Trumpeting in the Morning
Posted: October 16, 2019 Filed under: Gardening | Tags: Angel Trumpet, Automatic Gardening, Brugmanis, Gardening, Gulf Coast gardening, My Kitchen Window, Southern Gardening, subtropical climate, Subtropical Gardening, Year-round gardening 8 Comments
Morning is a favorite time to survey my garden, especially when I’m greeted with new blooms.
Last year my Angel Trumpet, Brugmansia, finally put out a few flowers and this year it is covered with them.
The 10 inch bell-shaped flowers are stunning. Just remember it is a poisonous beauty that is only to be admired.
Anticipation
Posted: October 11, 2019 Filed under: Gardening | Tags: Automatic Gardening, Confederate Rose, Gardening, Gulf Coast gardening, Hibiscus mutabilis, My Kitchen Window, Southern Gardening, subtropical climate, Subtropical Gardening, Year-round gardening 12 Comments
I have been checking my Confederate Rose, Hibiscus mutabilis, for weeks in anticipation of it blooming. I post about it nearly every year and I think this year, it is going to be spectacular. I did find a bud beginning to open. There are ten buds on almost every cluster.
Unfortunately, I have some decisions to make about the tree as it began to lean over from the water soaked ground after the nearly 30 inches of rain Imelda left us. Hopefully, I can trim it up, but it may take a few years to return to this size.
Morning Scents
Posted: October 9, 2019 Filed under: Gardening | Tags: Automatic Gardening, butterfly ginger, Gardening, Gulf Coast gardening, Hedychium coronarium, Southern Gardening, subtropical climate, Subtropical Gardening, Year-round gardening 10 Comments
The strong scent of the Butterfly Gingers (Hedychium coronarium) drew me across the yard this morning. Several were blooming and one was just perfect with all the flowers open at the same time. A cold front that came through dropped our temperatures to the mid 80’s (yes, that is a cold front for us) and allowed the flowers to stay on longer.
Cardinal Flower
Posted: October 7, 2019 Filed under: Gardening | Tags: Automatic Gardening, Cardinal Flower, Gardening, Gulf Coast gardening, Hummingbirds, My Kitchen Window, Southern Gardening, subtropical climate, Subtropical Gardening, Year-round gardening 19 Comments
Last year I planted some Cardinal Flower seeds that I found in my seed stash. I believe I got the seeds from some kind of exchange and I don’t even remember how long I have had them. I planted them outside my kitchen window and amazingly they were still viable.
Cardinal Flowers are a favorite of hummingbirds and pollinators. They bloom at the end of the summer, just in time for the hummingbird migrations. I currently have about three to five hummers enjoying the red flowers.
A Former Shell of Itself
Posted: October 1, 2019 Filed under: Gluten Free | Tags: Automatic Gardening, Backyard Critters, cicada, Gardening, Gulf Coast gardening, nature photography, Southern Gardening, subtropical climate, Subtropical Gardening, Year-round gardening 15 Comments
I gave it a tap and got no reaction. This is a shell or exoskeleton of a cicada that is left behind when they molt. It is a little weird that the shells continue to cling to a plant when the bug leaves. Summer is winding down and the daily songs of cicadas will end soon.
Some Like the Rain
Posted: September 26, 2019 Filed under: Gardening | Tags: Automatic Gardening, Gardening, Gulf Coast gardening, rain, Rain Lilies, Southern Gardening, subtropical climate, Subtropical Gardening, Year-round gardening 15 Comments
The huge amount of rain we received was welcomed by some plants. The Rain Lilies enjoyed all the moisture and poked out of the ground with blooms. All the water has drained and the raised beds were in need of a watering. We are all anxiously waiting for Fall weather when the temperatures drop down to the high 80’s.
Nearly Drowned
Posted: September 22, 2019 Filed under: Gardening | Tags: Gulf Coast gardening, Hurricane Lily, rain, subtropical climate, Tropical Storm Imelda 28 Comments
I should have known better, but I did not bring in my potted plants before Imelda hit. I wasn’t the only one not expecting that much rain. Luckily, I had no where to go and my house was fine. Others were not as fortunate. Some plants did fine with the 9 inches we received in about 90 minutes, but others prefer it to be a bit drier.
We also experienced one of the worst lightning storms I’ve ever been in. Notice the ball of strikes and at the top it reads the lightning is 0 miles from me. My area accumulated over 20 inches in 2 days, but officially Imelda dropped a total of 43 inches in parts of Texas. It is the 5th wettest storm in US history with Harvey, also in Texas, coming in first with 60.5 inches of rain just two years ago.
I did not recognize the foreboding sign of the impending storm when I found my Hurricane Lily had bloomed. I didn’t know it was still alive and I didn’t even take a picture of it. Next time I will pay attention.
