It was nice and blizzardy here today. Toasty!
What's In Your Garden, Part 5
Boo, did you get hit by that latest snow storm that hit Washington, DC & Maryland? I sure hope not. It was 88° in Phoenix today! It got up to 76° here in Happy Jack. Wow, we got to go outside and play in the yard. Boy are we going to be sore tomorrow. 8^( I'll bet JoAnne & Loveshorses got out in their gardens today in Payson, too.
Yup. Got hit and had my snowblower lesson. No schools were open. We got at least 8" and drifting. But it still feels like it's not mid winter.
No - it just looks like it...? :-)
Brrrrr
Beautiful!!!
Great Rene!
Rene, I'm gonna have to come back over and see those for myself. : ) Sooo purdy. : )
The golden trumpet tree announces the arrival of spring!
Jim
I haven't turned on the computer for three days because the change in weather has me working in the garden. One thing I did was completely change out the garden beside the front door. The Indian hawthorn are gone and coontie palms and orange bird-of-paradise are in. Here is the before pic.
Jim
And the after pic.
Jim
My screw pine is in place along with a couple of big rocks that may have rearranged my vertebrae.
Jim
Love that screw pine, Jim. I hurt my back routinely for beauty ("Beauty must suffer," my sister told me as she put make up on me at 5 years old.) Entrance looks great!
Thanks Kathy. I've been working hard in the yard. I'm hauling mulch and pruning like a wild man. I have to put it all on hold now to do the taxes. I hate that job.
God bless Christmas lights and blankets...mango tree in bloom.
Jim
Well Jim, you're way ahead of me with the growing season. My Tababuia are just deciding weather to come alive again. Small signs of life are visible though. I've been out there pruning too but there is so much left to do. Yesterday was an off-day as we had two sets of company and this afternoon will be the same. Folks are stirring to go back north or are here to visit from there. So we must accomodate. We have to go places several times this week which will further reduce my available time.
I yesterday's tour of the garden I took a few pics and the most amazing bit of news was the resurrection of my elephants out back. They had been browned out completely by the freeze and here I saw brand new giants standing there already. They must grow an inch or two a day. Here a couple shots.
fred
I'm 6 ft tall and I hold up my arms to get this shot over my head
next to those elephants are my bananas
as you can see there is some new growth and the nanas are not dead but the fruit stopped ripening and they are goners.
where I had cut the frozen bananas back there is all kinds of new growth right out of the cut off stems and where I removed all the dead leaves. These buggers are vigorous growers and don't want to dii.
since we are in an orchid forum, a question. Do caladiums seed themselves to orchid pots? I'm trying to figure out where these caladiums came from as I have no recollection of planting bulbs with my orchids. The caladiums are planted all around my orchids and somehow they must have transplanted themselves. Wierd.
and another pot...
now these pots have been inside the sunroom for the winter and being that its warmer and sunnier in there has given the caladiums a false sense of Spring to start growing already. Outside I don't see them growing yet. Looks pretty neat though in there with the phals.
fred
This message was edited Mar 9, 2009 10:56 AM
anybody want some loquats? The brugs are growing like mad again after losing all their leaves and flowers.
my lychee lost all of it's young growth and the associated flowers. This was their first bloom and now it's wait another year.
same with the mango. Millions of tiny flowers gone. I'm afraid the tree would have bent down to the ground with all that fruit though. Do people cut out excessive fruit when all is well? I mean this tree was getting ridiculous with the amount of flowers on every tip of every branch inside and outside the tree. Last year was already a problem as I tried roping the branches to each other and staking them from below as they were about to break off from the weight.
The worst damage is to my palms. I think I saved my bottle palms and most of the others will also come back with new growth but they'll look a mess for the coming year. The foxtails, royals and christmas palms seem to be hit the hardest. Out front I probably lost (dead) about 40 young Christmas palms. The arecas all look like they've burned in a fire. Their tops are all brown and black but below there is green so I suspect they'll all regrow from the roots. Young christmas palms don't do that. Here are some that will survive (I hope) around my pond.
So far nothing on the mango but brown dried up sprigs. Last year I had mangos hanging like bunches of grapes all the way to the ground, 10 to 12 per bunch. If it wasn't for the racoons having feasts every day they would have mostly rotted. Last years bloom wasn't nearly as big as this year's. From my experience, a freeze sets the tree back a year or two. I had the same thing happen about three years ago and then slowly it comes back with more blooms and fruit every year after when there is no bad freeze. There may be different types of mango but mine surely gets cold quickly.
We'll see what happens this year and next.
Fred
Fred, it looks like much is coming back. In a couple of years, you will be back to normal. Just be optimistic and it will all work out. I think I may have lost only one plant, the datura devils trumpet. It just shows no signs of life at all. Hap told me that would happen and she was right. She also sent me some seeds and I have them planted in a little seed greenhouse. With her help, I may break even. We are in full spring mode here and it is great to see the new growth. Here is a red knockout rose.
Jim
And a blush knockout.
Jim
And a pink one to complete the set.
Jim
Here is a native iris down by the lake. I've got to get to bed as I have a library presentation on roses tomorrow. Cheers.
Jim
Fred,
It's terrific that so much is coming back.
That EE that you gave me is still in the pot, but not for long. It's growing beatifully. Thanks again.
Jim,
Hope every seed grows...LOL
Hap
Hap, did you see big momma Elephant pics above? I'm curious to know whether yours get this big too from a genetic plant or if my black muck ground is the reason for the size. Right now the stuff is rock hard but the plants don't seem to care.
fred
It will be interesting, for there's about 1 inch of soil over coral rock here. Plus, it will be in much more sun. The baby will go in the yard this weekend, so hopefully it will get use to higher light before summer is upon us.
Will keep you posted.
Hap
The tabebuia tree is putting on a wonderful show this year and I wanted to share. In this pic, I'm under the tree looking up at the sky.
Jim
Here I am standing several feet away looking up at it. What a sight.
Jim
This is my ribbon palm (Livistona decipiens), blowing gently in the breeze. It is one of my favorite palms and is cold hardy in almost all of Florida. Why it is not more widely planted is a mystery to me.
Jim
Oh, is that PRETTY!! I had expected a pink Tabebuia tree, the kind I saw in Brazil. But this yellow one is just gorgeous !!!! WOW!!