Garden Dirt Diary
April 13, 2026
Growers Down
Indeed, Growers down. Dang. We got the pics up last Monday, and that was about it, until Friday. In homes everywhere, it’s nothing new. You’re minding your own business, and it starts with a sniffle or sneeze. A throat that feels a little raw when you 1st get up. “No,” you say. There might be Orange Juice or Vitamin C. Something, anything, to push back the waves that are coming. Deny. Deny. Deny. Until you can’t, and indeed you go down. Dang.
As a Grower, a parent, a business owner, a student, a worker, whatever, it disrupts everything, and you do exactly what you can. There’s only that, and it has to be enough. Life is like that sometimes.
The good news is we are on the mend. The weather was rainy. Mostly, which was wonderful news for those of us in a severe drought and unable to go outside for any length of time. Woo-Hoo! And even though that came with the opportunistic demon weeds going wild, it was the best possible scenario for us sickies.
Around Our Garden
Before we went down, we would have written about prepping for Easter lunch and trying to figure out how to keep the shade on the newly planted Dragon Fruit Cactus along the back fence. It was a rather frustrating week. LOL. It should come as no shock to anyone that we are replanting Dragon Fruit Cactus sections. We’ve spent the better part of a year clearing sections of Cactus infected with scale and some fungus we still haven’t identified. And, we’re still finding isolated infections.
Some areas, like the perimeter fence at the top of the newly constructed berm, had to be completely cleared. Everything was infected. Since the new Cactus sections are small and the sun is intense, we set several dead palm fronds up on the fence for shade. We like to reuse, and they will stay pretty intact for months, providing partial shade and shield. Unfortunately, our neighbor found them to be a personal attack on her. Unclear how, as the fence is not even on a property-boundary we share. She trespassed on the adjacent property, reached into our fence, and pushed them down on top of the baby Little Gem, Magnolia Tree. 3 days in a row.
At 1st we thought it was the Squirrels or Raccoon, maybe even a wild Cat. A critter for sure. Nope. Threading them into the chain-link fence didn’t help. We had to set up the trail cam. So yeah, we now know it’s her. It required wire, cross-supports, and logs, all to keep erect a couple of palm fronds for shade. Ridiculous. But it was helpful to find out where we needed the supports, anywhere she couldn’t reach. What a time waste. LOL.
Taking It Easy
It’s always best, once one has become familiar with the sick bed, to remember to take it easy. Prolonged sessions in the sun. Extreme exercise. It can backfire, not that we felt much like doing anything, but still. Easing your way back into your routine is preferable. And, yes, we’re very aware of how much there is to do out there. LOL.
Since there were a few plants still lingering in the nursery and windows, we decided to put those in the ground. I will remind you, our veggie beds are all clean and prepped. So, when I say plant, I mean we merely had to make holes in the dirt, drop the plant, cover, and mulch. We even brought out the little stool and sat. Super easy.
About the most taxing thing we did was pulling the weeds out from around the Pineapples. It was pretty bad, the Pineapples needed space, and we had a little one in the window needing to go in the ground. Unfortunately, weeding never stops, and it can be easy or intense, depending on which area we pick. Last week, we mostly held it to things like: a little bend over to grab something while Grumpy Old Man Buc Dog needed to go out. It’s weird how you just can’t seem to help yourself. But we find weeds a terrible annoyance, something to be removed upon identification. LOL.
Harvest
There was a great Harvest for Easter brunch. We decided to go non-traditional and make Chicken Pot Pies with Homemade Rosemary Crust and Veggies from Our Garden. Woo-Hoo! They were delicious. My Mom made one with Peppers and Leeks, the other with Broccoli. There’s a pretty big divide in our house along those lines. Otherwise, they both were filled with Carrots, Turnips,and Eggplant from Our Garden.
We also Harvested a whole mess of Carrots for Carrot Cake, which was also delicious. It’s hard to go wrong with homegrown Carrots. They, like Coconuts, are so much sweeter than the ones you get at the store. We also grow a variety that has a tender outer skin. You don’t have to peel them. We do for Cake, because, but not otherwise.
Last week, we had to grab some Broccoli. It goes to flower if you wait. Otherwise, we would have ignored it like everything else. It’s good I noticed it was ready, walking by.
Flowers
The Yellow Daylilies, despite the rain, to our utter delight, as much as we could feel, brought joy to our Bulb Garden and paths last week. There is no missing the bright golden flowers, each about the size of a baseball. In fact, there were 2 days of photos with only the yellow lovelies, no lighting, terrible, terrible pics, but I was so happy for a moment finding them. Don’t worry, the slideshow doesn’t include those. We got much better ones in the sun, and those dazzle.
The Amaryllis are still going strong. Thankfully, we didn’t get too far behind snapping off the dead stalks. We have new ones coming up. We also have new bud stalks on My Great Grandma’s Easter Lilies. We didn’t get any for Easter (Dang), but maybe this week. We did get more Pale Purple Cattleya Orchids. A whole mess of them on several plants. Woo-Hoo! Enjoy!
March 30, 2026
Happy Easter, April Fools
We’re not confused, it’s a packed-full week. LOL! We’ve always welcomed the Easter Bunny. Colored eggs, candy, what’s not to like. My Mom is particularly fond of ‘sticky-up’ ‘chick-hair’ as in baby chickens. I have a bag full of tiny ‘chick’ puffs I stick all over the house for her to find, naturally, throughout the week. LOL! Our version of the egg hunt, since we have no more little ones to amuse.
The egg coloring we kept. Seriously, art you can eat, absolutely our thing. We have a number of dishes we’d miss, colored brightly, a little, here and there. It also gives me an excuse to bake sweets. Our house usually has a moratorium on sweets the first part of the year. Guests over, meant an opportunity to make Coconut Macaroons dipped in chocolate, chocolate chip pistachio cookies, and pecan sandies. Oh, Darn. LOL! And, an opportunity to show-off the Amaryllis. They’re Magnificent, and others should get to enjoy.
Around Our Garden
Besides doing general clean-up, since people were going to be here, we spent some time laying out the new path in front of the beds along the dry detention. My Mom and I decided the concrete pavers Hannah and My Son brought should be reused there. We also placed the borders they brought along the berm in sections, 2 mornings in a row. The raccoon knocked them down on the 1st. Dang. The 2nd we brought in more yard sand to stabilize and moved them back. That required me to move one of the new Giant Elephant Ear Philodendron shoots. One thing leads to another, and another. LOL!
We’ve had the pavers for a bit, and it was time to get them moved to their new location. It’s that time of year. They’d been stacked next to where we’ve been installing the new rock path. Because they were blocking the area the lawnmower has to take . . . It was time.
We also got another section of the river rock cleared from the Pagoda area and spread into the new path. There’s one area left, and I am so ready for it to be done. LOL! With all the rain, we got our bug and super-bloom applications down. We still need to replace some log borders and work on the Bromeliad beds a little more, but we’re feeling pretty good. Our Garden certainly is looking good.
Harvest
Cabbage, Turnips, and Leeks were ready to eat this week. As were some Leafy Greens, the ones that didn’t go to flower. The Broccoli had numerous heads. For some unknown reason, and I’m not giving myself too much grief about it, I kept forgetting to cut the one over by the new Pergola. I ended up cutting a big flowery Broccoli bouquet off the plant this morning. Dang. It went to compost. The blooms are good, but all the plant parts are too fibrous to enjoy eating.
The last of the Orange Blossoms fell off the tree last week, and the tiny fruit started to grow. As much as we love the fruit, we’ll miss the smell of the blossoms. We did curve a path directly next to the tree in order to fully enjoy the smell, for the short time it exists. Worth it. If I could have fit an entire circle, I would have. I checked. Wouldn’t fit.
Flowers
The Feature this week went to the White African Iris in all its glory. Also known as, the Fortnight Lily and Butterfly Iris. These beauties appear to float over their thick clusters of green leaves. Ours bloom all Spring and into the Summer, always a show. The delicate pure white petals sparkle in the sunshine, the perfect backdrop for the golden stripes and iridescent purple centers. It’s not just the flower, but the number of flowers. They bloom and send out more blooms in a glorious show.
The Star Jasmine threw out its first flowers, smelling up the place in the best of way. We’ve been waiting. Our Spring is usually filled with Jasmine. The Jasmine vine in the back also threw its 1st bloom, but I didn’t get a pic of it. Just enjoyed. That happens sometimes. LOL. And, of course, the Red Amaryllis, in all their splendor, are still popping new flower spikes everywhere. Enjoy!
March 23, 2026
Welcome, Spring Equinox!
We’re particularly fond of a good balance. Finding a good balance. Keeping a good balance. It’s hard at times, takes some work. So, when nature pops into balance, it usually feels pretty right. Equal parts daylight and nighttime. Feels like everything is ready to grow.
The birds are nesting. A Great Egret came to hunt the fountain, and took a stroll around Our entire Garden, much to Grumpy Old Man Buc Dog’s annoyance. With its be-bobbing head, he looked very much like a tall drunken sailor. LOL! We’ve had to rescue the Wrens, little brown birds, off the lanai several times. Unclear what they are after for their nest. There are signs of mating, late at night, out in Our Garden, and very loud noises, sometimes. That’s not so great.
But, best of all, the plants are awakening. To a drought, but still. Even the ones damaged back to the roots by the frost are showing signs of new life. Woo-Hoo! It’s Spring out there, and the cool mornings are lulling us like a Siren Song to work way too long, and much too late in Our Garden. Woot-Woot! I keep looking up and thinking, ‘Dang, what time is it?’ The answer is late. You have other things to do. LOL!
Around Our Garden
We worked, a whole bunch, on the new section of the walking path that will be covered in rock. It’s only a section because experience has taught us the best place for rock paths are away from falling leaves. LOL! We have lots of trees. Since we’re reclaiming the river rock from the Pagoda area, inside the pool enclosure, that used to house the Hot Tub. It’s taken some work.
For the last several weeks, the whole path area has been marked, leveled, and de-vegetated. Last week, we laid all the barrier for the rock, cut and installed the log boarders, installed the entrance border, pavers and buried them up to level. We also reclaimed more rock. It’s looking pretty good. A couple more carts of rock, and we will not only have a new section of path, but we’ll have the Pagoda area cleaned and leveled, ready for the new deck My Mom wants there. Check out for more on paths: How to Create a Rock or Shell Path.
My Mom and I also spent some time walking around, dreaming, scheming and planning. Hannah and My Son brought us some reclaimed pavers and borders a few weeks ago, and we are ready to find it all a new home. It’s nice outside. Time to get things constructed.
We also worked on our Spring list. The weeding, of course, but we also got the trimming of the Bougainvillea on the front berm done. It whipped me in the face several times. I still have a slash on my ear that hasn’t healed. Bougainvillea, so pretty and pokey. Check out: How to Grow Bougainvillea Outside.
Harvest
Well, we have exactly 4 Corn plants. Dang. 2 growing nicely, 1 bigger than a sprout, and a single sprout. LOL! It was a bad year for trying to sprout Corn. Some years are like that. Usually, I’d just start over, but we were way too late in the Season. It looks like store bought Corn this year. Dang. It’s a good thing we have other stuff out there growing nicely.
We brought in another Cabbage. All the Green Cabbage has done particularly well this year. It’s out there making yummy heads. LOL! We didn’t get any of our Red Cabbage to sprout. It might have done well. Who knows? The 2nd round of Turnips are looking great, and we’re starting to get flowers on the Peppers. Woo-Hoo! And, the Watermelon plants finally have their 2nd and 3rd sets of leaves. We love growing food.
Flowers
The Feature this week went to the White Dendrobium Orchids. We have many old growth plants and usually have blooms most of the year, but it was cold this year, repeatedly. We lost most of the flower spikes. Dang. But, they’re back. With the large multi-flower spikes, the Orchids open bright, shimmering white, flowers over and over for months. Then, they send out more spikes to open more flowers. Best of all, the center of the flowers remind me of ‘The Scream’ or the “Oh, No!” emoji. LOL!
The Red Amaryllis are still putting on their show, running at least the rest of the month. Fantastic. Whole areas covered in Giant Red Flowers. The Orange Tree, along the new path, smells divine. I might have been working way too long in that area to smell them. Maybe. My Mom’s new succulents keep showing us flowers we’ve never seen before. And, Oh My, did the White African Irises bloom. Lovely. Enjoy!March 16, 2026
Check out the What’s Bloomn’ slideshow for more flowers or visit Garden Dirt for the latest around Our Garden.