usually get good Veggies for our table. There were Tomatoes (from the surviving plants), Broccoli, Turnips, and Snow Peas. My Mom also took some Lettuces, for dinner. Yum.
Flowers
It’s a week early, but so are the Red Amaryllis popping up all over Our Garden. While normally we have to wait until the 1st week of March, not so this year. The large Red beauties came early. Surprise! You can turn in any direction and catch a ‘pop’ of red glowing in the sun. With their bright yellow centers, these are the definition of perfection. And, we have a whole garden full. That’s being in charge of your own destiny, at least until the cold takes them. The good news is several areas haven’t even started spiking, yet. They should be around for quite a bit, even with the last cold snap. Woo-Hoo!
In another complete surprise, the Giant Yellow Hibiscus retained a flower bud after the freeze, and it opened. Whoo-Hoo! It was down at the bottom under the leaf cover. With all the new growth, we were hoping for more. Ugh. The Lavender Scallops started opening their bell flowers. And, we got another White African Iris. Woo-Hoo! It really is Spring, at least until tonight. Stay warm, and enjoy the show.
February 16, 2026
Leaf Dump
So, what happens to leaves when they freeze and dry on the plants? Leaf Dump, over the entire garden. Dang. One may not mind such things, if and only if, they didn’t spend a previous morning clearing all the leaves off the Veggies and planties. Yup, actually laughing. It happened.
As you can tell, last week started out slowly, repeating tasks. LOL! Now, you might ask yourself why we didn’t notice the Giant South American tree shedding leaves. It was because the leaves still up there mostly looked green. Then, they abruptly turned brown and showered Our Garden. It’s been warm and everything. Guess it decided it was time. This in addition to all the frost damaged leaves from the White Hong Kong Orchid trees, shrubs and planties. So, we threw our hands up and got out the Blower. I particularly enjoy using the Leaf Blower. A bit of a win.
The leaves are still finishing their fall, and we expect to have another go with the Blower. (Woo-Hoo!) That didn’t stop us from getting started.
Around Our Garden
We didn’t just blow the leaves. There was getting them into the compost basket (to use later), the beds and borders. We’re all about reuse and recycling in Our Garden. Leaves are the perfect brown layers, no matter where you use them. Try: How to Compost at Home
Then, we were off and going. Anything over the initial shock of being in a freeze, by showing new signs of growth, started either getting small trim cuts or a good shake and rub to remove dead leaves. There weren’t many. The Birds of Paradise bush, not trees, had a new leaf and got 2 of the dead ones trimmed. The box hedge Schefflera and Giant Yellow Hibiscus got a good shake and rub to remove dead leaves. We restrained ourselves pretty well.
There was also another round of Dragon Fruit Cactus trimming. One would think we would be done by now, but no. We’re still not done. It’s been reduced to once a week because I’m just so tired of doing it, but we still have sections with scale. That needs to be removed. Then, you wait to make sure it’s gone, retrimming any that scale shows up on what’s left. It’s a process. Of course, we’re still in initial ‘trim everything with scale’ along one fence line. It’s a long section of fence, but everything done previously looks pretty good.
But, our biggest task last week was to get the Veggies going. Without the threat of a freeze, it was time. Planting back on.
Harvest
The freeze either killed or rotted about ¼ of the big seeds we planted. Dang, but not unexpected. The empty Corn mounds were 1st. Of course. We also replanted a few Cucumber, Lima Beans, Watermelon and Cantaloupe. Most sprouted and are growing happily. We also emptied what was left in the nursery. The majority were Lettuces and some Peppers, but there were also Artichokes and Turnips. We were waiting for things to get warmer before dropping what was left. Spring planting, check. Check out: How to Grow Leafy Greens and How to Grow Common Root Crops, Part 1.
We brought in a Leek, Turnips, Snow Peas, Broccoli and Coconuts. Yum. Everything but the Leek and Coconuts were brought in specifically for my favorite, Chicken Pot Pie. And, it was delicious, in case you were wondering. The Turnips have been particularly good this year. The Coconuts appeared to be fully ripe, but they were mostly ripe with a softer white part. The rest, a bunch of about 6, need a couple more weeks on the tree. Always good to check.
Flowers
The lovely Yellow Marigold got the Feature this week, not because we didn’t have some marvelous exotic blooms, we did. It was just so cheery and warm. A sunny spot in the landscape against all the dead leaves. It’s hard not to be a fan of the yellow beauty with its layers of bright petals all crushed together in a puff of bright joy. Happy comes to mind.
It was a nice contrast to the glowing Red Amaryllis that have just started opening all over Our Garden. However, it was the Florida Blue Flag Irises that we just couldn’t stop snapping pics of. There were so many of the lovelies glowing in the sun. So satisfying. It’s taken years for us to get them here. And, the Purple Phalaenopsis Orchid opened its 1st flower. Based on the number of buds on its stalk, we’re in for quite a show. Enjoy!
February 9, 2026
Spring, Anyone?
Are you ready? We are. It’s hard watching all the leaves on our planties grow crispy brown. Did you resist the clippers? It was hard, I know. There was a moment this weekend when it hit the upper 70s, and they were in my hand. I had just cut 2 Sunflowers and a Ground Orchid stalk that had been damaged by their winter covers. Luckily, the flowers had to go inside, and it was natural to put the clippers away. LOL! We have a vase of lovely flowers over there on the sideboard whose stems got bent or damaged. Oh, Darn.
We had to have something around day 4 after the hard freeze. That’s when the damage became really obvious. There were brown dry tips all over where green should have been. Leaves started drying on the trees and bushes. Remember, we’d just started showing signs of Spring before the hard freeze. It made my face squinty looking at it. But, realistically, we got very little damage, and probably no real damage, meaning no plant deaths. There are a couple of things we’re very worried about, but it’s probably more about our fears than real risk of death. LOL! We’re pretty fond of our green things.
We should remind everyone that we Grow Tropical in Zone 10. Tropical plants do not survive freezing. Our Garden’s layered, protected canopy and plant groupings help, lots, with weather of all kinds. Even so, we covered the delicate, creating material greenhouses in place, and brought our pots into the shed and closed lanai. We also don’t get prolonged freezes. Our hard freeze lasted maybe a couple of hours. However, temps in the 30s for several hours over multiple days is always a problem, and we had both. Dang. So, we got lucky.
Around Our Garden
The most important thing we did last week was get the covers off the plants. Once any threat of freezing has passed, we remove all our coverings, carefully. Sometimes the coverings can cause more damage than the weather, especially if they’ve whipped around, got wet or you drop them on your plants. Dang. The covers not only block freezing air, but they also block the sun and water. 2 essentials for growing.
So, water came next. All the irrigation was off because we didn’t want to water the covers, which would have most likely frozen and defeated their purpose. In the middle of Dry Season with the irrigation off, everything needed water with signs of dehydration everywhere. Dang. Not good for water loving tropicals. In addition to getting the irrigation back up, we walked around with the hose and even ran the sprinkler in the back for a bit. It was dry.
The plants along the new berm and dry detention look pretty bad. The illegal wind highway the neighbors cut in the vegetation next door, tunneled the arctic air right into the immature canopy. Dang. The Giant Elephant Ear Philodendrons melted. Seriously, they appear to have melted. The Red Lobster Claw Heliconia leaves are dead. It doesn’t shed leaves. Each stalk has a set number of large leaves. When they die, the stalk dies, and the Rhizome, like a Bulb, sends up a new stalk. Dang. And, our new Princess tree lost almost all of its leaves. Dang. But, nothing is dead, and Spring is here. So, it’s just the waiting.
Harvest
This year we planted with My Mom trying to Harvest some stuff in mind. Essentially, that means I drop them in places she can reach over the fence to cut when they’re ready. It also means dropping them along the walking path. It gives her ideas about things she might like to cook and access to Veggies, particularly Leafy Greens we like to cut and serve for dinner. Yes, there is absolutely washing in there. Yes, before we eat them. LOL! Try: How to Grow Leafy Greens.
Last week, she took a small head of Cabbage and Turnip for a wrap she was making. We actually brought in a couple of Turnips. We’re figuring out all the ways to incorporate them into our normal menu. They grow fast and happy, here, even under the Weed Mat greenhouse we made. It only makes sense to figure out more ways for us to use them. We get plenty. ***Helpful Hint: Young Turnips have less bitter notes and are tastier than older ones, in my opinion. Check out: How to Grow Common Root Crops, Part 1
All the newly planted Veggies waited out the cold weather under small pots, bases thickly covered in mulch. It’s a trick we’ve used many times when storms approach after planting. We use double pots, one inside another with the holes in the bottom partially blocked by each other. The holes, now on top, allow for a little light and water, but the temps inside remain above freezing. You can bury the ‘top of the pot’ around the stem to keep it in place and/or find some really heavy rocks. Be careful not to damage the roots if you bury.
The Corn, planted just before the cold snap, is starting to sprout. We have tiny bits of green just barely poking through some of the Black Cow mounds. Woo-Hoo!
Flowers
While you might assume we have nothing in bloom, it’s happily untrue. The Feature this week is going to a normally unsung hero in Our Garden, the Alyssum, because it’s still in full bloom all over Our Garden, absolutely surprising us. This extremely fragrant ground cover is completely covered in tiny white flowers with yellow centers. They appear as white puffs covering an area. The ones in pots made it just fine in the shed as expected, but the ones out back, where everything looks bad, are happily blooming and smelling divine. It’s a good surprise and needed.
Outside, the Sunflowers and Florida Blue Flag Iris came out of their material greenhouses looking mostly just fine. The Purple Hong Kong Orchid tree lost leaves and blooming flowers, but it kept the buds and was back in bloom the next day. The Wildflower pots and Orchids kept blooming inside, but were happy to be returned to their spots outdoors. While we did take a hit, not too bad. Enjoy!
Check out the What’s Bloomn’ slideshow for more flowers or visit Garden Dirt for the latest around Our Garden.