Automatic Renewal
Posted: April 10, 2017 Filed under: Gardening | Tags: Automatic Gardening, Butterflly Weed, Gardening, Gulf Coast gardening, Monarch Butterfly, Southern Gardening, Spring, subtropical climate, Subtropical Gardening, Year-round gardening 16 Comments
The last time I was away from home, I came back to a killing freeze. Most of the plants had to be cut back. In this climate, many plants usually stay green for the winter. The Automatic Garden looked hopeless. I spent many hours cleaning up, reevaluating and moving plants around. I walked the garden several times a day checking on the plants’ progress and watching them grow inch by inch.
Recently, I had another trip and this time I came back to a much happier reunion. While I was away, it rained and the days heated up. The Automatic Garden did its job and not only filled in, but put out blooms.
The faithful perennials of Black and Blue Salvia and Shrimp Plant came back bigger and better.
Butterfly Weed wasted no time and quickly bloomed, allowing a passing Monarch to leave her eggs for the next generation.
I had seeded a few annuals, along side the reliable garden staples, for some early color. Spring is an anticipated a time of renewal and the Automatic Garden did not disappoint.
Automatic Gardening & Real Gluten Free Food 
Wow, everything looks recuperated and rejuvenated. Happy Spring!
I am so relieved.
How wonderful to have so many colorful blooms already!
Normally, they come earlier when not frozen, but it turned out to be a good thing and gave me a chance to make some changes.
It has grown lovely!
Thank you! I always worry, but my plants come through.
I know how you feel,as I was a little worried about some of my plants but I believe they are made it.
Such soothing and uplifting images. Thanks for sharing.
The garden is a source of joy and peace for me. Just walking around makes everything feel better.
It’s wonderful that your garden came back!
It came back so well that I was able to share a plant with a worker who wanted to start a garden for her father.
Last night, I was at our Native Plant Society meeting, and Mark Morgenstern was talking about plant propagation. He happened to mention that the roots of one of the liatris can go down 8′. I was astonished, but he went on to discuss how many of these plants can take freezing, mowing, and burning precisely because they’re meant to survive — well, freezing, natural mowing (grazing) and burning. Your garden’s beautiful evidence of that! Happy admiring!
Interesting meeting. I have also read that native prairie grasses do the same thing. But they have been over grazed or plowed up leaving nothing to hold the soil causing disasters such as the dust bowl or in our area, flooding. As always, nature knows best.
Beautiful flowers – It’s wonderful to hear that the garden did well this time while you were traveling.
Really nice colours in your last photographs. We would struggle to keep Black and Blue Salvia through our winter.
Somehow, I missed this post….nevertheless, your spring things are looking great. Munching caterpillars, blooms for pollinators, it’s all good!