Guess whats for dinner tommorrow?

Very festive looking Broccoli!!!! I do need to get out & pick my green beans this afternoon. I have 1 tiny floret of cheddar cauliflower.

Merry, Merry Christmas to All!!!!!!
Best Wishes for Bountiful Crops in 2014!!!!!!!

We've been eating fresh broccoli the last few days, Yum! I did a little tour with the camera today, and seems my 'Florida Sun Rose' coleus has put on its pretty winter colors. In summer it's mainly green and dark purple, but the cool weather brings out the yellow and pink.

Lovely coleus. Reminds me I need to cut mine back and get 1 that is still in a pot into the ground. Had hoped to do yardwork yesterday & every time I headed out, it got gloomy & looked like it would rain any minute. Of course it never did. Need to take some hibiscus cuttings also. Now that the lettuce is in the ground, there is room in the GH.

All my plants look like they are loving the cooler temps. Even had a bloom on the Flowering Maple the other day.

We had a bit of rain yesterday & looks like we should get a decent amount today.
Tomorrow I plan to get more Mondo grass from my friend. It is supposed to be the 1 sunny day for the "rest of the year"!!!! After the rain, it will hopefully be easier to dig up.

That is a great looking Coleus Elaine!

I do hope we get a lot of rain today too Jean. Heres some pictures of some of the various greens in the front now...

The red Romaines are in front or the Giant Red Mustards and these are still young plants! I'm harvesting outer leaves today...


The Swiss Chards are rebounding from the Chicken attack a couple of weeks ago. They would be much larger by now if they hadn't been flattened by the girls! Ha!

This last picture is in a middle bed in front of where the Red Cannas grow which I just cut down. 17 year old Bebeschnix spends her days laying in between the Greens, wheather in the middle beds, the ones by the sidewalks, or her favorite spot right behing them in front of the house. She loves the Sun reflecting off the house right next to it in Southern exposure on chilly days...

It's been raining off an on since I got up. Not too happy that that front decided to speed up since I had planned several hours of yard work before the front was supposed to hit around noon.....

Lucky, all of you! We are 'in between' as usual and just seeing dribs and drabs of showers. Barely enough to wet the pavement so far here.

My rain barrels and cisterns really need replenishment!

O.K....

I get it. We all love the rain but veggies are dull.

I promise I will try to send prettier pictures in the future of the more colorful stuff and flowers. Heres one!


I should have started more Broccoli 2 weeks later. (O.K. its another veggie pick but It does have flowers behind it!) That would back me up. My 15 plants are all ready to harvest now and don't have any back ups What was I not thinking this year?

Anyways, the heads I've cut are producing new smaller side shoots, and the Chickens love the older leaves!

Actually David, I love the pics of your veggies! Those greens are gorgeous, and I'm wondering just how early you started your Broccoli to have heads that are as large as that already!?!? Mine are still pretty puny! Although my lettuce and collards are looking pretty good.

I love Veggie pictures too ... wish I had a place to grow some. Our yard is so tiny and now, with the dog ... well, I'm sure he'd eat any veggies/greens that I tried to plant!

David: I like greenery just as much as blooms. The greens in your first photo look great and the second shot of Romaines and Mustards is so colorful.

I found a few blooms on the small leaf Tibouchina today and I have an Oncidium Orchid blooming.


And ... not a flower or greenery but a cute little female Red-bellied Woodpecker that was perched in the Cypress tree earlier today:

Yes, love the veggies too, David. Looks like you have the 'Bright Lights' chard there, yes? I see yellow and red stems. How about some close-ups of the pretty colored stems? I am just jealous. My greens and cool-season veggies are dragging their feet . . uhh, roots. Maybe too-warm weather?

I did start four additional broccoli plants a couple of weeks later and it is lagging badly . . I've got two more heads to pick then there will be a broccoli famine at our house until the next plants start . . unless I can keep some side shoots coming along. The tastes of cool weather, then warming back up to 83 has been tough on them. I do have tomatoes on the vine, though!


Broccoli coming along, my favorite mustard greens, Mizuna, and a new Kale with purple stems and veins.

Well you sure find a lot of beauty in that tiny yard you talk about Lin. Love that Woodpecker pic! I wish I had a Cypress tree in my yard. Maybe I'll plant one!
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More veggie pics from today...outback

We just cross posted Elaine. I started all my seedlings in late September and it took forever as they sat there to take off until the weather cooled a month ago. Yours will catch up;... as you are a tad further South!

Yep, looking forward to a cooler week this coming week. Highs only going into the low 70's will help a lot.

The seedlings shoot up so fast because of the heat, but don't grow leaves big enough so they get leggy and not really healthy. It's frustrating, but I'm the last person that's going to complain about a warm winter!

I forgot to tell Tara and some of you thank you for the nice words on the pic's yesterday, so....Thank You!

Look at all these Butterflies I need to pick!

Good Morning!

David - I love those Butterflies you have there.

My feeder is full of chick-a-dees again this AM.

My lettuce is finally starting to look big enuf to pick. Kale & spinach seem to b sitting & staring at me. I was late getting them going & way late getting them transplanted. Hopefully the nice rain ysterday, cooler nites, and the rain coming in Wed will give everyone a good boost.

I'm going lemon & orange picking this AM & then heading over to get more Mondo grass from my friend's (you old timers should remember Yolie & Charlie) yard. Hopefully, now that the ground is damp, it will be easier to get it out.

btw........................my "e" key is sticking so, if words look odd, add some "E"s in. w/out a spll checker here, I may miss some of the mis-spellings.

Thanks Jean. Send some new pic's when you can!