Latest plantinggoing native

Hey all. Well, it's been an interesting few months. Thank goodness for the rain we got the last few weeks as I had planted A LOT of newbies then was in and out of town on family emergencies. The last two weekkends was very busy with planting and mulching. Seems I think I'm done, when I find something else locally to add.

I have made several purchases from Almost Eden and Bluestone Perrenials. Both are phenominal places that I wouldn't hesitate to recommend. Bluestone has started a program that if you mail back the peanuts, cell pacs, etc (they give you a return address thing to put on the box and recommend UPS or FedEx as the carriers to save you $), they will pay for your next order's shipping up to $30. Not a bad incentive to recycle. Almost Eden uses about 97% recyclable packaging, mostly cardboard tubes, so that I can include the lot with my normal recycling pick-up. I give the pots to a local lady at a flea market who gives me $ credit towards purchase for bringing in pots of all sizes (I love this and she has plants that she has grown from cuttings of various types both Florida Native and FL friendly.) For the below, except for the trees and vines from A.E., I buy in multiples of threes, with many being six or more, as I'm landscaping 2.5 acres.

From Almost Eden I've gotten Buddleja lindleyana (a butterfly bush with flower groupings that hange like wisteria), King's Mantle, Dark Pink Pavonia, Corkscrew vine, Firecracker vine, both Tangerine and Yellow native honeysuckle, Cry Baby tree and Chinese Waterchestnut tree.

From Bluestone Stokesia Omega Skyrocket, Stokesia laevis Color Wheel, four types of Hyssops, Hibiscus syrinacus Purpureus, Verbascum phoeniceum Violette, Salvia gressii Wild Thing, amongst a couple of others.

From my flea market lady, Scarlet hibiscus, King's Mantel, Blue Butterfly Bush

From a local Florida Native nursery, Pointsettia cyathaphora (one native pointsettia), Dune/Beach sunflower (Helianthus debilis- 14 of them), Wild petunia (Ruella caroliniana- 6), Eryngium yuccafolium (two), a beebalm, a Salt and Pepper (aka snow square) bush. I forgot to pick up some native milkweed----next weekend.

From Lowes clearance racks, six Margaretta daisies, eight Salvia (red pink and white), six purlpe flowering ground cover plants...the name of which escapes me, and a few socity garlics, several fern-leafed lavenders

From my Dad......... a fig tree that he tried to kill in it's pot with an unknown chemical that he thought was water..... it's finally gotten some new leaves.

So, I've been a bit busy on weekends. Hopefully, things will take off nicely. Some of the native perennials I am hoping will self seed and spread to cover a barren area around a 100ft x 140 ft x 8ft deep hole that's suppose to be a pond that we now mow because of the drought. I am trying to become a butterfly, hummingbird and other bird friendly yard while staying with low water requiring plants. Some of last season's plantings are finally rebounding from the winter, so, maybe, I'll be as lucky with this year's plantings. I hope that it looks cohesive. Going for a park or botanical garden feel with viniettes of statuary and repurposed items for interest.

Sounds great.

Sandy