A Day of Beautiful Scents
Posted: May 7, 2024 Filed under: Gluten Free | Tags: Gardenia, Gulf Coast gardening, Little Gem Magnolia, Passionflower, Southern Gardening 8 Comments
Flowers with the sweetest scent are in bloom at this time of year. It is a pleasure to walk around the yard being greeted by beautiful fragrances.
The old Gardenia is doing surprisingly well after many of its old trunks gave out and had to be pruned. I was so pleased to see it come back.
Even the Purple Passionflower is having an early bloom with its lemony aroma.
It is the time for the Magnolia to shine with big scented flowers. This is a Little Gem which is a great size for a suburban yard.
Acorn Mast Aftermath
Posted: April 24, 2024 Filed under: Gardening | Tags: acorn mast, Automatic Gardening, Gulf Coast gardening, oak tree, Southern Gardening 8 Comments
I had a post about the oak trees having an acorn mast. I was correct in predicting I would be pulling up many young oak trees. The squirrels have been very helpful burying them in the garden beds and lawn. I have replanted a few and I let the ones growing in appropriate areas alone. Time will tell if any grow into a mighty oak tree.
All is Right in the World
Posted: April 22, 2024 Filed under: Gardening | Tags: Amaryllis, Automatic Gardening, Caterpillar, Gulf Coast gardening, Hummingbird, Southern Gardening, Subtropical Gardening 18 Comments
At last, the garden beds are full and bursting with color.
Many of these flowers would have been blooming earlier but were knocked back by freezing weather.
Thankfully, the Amaryrillias bulb did not turn to mush and it put on a beautiful display. A second stem with buds is coming up.
A variety of caterpillars have hatched.
And the hummingbirds have come back. All is right in my backyard world.
A Heavenly Scent
Posted: April 6, 2024 Filed under: Gardening | Tags: Gulf Coast gardening, Honeysuckle, Lonicera japonica, Scents, Southern Gardening 13 Comments
On my morning walk through the garden I smelled a heady scent. I checked out my usual blooming trees, but it wasn’t any of them. I opened the back gate to the natural area and found Honeysuckle right at eye level and sure enough that was the source of the aromatic fragrance. I believe this is Lonicera japonica or Southern Honeysuckle. Like so many plants, it is not native here originally from Japan, and has become invasive. I am going by the policy “not in my backyard” and enjoy the wonderfully scented vine in the natural area, which is not allowed to be altered.
Texas Spring
Posted: March 25, 2024 Filed under: Gardening | Tags: Blue Bonnets, Gulf Coast gardening, hardy, Ilex vomitoria, Southern Gardening, Yaupon Holly, Year-round gardening 25 Comments
In Texas, the first sign of spring is the annual blooming of Blue Bonnets. I try to have a few in the garden every year.
The native Yaupon Holly trees’ tiny flowers have opened with a scent that fills the air. Their botanical name Ilex vomitoria comes with a warning.
The diminutive flowers cover the ground like snow.
And with spring comes weeds. This is a sticky weed. As I have mentioned before, I don’t take up brain space learning weeds’ proper names. I wish I had counted the bushels of weeds I pulled this spring.
Pretty and Pink
Posted: March 18, 2024 Filed under: Gardening | Tags: Azaleas, Chinese Fringe Tree, Formosa Azaleas, Gulf Coast gardening, Loropetalum, nature photography, Pipe-vine Swallowtail, Southern Gardening 20 Comments
I was amazed that my Azaleas were so full of flowers this year. They have not looked well most of the year and we had water restrictions over the summer. Of course, they are not as nice as my six-foot-tall ones that died.
Every flower bud opened making the shrub lush with pink flowers.
I had been watching this Pipe-Vine Swallowtail butterfly in the backyard looking for a flower(they all froze) to feed on. It took a couple of passes by the sugar feeder, but it did not know how to use it. I was happy to see it feeding on the Azales.
Many years ago I had a Loropetalum struggling in the backyard. It had some life left, so I planted it in the front with a little prayer. It ended up living and growing 10 feet tall. Normally, they are trimmed to 4 feet and kept bushy.
The Loropetalum is very graceful with fluffy pink flowers and is also known as the Chinese Fringe Flower.
Turtle Burmation
Posted: February 26, 2024 Filed under: Gardening | Tags: Backyard Critters, nature photography, Southern Gardening 15 Comments
While working on my rose bush I noticed a muddy rock. Not remembering why I put it there I went to check it out.
The rock was a box turtle that may be coming out of brumation or hibernation.
Maybe not happy that I disturbed it, the turtle moved a couple of feet to a sunny location.
As the day ended I found the sleepy turtle had crawled back under the pine needles for the night.
The weather was nice enough to fire up the grill for supper. As the cover was removed I found another sleepy creature. Of course, the little tree frog had to be removed to a safe location. The weather is warming this week, the days are lengthening and insects are hatching it’s time for my garden friends to come out of their winter sleep.
Camellias in the Winter
Posted: January 25, 2024 Filed under: Gardening | Tags: Camellia, Professor Sargent Camellia, Shi-Shi Camellia, Southern Gardening, White by the Gate Camellia, Year-round gardening 18 CommentsIt has been a struggle to write a post. We had a freeze one week and 4 or so inches of rain this week. The garden beds are so sad and it is hard to be enthusiastic about gardening. I took some photos of the camellias before the bad weather and seeing beautiful flowers that bloom in the winter should bring some cheer.
This camellia was planted long ago and I do not know its name. I have posted about it before as there was a mistake made at grafting and half of it is white and blooms earlier, then the dark pink side takes over.
Shi-Shi Camellias are the best and reliable bloomers that start flowering around Christmas.
Professor Sargent had an early bloom that was tucked in at the bottom of the shrub.
My favorite White by the Gate made one flower before the weather changed. The big question now is whether the rest of the tight camellia buds survived the freeze and drenching rain.
Acorn Update
Posted: December 10, 2023 Filed under: Gardening | Tags: Acorn mast year, Southern Gardening 14 Comments
I had this photo of acorns in a previous post and commented that I never really paid attention to that tree and was surprised to see all the acorns. It turns out that it is unusual and oak trees are having a “mast” year (making a lot of acorns) all over the country. This happens every 2 to 10 years. It does not indicate a cold winter, but the trees are ensuring their progeny will continue.
The bed under the oak tree is now mulched with acorns. Apparently, there are too many for the wild animals to eat. I will be finding oak seedlings everywhere this spring including the ones squirrels are hiding for the winter.
Confederate Roses One More Time
Posted: November 13, 2023 Filed under: Gardening | Tags: Confederate Rose, Cotton Rose, Dixie rosemallow, Gulf Coast gardening, Hibiscus mutabilis, My Kitchen Window, Southern Gardening 11 CommentsI just had to do one more post of Confederate Roses. These shots show the older bottom flower changing color ahead of the upper flower. Enjoy.
Automatic Gardening & Real Gluten Free Food 