Good for you Jean. We have struggled now and then with our Extension office front garden. We don't have an irrigation system and it's massively impractical to water by hand. So, no formal gardens there. We have many trees and so we under plant with the hardier things that will survive some neglect.

A little bit late in posting, but I had gazillions of frog spawn this summer (we had so much rain). I have a cheap butterfly net - not for butterflies I promise - but perfect to snag one of those frogs. They're all Cuban in my yard. I can then get it into a plastic bag and then you can apply the numbing drops before putting in the freezer. They have spawned directly in my small pond and the goldfish take care of those. In my water features it's a different story. If I can't scoop all the eggs out, I now know now to deal with them when they are tadpoles. Works best when they are a little bigger. I just put some small pieces of bread in the water. They will be drawn to that. Can't see the bread for all the tadpoles clinging to it; looks like a black sea anemone! Then I use a small aquarium net to scoop them out. This then goes in one of my pots close by for fertilizer! I keep telling myself that this is not cruel. I can't imagine the extra destruction if allowed to mature. In fact the University of Florida is requesting help in logging statistics on them. They have become a serious invasive threat.

I am still hearing some in my backyard at night, so I will have to out there to do some bagging. I hate doing that, but it has become necessary.

Hm, that composting method sounds too good to be true, Ann. But surely no harm in trying it.

Pretty sure it takes a mix of green and brown materials, (as in grass clippings or weeds mixed with the dead leaves) plus air and moisture to make composting work. So you'd have to mow the leaves to mix them with the grass, put that in the bags, make sure it's evenly moist, then open the bags every week or two to aerate (decomp uses up the oxygen) and shake them up to make the composting process work.

I'm not sure what you'd get by leaving the leaves in a bag for the winter, but it won't be useable compost. Maybe mulch?

Hey Elfie, we cross posted! Did you see that Dave made us the FL Master Gardener badge? I got mine already, too. Your good idea bore fruit!

dyzzypyxxy said:Hm, that composting method sounds too good to be true, Ann. But surely no harm in trying it.

Pretty sure it takes a mix of green and brown materials, (as in grass clippings or weeds mixed with the dead leaves) plus air and moisture to make composting work. So you'd have to mow the leaves to mix them with the grass, put that in the bags, make sure it's evenly moist, then open the bags every week or two to aerate (decomp uses up the oxygen) and shake them up to make the composting process work.

I'm not sure what you'd get by leaving the leaves in a bag for the winter, but it won't be useable compost. Maybe mulch?

Hey Elfie, we cross posted! Did you see that Dave made us the FL Master Gardener badge? I got mine already, too. Your good idea bore fruit!

I know Elaine but someone (wish I could remember who) said they do it all the time. I too wondered b/c of the brown & the green & turning it all over. That's why I was trying to find whoever posted that so I could question it.

Yep, that was my leaf composting, My compost bins were full & I still had more leaves to deal with. I put them in the black yard bags, tied them closed, poked a few holes, tossed them in the back corner of the yard, turned them over occasionally, and worked them into the dirt in the raised beds come spring. You can even mulch them up 1st if you want them to break down more.

Aha! The poke a few holes and turn them over occasionally makes it work for me. I'm going to try it, too!

My Solandra maxima (Golden Chalice Vine) is blooming!

Nice! Something different than Ive seen I think.

Beautiful, Hetty. Keep us up with the color changes as the bells turn to gold?

Mine's still not blooming, but it did put on some great new growth this year. Think I'll trim back the oak tree branches above it just a bit to give it a little more sun. The one at Selby Gardens is rambling around the branches of an oak tree, so it must do ok in part shade.

Mine is in part shade too.

I always wanted one of those when we lived down there but could never find a nursery that had them.

Hetty - that is lovely.

Spent all day at the MG booth at the local Fall Festival. And I get to go back & do it again tomorrow AM!!!!! Weather was just FABULOUS.

Was it ever!!! Was out alot of the day with nary a mosquito bite either. Bliss..pure bliss

This weather can't be beat! I had planned to dig in the dirt after lunch but the hubs was as enchanted with the weather as I so we ended up sitting out under the sycamore tree; he with a beer & me with a glass of wine and we just relaxed & drank it all in. Something we have not had much time to do since moving in. Way past due for that kind of relaxation and appreciation.