Jean

Heres some things blooming now here...
Blue Sky Vine


Purple Firespike


Purple Knight


Kalenchoe



Begonias, Red Fire Spike, Knockout Rose

Lovelies, David! Your purple firespike is sure a lot nicer color than mine. I've got an insipid mauve . . . definitely not my favorite color, I'm afraid. Maybe I could trade you a cutting? Heck, I'll send you the whole plant.


My Colocasia 'Blue Hawaii' got confused and put up new leaves when the weather was in the 80's a week or two ago. Today, it's so dull I've got the Gro Lamp helping out on the seedling trays. Peppers and tomatoes for the school garden.


Brugmansia cuttings from Mj, tons of roots and the leaves are growing, too. Guess I need to put them outside to cool off and slow down. Going to need to pot 'em up pretty soon, but I'm on 'baby watch' and figure they'll hold better indoors in water than outside while I'm away. New family member due on Feb. 1st but could be "any day" so my bags are packed!

All these beautiful days & I've been stuck indoors with the kitchen re-do & today I had to get some quilting done. Not even time to take the camera out & take pics.

That's too bad, Jean. Today was a gorgeous, perfect gardening day. Dry and sunny.I got more seeds planted, another Earth box ready to go, and weeding done. (oh, my aching back . . )

You can quilt at night, and when it's raining, y'know . . .

Jean,

I don't believe that. One always has time to take a picture or to here and there. Maybe you don't have the time to do them. Why is an ongoing kitchen renovation keeping you inside? The weather has been cool and not devastating during the day. I do have to say that those grey and cloudy days we've had here locally are a tad uninspirational. I did finally get most of the past bead crap from the holidays down here.

My mind is getting a clearer vision of the nature I've been creating here again now. I think this is going to be a special year at our little green space.

After we hung the new microwave & before I went out to get some veg seeds started, I took some pics.
I moved all the succulents to this corner to be protected from the cold. Shoved the Poinsettias in before I covered them a few cold nites.

This is the larger GH. Fits over a 4X8 bed with plenty of storage room for other plants.

The smaller GH. The small veg plants will eventually fill the shelves.

Chard, cabbage, & lettuce

Tangerines

All the Bromiliads are in full bloom.

Beautiful, Jean. I sure love the colorful stems on the Swiss Chard there! I've had no success trying to get that one going. Hmm, haven't tried it in an Earth Box yet, though. Your broms look fantastic, too.
A few orchids, looks like it's getting cold again next week so they'll be indoors or under cover again soon. Hope the rain tomorrow is warm! The red one's not quite open yet.

My Orchids are all "resting". They aren't happy when I bring them in doors & until I get the GH finished it gets too cold out there when the fronts come thru. I've promised them I'll be able to take better care of them next winter!!!

Last year my Kale grew like weeds. This year it isn't doing much so I thought I'd give the Chard a try. And it is so pretty!!!!!

qwilter said:After we hung the new microwave & before I went out to get some veg seeds started, I took some pics.
I moved all the succulents to this corner to be protected from the cold. Shoved the Poinsettias in before I covered them a few cold nites.

This is the larger GH. Fits over a 4X8 bed with plenty of storage room for other plants.

The smaller GH. The small veg plants will eventually fill the shelves.

Chard, cabbage, & lettuce

Tangerines

• Tangerine (Citrus reticulata)
• Uploaded by qwilter

All the Bromiliads are in full bloom.

Wow Jean!
Its so cool seeing pictures of your world. It makes me feel like I'm a part of it. I know you don't take pictures a lot but they are appreciated when you do. Thanks for sharing!
Its good to see those Winter veggies too! Keep up the good works.

You too Elaine. I think of you as 'Sarasota Girl'.
You always have so many things blooming and growing down there in the South!

Elaine inspired me to go out and take some Orchid Pics in my greenhouse with the Tomatoes. I don't have any fancy ones but the ones I have I love and are always blooming.








This ones outside.

OK.. getting excited about the garden this year. Went out Wednesday to spray for rust and aphids on the dayliles. Well did I ever kill the rust and aphids....actually it appears I have killed everything, as I sprayed with brush killer, not insecticide. I only realized it last night, I did cut all the leaves off, but I dont have much hope they will come back. At least with the leaves gone, I dont have to watch it happen.

Going to put some veggies in the earthboxes that the seedlings were in, excited about that.

Pam, are you a UF alumnus?

I planted this Tecomanthe vine a few years back in the hope that it would cover my pergola with its great flowers. It looks like that is about to happen.

Oh, that is just beautiful, Hetty. I wish I had more room for vines. The ones I have are taking over! I finally removed the Passiflora quadrangularis that had climbed up into my bamboo stand. It pulled the bamboo over so far, the whole garden was shaded last summer, nice for the extra shade, but not great for some of my sunny loving plants.

Now, it appears a cutting got 'loose' (because it certainly hasn't every made a fruit) because I have it climbing my traveler palms and it has rambled right over the top of my mango tree! The flowers are gorgeous and fragrant, but that's its only good attribute, it appears! If it ever made a move towards fruiting I might let it stay but . . . it appears we don't have the right pollinators here.

Oh No Pam, hopefully getting the leaves trimmed away will save your Dayliles. Depending on the brush killer your used you might be ok.

Hetty I've thought about getting a Tecomanthe, but I don't want to have to grow it in a pot. Would have to see if it can handle freezebacks, although...KNOCK ON WOOD, no hard freezes here yet this winter.

Oh, Pam that's too bad. Those things happen to me when I garden while I am excited, too! Lose my head a bit . . . looking on the bright side, it's an excuse to get some new ones!

What do you spray your daylilies for, to prevent rust? I really need to jump on that as I have a bunch of new starts and they were suffering a bit from rust last fall.

I'm hearing Dion Warwick.................Walk on by...walk on by.......

I know, David, I know! I'm also hearing my mother's voice saying "An ounce of prevention, you know"

Sure won't be spraying anything this weekend, it's supposed to storm tonight and blow like stink tomorrow (that's an official sailing term, btw ) It's blowing pretty hard right now, too, ahead of this front.

I'm looking forward to the rain though.