Where are you? Part 2

Tampa, FL(Zone 10a)

I always wanted to be a pirate, so I guess I will sieze this thread...

Paris>

Thumbnail by DaleTheGardener
Northumberland, United Kingdom(Zone 9a)

Thanks!

We came from part 1 here: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/33448/

(Judi)Portland, OR

Dale I lived in Cole Valley. SF is great but I am loving Portland. It's like SF 20 years ago.
Love the Paris photo!

(Rosie) Belturbet, Ireland

A little warmer here this early morning - around minus 3 - 4 F. Not the type of day for setting seed :-(( I never thought I'd say this but I'm looking forward to the rain that's supposed to hit this W/E.

Kissimmee, FL(Zone 9b)

well it's raining here today - makes a change and it has been 80* F. my children tell me it's freezing in Windsor & Devon, I told them to come over to Mummy where it's lovely and warm.

Davidson, NC(Zone 7b)

I live in Davidson NC, and I am so ready for spring, I have a new garden.

(Judi)Portland, OR

Gloomy & cold here in Oregon today. The Willamette River, which runs through Portland, is very high and turbulent from the rain & melting snow. It's a good weekend to sit by the fireplace and read.

Northumberland, United Kingdom(Zone 9a)

Turned milder here at last tonight, up to 6°C, and forecast to be 10° tomorrow.

Resin

Tampa, FL(Zone 10a)

Heat wave!!

Eye candy from last summer>

Thumbnail by DaleTheGardener
Fresno, CA(Zone 9b)

Hi, folks, Linda here, in the Central Valley of California. It is 69 degrees Fahrenheit (20.5 degrees Celsius) today, 10 degrees F (-12 degrees C) lower than yesterday. The sun is shining and the wind is blowing 20-25 mph (32-40 kilometers per hour), with gusts to 40 mph (64 km per hour) eeeeek! Darned wind keeps blowing my gates closed.

We are in the center of California, a valley 450 miles (724 km) long, averaging 50 miles wide (80 km), 19,000 square miles (30,580 km), resting at sea level. On a clear day you can see the mountains on both sides, an amazing sight. We are a major agricultural center for the US; the largest center of fruit and vegetable production in the US (if memory serves me correctly), and a major milk supplier, as well.

My heart, BTW, is in Cirencester, England http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/fp.php?pid=5522887 as I contemplate my garden. This link is the back yard of my maternal immigrant grandfather's home on Coxwell Street, which we visited about 5 years ago. The sheep at the top of the photo speaks to the family's woolstapler residence/business originally resting here.

My favorite plant, one I cannot live without, is Ajuga in all of it's glorious colors, now including silver (woohoooo). There are numerous others which decorate my garden and make my soul sing, but Ajuga covers a multitude of sins and roots and ground of all sorts. You can walk on it or watch it just grow; plant it in the earth or in a pot. It survives summers and winters here, with either too much or too little moisture. It's an awesome ground cover.

Least favorite? How on EARTH my nutsedge got so far afield as to contaminate the rest of your gardens is what I want to know?

I am delighted to introduce myself and enjoying the rest of you do so as well.

Linda

Kissimmee, FL(Zone 9b)

Hi Linda,
It's nice and warm down here in Central Florida too. I am from London, but have been to Gloucester as well - for the cricket!

Tampa, FL(Zone 10a)

I am still in Florida...is everyone in the EU still taking their winter nap?

Spring is almost over for us>

Thumbnail by DaleTheGardener
Kissimmee, FL(Zone 9b)

Dale, I think they are all frozen and wet, but I am going over in a couple of weeks so I can check up!

Tampa, FL(Zone 10a)

Well, I say it's time to get the party started over there....

Thumbnail by DaleTheGardener
Kissimmee, FL(Zone 9b)

Dale, I will be travelling around a bit visiting friends and family -if they don't party - I will throw a tantrum! But not north of the Watford Gap!

(Rosie) Belturbet, Ireland

Planting broad beans in the rain here - it's pretty cold rain too. Brrrr not time for bedding plants!

Fort Lauderdale, FL(Zone 10b)

Its already blazing hot here, temperatures in the 80's already! Wish it would rain, rain, rain! Everything is so terribly dry! I'm from the hot tropics of southern Florida (zone 10+) where everything grows quite happily 12 months of the year....but I cant get Sweet Peas to grow in my garden! Sigh!

I plant mainly for fragrance, .... butterflies, beauty, rarity and just because......I love walking around the garden by day and evening, breathing in the wafting fragrances. I have 3 bird baths, each one filled with birds wanting to cool off. Having bird feeders close by helps to attract them as well. Parrots, orioles, mocking birds, cardinals, even an osprey has plopped into the birdbath and simply sat there for ages, cooling off. Parrots are always around as I have sunflower feeders near the birdbaths, forever squawking away, particularly when they think I've neglected to fill the feeders!

I have some fragrant violets surviving very well in the garden despite the intense heat.. Viola Odorata is seeding prolifically. A tropical Viola Odorata grown in full sun, passed on to me by a family who has been here for 40 years seems to have adapted to these harsh conditions extremely well. Talk about plants adapting to alien environments

If anyone has Cionura Oreophila Vine growing in their garden I'd love to know of its cultivation, flowering, seeding etc. Plantsman Nursury carried it in their old catalogue, but they dont ship to the USA. If anyone has seeds, I'd swop most generously for this vine! I believe its extremely fragrant and beautiful. Would love to hear comments about it!

A photo of a tropical shrub, Jatropha . A butterfly attractor.

This message was edited May 1, 2009 1:18 AM

This message was edited May 1, 2009 1:20 AM

Thumbnail by bedouin
(Rosie) Belturbet, Ireland

It's blazing hot here too and no, I'm not kidding and errr yes, this is Ireland. My lilies and irises are wilting and you can actually see tomato plants and cukes growing!!! I got some passiflora molissima threatening to outdo Jack's beanstalk. Oh isn't it wonderful to have a summer for a change.
:-))

(Judi)Portland, OR

Our summer here in Portland, Oregon has been sunny and lovely, after a rainy cold spring. Today is a little different - cloudy and a few sprinkles. I wouldn't mind some more rain today!
Do you grow vegetables every year there? If so, how do you cope with the limited sun? It seems like my tomatoes are growing 12 inches every night!

Tampa, FL(Zone 10a)

I am still in the near tropics......

Thumbnail by DaleTheGardener
(Judi)Portland, OR

We are expecting more thunder and rain later today and then sun for the next week so everything will grow fast and bloom a lot. Things grow like crazy here!

Thumbnail by Portland1
(Rosie) Belturbet, Ireland

We grow hardy veg all year round - things that can take a degree or three of frost. Cabbages, kale, turnips, swede, brocolli (the real stuff) to name but a few. But there's nothing to beat summer veg. I always look forward to the first tomato and then can't wait for them to ripen. Just have to have the first one GREEN lol.

Kissimmee, FL(Zone 9b)

Rosie, Where in Ireland is Belturbet, it's not a name I am familiar with. Madeleine

Ennis, Ireland

Hi you garden lovers,

I live in the west of Ireland & am new to this site. I love gardening. I have some hydrangeas, rudbeckias, alliums, daylilies - cant rem Latin name - Haemorcalis? I also have fuschias, marigolds, nasturtiums, some clematis and much more & lots of weeds..!
I also have herbs, lettuce, cabbage & some tomatoes in a cold greenhouse + many geraniums.

I would love to hear from other gardeners who love their garden whether big or small.
Bernie

Tampa, FL(Zone 10a)

Bernie,

Welcome to Dave's.

I love all the plants you mentioned, especially Fuchsia & Clematis. I have moved to Florida and they won't grow here, expcept as annuals. I have had to adjust the plants I grow. Pelargoniums in the winter and coleus in summer.

Thumbnail by DaleTheGardener
Kissimmee, FL(Zone 9b)

That's true, I tried clematis here, and was very disapointed when it didn't last, I had quite a few in UK, Bernie they have some really lovely day lillies here - as yet I haven't planted any - and they also have some stuff they call shamrock - well we all know that only real shamrock will grow in Ireland. But the Hibiscus are amazing here, all sorts of wonderful colours and quite huge, my garden here is enormous compared to my 50' x 15' in UK, and a lot harder work in the heat. If you think you have a lot of weeds - you should see here after a rain shower, which is a downpour compared, it doesn't cool the weather down and is back in the 90's at once. But I love it! Madeleine

(Judi)Portland, OR

We are lucky to have a lot of wonderful clematis plants here. Oregon is perfect for them. I think our weather is similar to Ireland except out winters are not as cold. Bernie, you should check out the Pacific Northwest forum! Roseimp, I would love to know what kind of broccoli you grow.

Tampa, FL(Zone 10a)

Still here>

Thumbnail by DaleTheGardener
Tampa, FL(Zone 10a)

I escaped Florida for 2 weeks, went to California. Want to see the photos?

This message was edited Sep 12, 2009 12:44 PM

Thumbnail by DaleTheGardener
Kissimmee, FL(Zone 9b)

Dale That must have been nice and warm for you :-)

Tampa, FL(Zone 10a)

On the west coast the summer temps rarely break 70F (22C). Best holiday in years.

Thumbnail by DaleTheGardener
Fresno, CA(Zone 9b)

Uuuhh, Dale? 70F (22C)?!?!!! . . . It was 100+ all week last week in Fresno. You must mean, really mean the west coast, not to be confused with the Central Valley of the West Coast {chuckling}. Are the beaches in Florida warmer than our beaches? I believe I understand that your ocean water is warmer than is our Pacific Coast coastal waters, but ambient temperatures? Not a clue. I've not been to FL in the summer, only in the Fall/winter.

I'd love to see your vacation pics. It'd be cool to see pics from non-Californians. It would be fascinating to see what you found interesting on the opposite coast.

Linda

BTW, you have just got to see this front yard!


edited for punctuation (geez)


This message was edited Sep 14, 2009 8:51 PM

Thumbnail by Twincol
Tampa, FL(Zone 10a)

Linda,
Florida water temps are around 87F (31C) at this time of year.

Those topiary in your photo are a real 'work in progress'.

I prefer a 'neater' plant arrangement>

Thumbnail by DaleTheGardener
Tampa, FL(Zone 10a)

A yard with a view is a big plus for city folks>

Thumbnail by DaleTheGardener
Tampa, FL(Zone 10a)

I like topiaries that are a compliment to the garden, Filoli Gardens has them>

Thumbnail by DaleTheGardener
Tampa, FL(Zone 10a)

Filoli was a little too orange in some of their beds>

Thumbnail by DaleTheGardener
Tampa, FL(Zone 10a)

They did much better with this bed>

Thumbnail by DaleTheGardener
Tampa, FL(Zone 10a)

I guess I haven't mentioned that I lived in San Francisco from 1985 to 1999, working as a gardener?

Thumbnail by DaleTheGardener
Tampa, FL(Zone 10a)

I enjoyed revisiting the Community Garden near the top of Potrero Hill, my old neighborhood>

Thumbnail by DaleTheGardener
Tampa, FL(Zone 10a)

Geranium are not always well liked, I always enjoy their gaudy color. At the Embarcadero>

Thumbnail by DaleTheGardener

Post a Reply to this Thread

Please or sign up to post.
BACK TO TOP