Florida Backyard » bloom of the day http://floridabackyard.org Growing far too many things in far too small a space. Mon, 15 Mar 2010 00:39:44 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 Bloom of the Day http://floridabackyard.org/2009/06/17/bloom-of-the-day-16/ http://floridabackyard.org/2009/06/17/bloom-of-the-day-16/#comments Wed, 17 Jun 2009 17:34:25 +0000 Stacy http://floridabackyard.org/?p=2207 The hollyhocks did wonderfully this year, though somewhat inconveniently placed in the front bed, where an 8 foot tall spike of fuschia flowers is somewhat…obnoxious.  The tall spikes did their thing, went to seed, and now there’s so very many new hollyhocks coming up there, including (inexplicably) this white one:

DSC_0005

This is where I’d like more botanical knowledge…is this a sport?  A throwback?  I’m curious about these things..

Segue…I’m looking into the Florida Master Gardener program.  It requires a bit of classwork, a token fee, then a certain number of required volunteer hours per year.

Close friends/family blink at that part, I’m sure…you, VOLUNTEER?  Well, yeah.  I work from home, I have increasingly little patience with the outside world, and seem to be well on the path to full-blown misanthropy here, so yeah, I think some volunteer work in the gardening field could possibly save someone’s life down the road.

What?

Share/Bookmark]]> http://floridabackyard.org/2009/06/17/bloom-of-the-day-16/feed/ 3 Bloom of the Day http://floridabackyard.org/2009/06/16/bloom-of-the-day-15/ http://floridabackyard.org/2009/06/16/bloom-of-the-day-15/#comments Tue, 16 Jun 2009 20:06:33 +0000 Stacy http://floridabackyard.org/?p=2204 Today’s bloom is a showy little strumpet:

DSC_0006

This is Crocosmia ‘Walbreyes’.

Share/Bookmark]]> http://floridabackyard.org/2009/06/16/bloom-of-the-day-15/feed/ 1 Bloom of the Day http://floridabackyard.org/2009/06/03/bloom-of-the-day-14/ http://floridabackyard.org/2009/06/03/bloom-of-the-day-14/#comments Wed, 03 Jun 2009 17:19:14 +0000 Stacy http://floridabackyard.org/?p=2144 New to us this year is this the Kingfisher Daisy, an electric purple/blue annual beauty that should nicely seed the crap out of the area where it is planted:

dsc_00031

Don’t let the package fool you, 6″ tall might be the norm in temperate climates, but this thing is about a foot tall at the moment, and I suspect the imminent rainy season might inspire it to further heights.  Or, melt it where it sits.  *sigh*

Share/Bookmark]]> http://floridabackyard.org/2009/06/03/bloom-of-the-day-14/feed/ 3 Bloom(s) of the Day http://floridabackyard.org/2009/06/01/blooms-of-the-day/ http://floridabackyard.org/2009/06/01/blooms-of-the-day/#comments Mon, 01 Jun 2009 13:08:09 +0000 Stacy http://floridabackyard.org/?p=2125 The daylily bed out front is finally getting cranked up, which is mighty impressive considering most of these were planted as bare rhizomes a few months ago.

dsc_0024

I dunno, I think we have some bare spots, ya?  *runs off to find daylily catalog*

Share/Bookmark]]> http://floridabackyard.org/2009/06/01/blooms-of-the-day/feed/ 3 Bloom of the Day http://floridabackyard.org/2009/05/20/bloom-of-the-day-13/ http://floridabackyard.org/2009/05/20/bloom-of-the-day-13/#comments Wed, 20 May 2009 23:18:25 +0000 Stacy http://floridabackyard.org/?p=2085 It’s been RAINING here for days. ..2″ Monday, 2 1/2″ yesterday, almost an inch today.  Hence everything is wet.  Sodden.  Mildewing even.  The dianthus, who were doing SO well on the front border, have bits that are actually turning black.  The cucumbers out back are a complete write off.  The mildew we were successfully fighting off with copper spray basically thumbed it’s nose at us this week and completely lunched all eight plants.

Most everything else is pretty happy with the constant deluge.  The butterfly ginger has grown a foot.  The variegated shell ginger has doubled in width and may yet decide to bloom.  And the agapanthus, oh the glorious agapanthus, has sent up a single stalk, which today opened to reveal its beautifully-shaped trumpet-like flowers:

dsc_0033

Which just so happened to be nicely decorated with this afternoon’s raindrops.  Clever flower.

This is agapanthus “Elaine” aka. Lily of the Nile.

Share/Bookmark]]> http://floridabackyard.org/2009/05/20/bloom-of-the-day-13/feed/ 2 Bloom of the Day http://floridabackyard.org/2009/05/18/bloom-of-the-day-12/ http://floridabackyard.org/2009/05/18/bloom-of-the-day-12/#comments Mon, 18 May 2009 15:09:15 +0000 Stacy http://floridabackyard.org/?p=2081 Passiflora coccinea’s common name is no surprise to me:

dsc_00261

Red Passion Flower

Or maybe I’m the only one who gasps in delight whenever I see one of its $@#&-me red blooms on the vine.

dsc_00241

Yeah, didn’t think so.

Share/Bookmark]]> http://floridabackyard.org/2009/05/18/bloom-of-the-day-12/feed/ 9 Bloom of the Day http://floridabackyard.org/2009/05/11/bloom-of-the-day-11/ http://floridabackyard.org/2009/05/11/bloom-of-the-day-11/#comments Mon, 11 May 2009 23:02:11 +0000 Stacy http://floridabackyard.org/?p=2057 Have I mentioned it’s crazy hot down here?  The daylilies are among the few plants that honestly don’t mind much.  Of course that could be due to the gigantic single-trunk crape myrtle that gives them some nice midday shade.  This is Hemerocallis “Grape Ripples”:
 

dsc_00034

It is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up.*

*Bonus points, as always, for ID-ing the movie quote

Share/Bookmark]]> http://floridabackyard.org/2009/05/11/bloom-of-the-day-11/feed/ 2 Bloom of the Day http://floridabackyard.org/2009/05/06/bloom-of-the-day-10/ http://floridabackyard.org/2009/05/06/bloom-of-the-day-10/#comments Wed, 06 May 2009 22:40:30 +0000 Stacy http://floridabackyard.org/?p=2018 I promise there will be actual content here at some point, but we’ve got #1 son’s birthday coming up (plus two other family birthdays), end of school/vacation to plan, and Guilder to frame for it.  I’m swamped!

This is a zinnia, yes.  After the mass “wildflower” plantings we did last year, I became utterly besotted with zinnias, so this year I ordered a couple of really unusual specimens for the front beds.  This is Zowie Yellow Flame:

dsc_0005

Think that’s cool?  Just wait until you see the other one…

Share/Bookmark]]> http://floridabackyard.org/2009/05/06/bloom-of-the-day-10/feed/ 2 Bloom of the Day http://floridabackyard.org/2009/05/05/bloom-of-the-day-9/ http://floridabackyard.org/2009/05/05/bloom-of-the-day-9/#comments Wed, 06 May 2009 00:06:53 +0000 Stacy http://floridabackyard.org/?p=2012 I only discovered gazanias a couple of years ago, and will never be without them again.
 

gazania

The seeds must be started in darkness, but other than that quirk they’re extremely easy to grow.

Share/Bookmark]]> http://floridabackyard.org/2009/05/05/bloom-of-the-day-9/feed/ 3 Bloom of the Day http://floridabackyard.org/2009/05/02/bloom-of-the-day-7/ http://floridabackyard.org/2009/05/02/bloom-of-the-day-7/#comments Sat, 02 May 2009 13:33:17 +0000 Stacy http://floridabackyard.org/?p=1990 This crazy, stubborn gladiolus, growing up through the buttercup:
 

dsc_0002

I killed it last year with an overabundance of water, but it apparently lay there in the soil all winter, plotting its revenge.

From, er, the center of the buttercups I stab at thee!

Oooo…scary!

Share/Bookmark]]> http://floridabackyard.org/2009/05/02/bloom-of-the-day-7/feed/ 1