Garden Dirt Diary

May 5, 2025

Happy May Day & Cinco de Mayo!

What could be better, 2 celebrations in the same week with Mother’s Day right on their heels?  LOL!  Is it Spring, and we all feel the need to celebrate, or is it we’ve just been working so hard because it’s Spring and we could use a celebration?  Does it matter?  Feel some joy for joy’s sake.  Go ahead, it’s okay.  Find a little Beltane.

We definitely fall in the category of Needing a Little Celebrating after a very busy Spring.  There was never the calming feeling like we had a handle on it.  Things started too quickly, and we kept catching nasty bugs, falling further behind.  I’m happy to report, that changed this week.  While I am superbly tired, Our Garden started really looking clean.  Our clean, anyway.  Woo-Hoo!

It’s a good thing because the Tropical Zones are starting to really heat up to Summer levels, but the rains haven’t started.  Hot and Dry.  Blah!  I’ve mentioned we really only have 2 seasons, wet and dry.  The traditional 4 seasons are more of a judgement call for us.  LOL!  And, we’re heading into Summer, hard.  It’s too late in the season not to be ready for the rains.  We’re so close, now.

Around Our Garden

We started out the week cleaning-up the front Red Lobster Claw Heliconia bed, the whole area, really.  It just started with the Lobster Claws.  Once a year, the whole bed needs to be trimmed, cleaned, stalks straightened and a layer of natural composts laid.  These things are between 8 and 12 feet tall, and it’s a big round area.  One of the bigger tasks in Our Garden, the Lobster Claws were planted with full knowledge of the work involved.  Yup, we think the weird red things are awesome and worth the work.  Check out How to Grow Red Lobster Claw Heliconia if you’re interested in taking them on.  So tropical.

In the same area, the Star Jasmine also got a good work over.  Its metal stand kept falling over in the storms last fall.  Yup, top heavy, and that is definitely my fault, or a wrapping problem.  Star Jasmine is a vine.  It looks really cool to wrap it all over the top of the stand, but that makes it top heavy and prone to fall over in heavy winds.  We, in our area, can’t have that.  So, it was trimmed, rewrapped with better weight distribution, and the stand was stabilized and staked.  We’ll see how we did when the winds pick-up.

We didn’t just stop with the big stuff, the nursery, the surrounding front bed, the hibiscus mound in that area, and the attached paths all got a good weeding and clean-up.  A new batch of Zinnia pots were prepped and planted with Zinnias, for the Summer crop.  The Bulb Garden was once again rid of grass, and new branch borders were cut to size and placed.  Busy week.

Tree Path

While one would assume all of the above was done on the weekend, indeed, no.  Early to rise.  I prefer starting my day early if the sun cooperates.  The weekend was spent on the front detention area, the last and final area needing a rework from all the damage done by the neighbors illegally draining into Our Garden.  We’ve spent much of the winter reworking the dry detention and surrounding berms\beds, and as of Sunday, we are done for the season.  Woo-Hoo!

The path circling behind the giant South American tree and gradually leading down into the bottom of the dry detention area was seriously blown out after Hurricane Ian.   Basically, all the dirt around the tree roots growing into the slope was eroded.  So many cart loads of dirt have been dumped back there since then to recreate the slope.  Dump, compact, repeat for years.  It’s been a long road, but I believe we have finally reached pre-Ian dirt levels.  Woo-Hoo!  I’m tired of digging.

I’ve loved this little Hidden Path since I created it, all Hidden Paths, really.  The dry detention drops about 4 feet, and the wind around the tree offers a longer, gentler way down.  And it just looks cool.  I’m glad it’s back in use.

Harvest

What didn’t we Harvest last week?  It was a big week for food, mostly because it was Hot and Dry.  Most of the planties are thinking it’s time to start towards the finish line.  We were most excited about the Florida Peach.  It’s not fully ripe, but I took the 1st one before it looked too tasty to the critters.  They’ve left them alone since the fishing wire, but I was afraid to chance it.  Pretty colors attract birds and critters by design.

We took our 1st Harvest of Corn, 6 cobs of loveliness.  There’s another set that should come in this week, and the last set are just developing tassels.  I hope they make it before the rains.  We also took our very 1st Spaghetti Squash.  I have grown them so many times.  Sometimes we get to fruit, but they never make it to ripe.  Our winner is currently in the fridge.  I hope it’s good.  

There was also Broccoli, Tomatoes, small Banana Peppers, Leafy Greens, and Celery.   Woo-Hoo!  I can’t explain how much I enjoy eating food we’ve grown.  It’s so satisfying.  Try   .  They are super easy to grow.

Flowers

We had so many new flowers this week, and the wildflowers took the stage.  We’re featuring a beautiful little Bachelor’s Button in nature’s magnificent representation of actual blue.  Also called Coneflowers, these came in the wildflower seed mix, and we couldn’t be happier.  Also on display, a spectacularly bright Plains Coreopsis, the Florida State flower, a Sunflower, Poppy and the Wild Cosmos.  So pretty.

On the Orchid gazebo, the Purple Phalaenopsis joined the White and Miniature Phalaenopsis Orchids.  It’s a pretty party.  We got new spikes of both the White and Purple Dendrobium Orchids.  The Rangoon Creeper, a vine trying to take over our pepper bush (fingers-crossed), really took off.  It smelled awesome while I was digging up carts of yard sand to fill the Tree Path.  And the Ligustrum tree, it’s little puffs of tiny white flowers filling the branches.  Just lovely.  Enjoy!

April 28, 2025

Patience Padawan

Last week I had to remind myself, Patience is necessary as a grower, with Master Yoda inside my head.  LOL!  It seems silly as I write this, not the Master Yoda part.  Spring is the time of baby sprouts and new flowers.  New growth of something wonderful yet to come.  As growers, we spend tons of time waiting for planties to do their wonderful thing.  And as a general rule, I’m an extremely patient person.  I often complete highly complicated tasks over long periods of time without any problems or losing interest.  But yes, everyone reaches that point.

It was the grass infestation in the Bulb Garden.  And it wasn’t so much about the grass, it was the planties not supposed to be growing in the Bulb Garden.  We’ve been fighting a weed infestation in there for years, My Nemesis Weed.  Year after year of pulling thousands of the suckers out over and over.  Just when we made some progress, almost all gone, Grass.  Dang.

Yes, I did notice the grass.  So, obviously my fault.  I have mentioned I was behind, but I did repeatedly rip all the seed stalks out.  Didn’t help.  Missed some, because thousands of grass sprouts came up 3 weeks after I completely cleaned the entire Bulb Garden.  I did it again, and 2 days later, more sprouts.  Dang.  Patience Padawan.

Around Our Garden

We had to get all those grass sprouts out before we added a bag of, Spring prepping, Black Kow to the Bulb Garden.  My Mom and I took a trip to Lowe’s for it.  We also grabbed several bags of Red Mulch and checked out the new planties.  While I was very disappointed to see Zone 1-6 Hydrangeas for sale in our Zone 10, their Giant Hibiscus looked fabulous.  A yellow one now lives in our nursery.  That is the sound of my hands clapping together in joy and excitement.  We’ve already picked a place for it.  Woo-Hoo!

While we don’t add Black Kow to the Bulb Garden every year, it’s the only thing in there.  That’s a big distinction for us as we grow everything else in some form of sand mix.  The Bulb Garden on the other hand mimics swampy or bog conditions.  The container holds water at the bottom, making it constantly moist without being wet enough to rot the bulbs at the top.  They love it.  And every couple of years, more Black Kow.  They love that more.  The Tiger Lilies should be along in a week or so.

We also got the Red Mulch down.  There is a whole area of it, used as a color block separating areas and really setting off the green.  If you have an area of mud or where grass doesn’t grow, try an area of mulch.  It really classes the place up.

We also got the surrounding beds cleaned-up and the Spring natural composting in place.  Remember, if you are composting in beds, start with a thick layer of brown around the plants and over roots, layer green very thin and follow with another thick layer of brown.  Too much green can cause your plants to rot.  So really watch what you are doing and don’t get lazy about taking some of it to compost.  Try How to Compost at Home for more info.

Harvest

We Harvested the 1st Leek last week.  Woo-Hoo!  While we can and do grow Onions, they are never very large.  At the time of year we have enough light, we have too much water.  We can however grow great Leeks.  My Mom loves them.  We also took our 1st, 2nd Harvest Cabbage.  After you Harvest Cabbage the 1st time, cutting the stem in an X allows more smaller heads to form.  Multiple Harvests from a single plant is always a winner.  It cuts down on space, work, nutrients and allows for a continuing Harvest without supplemental plantings.

We also grabbed a massive Turnip, Poblano Peppers, Tomatoes, Leafy Greens and Beans.  Our Leafy Greens always grow well in the Spring.  It’s their Happy Place.  Unfortunately, as soon as the heat starts to rise, Swiss Chard is the only survivor.  This year, we’ve let one of the Arugula go to seed.  The flowers look almost antiqued.  So interesting.  The rest of the Leafy Greens are already struggling.  We’ve tried a few in the new planters in the back.  It should be rather shady.  We’ll see.

We’ve also lost almost everything up on the Hibiscus mound.  With the tree struggling beside it, the shade is limited.  I’m considering pulling the plants there now and replacing them with new ones.  It’s a risk this late in our vegetable growing seasons.      

Flowers

We’re featuring Our Family favorite, the Frangipani also called Plumeria, this week.  The bright sweet smelling blooms have thick petals, surviving their fall from the tree to blanket the ground.  Because it’s so easily propagated, close to a cut and stick in the ground for a new plant, we have several around Our Garden.  I started making babies about the time our old growth tree started producing flowers above my head and out of reach.  You have to pull the branches down to smell them and take pics.  Dang.  More, shorter trees would be good.

The wildflowers including the Zinnias are making a big show of it, not by accident.  I got 2 new bags of wildflowers in my stocking.  The pots are full of them.  Yippy!  Bright and happy all over the place.  The new Giant Hibiscus is super happy in its pot as well.  I’m pretty sure we got the best one with lots of buds.  LOL!  We hope everyone thinks that about their new plants.  The full-size White Phalaenopsis Orchid jointed its mini-me, the Miniature Phalaenopsis Orchid, under the gazebo.  Woo-Hoo!  Both, so lovely.  Enjoy!

April 21, 2025

Welcome Spring Bloomers!

While you were all hopefully starting to say hello to the Spring bloomers last week, with some planned happiness for the weekend, I was locked in my room.  LOL!  Not really, but yeah, really.  For our actual holiday, what ridiculously small amount there was of it, I spent it alone in my room, afraid I might give what I had.  Yup, once again, we were not feeling well.  

Another round of upper-respiratory nastiness, just in time to ruin the fun.  Dang.  Weren’t we just sick?  Some holidays are like that.  Hopefully, you had it a bit easier with some actual fun.  We did get our Carrot Cake, in the cupcake form, made with Carrots we grew in Our Garden.  And, there were the Easter Lilies.  So, not a total bummer.

A fun thing we like to do in Our Garden is grow food specifically for Holidays.  For Easter, it’s Carrots.  Obviously, for Carrot Cake.  Corn for Thanksgiving, although the one and only time I got the Harvest timed correctly, it was over cooked on the grill to gummy grossness.  LOL!  My Grandpa who provided our Corn from his garden when I was a child would not be proud.  In my defense, we have to plant it during storm season. So . . tough grow. Try starting your own tradition this year.  It’s surprisingly rewarding to serve something you’ve grown with your own hands to your family on a Holiday. Just saying.

Around Our Garden

I’d love to say Our Garden does not suffer when I’m under the weather, but that would most definitely be a lie.  Besides the constant nit-picking and maintenance, I try really hard to accomplish at least one big ticket item every week.  We have a large area, and routine along with practicing small tasks keeps me from feeling overwhelmed by it all.  Well, mostly.  LOL!

Both My Mom and I take Old Man Buc dog for walks around the property several times a day.  If he is acting like a dog, there are always areas in need of much sniffing, following, and general investigation.  So, I’ll take a pair of snippers and prune a bush while he’s preoccupied.  Or, I’ll start yanking weeds, grabbing Tomatoes, whatever.  Little bits add up over a week, clearing up my larger chunks of time for bigger projects.

Last week, there were lots of little items accomplished and no big stuff.  Dang.  Some weeks are like that.  But, there are still some very exciting things happening out there without any additional help from us.  Both Kiwi plants are starting to take off in their new homes.  Orchids are developing Spring spikes, the Tiger Lilies are posed to go crazy, and you can see the tropicals starting to wake up.  Fantastic.

Harvest

We pulled a whole basket of giant Carrots, of course.  They were so big, most, had started additional smaller Carrots on the side.  And based on our limited holiday, I pulled way too many out of the ground, breaking our Harvest as you’re ready to eat mode.  Dang.  That is not to say I Harvested all of them, as a matter of fact, we have 3 other beds.  We like growing Carrots.  They’re easy and tasty.

Tomatoes poured in, which is so happy and exciting, boosting my mood this week when I needed it.  Good planties.  We also took a few Banana Peppers.  The Broccoli on the hand was recovering as I cut it all back to 1 or 2 branches.

Half the Corn is mostly fertilized.  With the hot, then cold, then hot, then cold, then hot weeks, the Corn got confused.  Dang.  The Tassels which hold the pollen came out before the silks, that need to be pollinated, showed.  So, the Corn was pollinating nothing.  I’m lucky I got what I did fertilized.  The other half of the Corn was planted later and is still small.  My hopes for it are also small as it’s getting really hot.  Dang.

Flowers

The Orange Cosmos got the Feature this week.  We have tons of them in most of the wildflower pots all over Our Garden.  Woo-Hoo!  The bright orange grabs and reflects light from perfectly formed petals.  Beautiful.  I’m never sure, but the purple and orange ones seem to bloom more than the other colors for us.  Hum.  I wonder if it’s our area.

We had another full-bush bloom of the White African Irises.  Dancing beauties.  Then, another spike of Miniature Phalaenopsis Orchids started opening.  My Mom divided her overgrown plant into 3 plants, and they all have new spikes.  We like it when that happens.  Also a joy is the Desert Rose bush, still completely covered, like every single inch, in flowers, and the Bougainvillea.  It would feel like Spring if it wasn’t so hot.  LOL! Check out the slideshow.  And, Enjoy!