Driftwood Plant Container

Container gardening is one of my favorite methods of gardening.  

One of the things I love most is being creative with containers.  

I love this container featuring driftwood!

Click here for a tutorial of how to make it . . . awesome idea!

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Grassless Wishes

I already dislike grass in the landscape . . . then the lawn mower decided to quit working with flowering weeds looming in the midst of a sparse lawn.  That was it for me . . . no more grass . . . it is history!


The more landscape design research I do, the more I am loving large winding paths, raised beds and structures in the garden.


We have been thinking about different landscape designs for the front yard and my thinking is that a circular driveway nestled in between a cactus rock garden is the current winner.  It may take a while to get to this project, but the grass is definitely history.  The good news is that we have tons of cactus that the cold winters didn't kill from my days of massive propagation with hopes of a nursery business.


With a huge property as a blank canvas, half the fun is planning the landscape.  Unlike the last landscape design for our paradise, the new design must be as low-maintenance as possible.  My 24/7 gardening days are over . . . I want to enjoy, not work myself to death in the garden.


Click here to go to an article that addresses Low-Maintenance Alternatives to Lawns.


Something that I caught on one of the home and garden cable channels was artificial turf . . . I have not researched pricing, but I'm sure it carries a high price.  It is a consideration for small areas where a little patch of grass would be attractive.  I'll report my findings when I get to it . . .


How about you?  Do you love or hate lawns?

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Landscaped borders

The older I get, the more I like landscaped borders with large paved living areas as opposed to huge planted areas.  This idea works great for large yards with way too much maintenance.  It also accommodates those gardeners like me who are not fond of grass or spending way too much time mowing the lawn.

These photos come from DIY Network's website, where you can get all kinds of inspiration and instructions for your outdoor projects.

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Floors for outdoors

Love these pavers!

Stephen Orr’s Tomorrow’s Garden (Rodale, $25) showcases the
 latest trends in sustainable gardens from Brooklyn to Los Angeles. 

Click here for his ecofriendly picks for outdoor flooring.

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Plants for Butterfly Gardening

My red pentas were the main attraction for butterflies in my old garden . . . and my favorite butterfly gardening plant.  

They profusely flower and look gorgeous in a mass planting.  Pentas will once again play a huge part in our future garden landscape.

Here is some information on the plant from Florida Friendly Plants:

"Pentas lanceolata is the most popular Florida Friendly perennial. It blooms continuously and is one of the best Butterfly attractors. The tall varieties should be pruned several times a year to shorten and strengthen their structure. Soil enriched with 50% organic matter (compost, leaf mold, cow manure, peat) supports beneficial bacteria and microbes that combat microscopic nematodes, a pest that can cause the eventual decline of Pentas. Pentas is adaptable to full sun and partial shade and repeating several groupings across the length of your garden alternating with another tough and colorful plant like Variegated Flax Lily adds harmony, texture and formal appeal to a design."

Interested in learning more about butterfly gardening?

Click here to go to the butterfly gardening page on my website.

Click here to go to Florida Friendly Plants website's page on their

Top 10 butterfly plants.

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April Gardening Notes

    

~ What to do in April ~

a suggested list of notes for Florida gardeners

Remove winter damaged plant portions.

Look for shoots from near the ground line of severely damaged plants.

Leaves are a source of free mulch or compost for the gardens.

Give all poinsettias a spring trimming.

Now is the time to add new plants to the landscape.

Maintain 2- to 3-inch mulch layers around trees and shrubs;

 one inch in flower beds.

Use slow release fertilizers that can feed landscape plants for months.

Feed palms with special fertilizers made for these plantings

 every 3 to 4 months.

Complete pruning of overgrown plants.

Prune spring flowering trees and shrubs after the blossoms fade.

Inspect older trees and trim as needed before the hurricane season begins.

Water new plantings as needed to keep the soil moist.

Divide perennials before the really hot weather arrives.

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More seed starting ideas

Recycle those old ice trays you aren't using anymore! 
Click here for an awesome article with tips and tutorial.

I love using the method of newspaper pots, another seed starting method using recycled items.  Lindy at Cottage Hill gives directions for a very easy method of making these pots.  Click here to go to the blog post.

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Finishing Touches

You would be surprised at what a little paint will do to brighten up an area.  Just like in your indoor areas, painting an object can make the difference in bringing life to an otherwise dull area.  The photo is from Fine Gardening . . . I would have painted the terracotta containers to match the little table and the plants.  I love using coleus in the landscape to bring color into the garden . . . it is one of my favorite plants.


Click here for an article from Fine Gardening about finishing touches . . . it does make a huge difference in bringing our outdoor spaces together in a festive way.  One of the things I love to do is bring lots of red into the outdoor areas.  The boldness of the red against the greenery of the plants is just awesome.

This is a sign that I made in a section of my garden that was designated for cuttings and a place for me to get away when I didn't want to be bothered.  Appropriately named Hermitville . . . it was my place to relax.  Anyway, the point I want to make with this photo is how the red pops against the foliage.  A new thing I have started to do is paint most of my containers red . . . if they don't have a red background, the painted flowers are red.

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Using color contrast in the garden

One of the things I love doing in my garden is using high color contrast in mass plantings to make a big impact.  Black eyed susans, as shown in the above photo, is the one plant that provides that contrast I love and so easy to grow for my area.  I love plants that tend to become invasive by spreading their seeds and pop up everywhere . . . I pull them up like weeds and relocate them to create a mass planting.  I purchased seeds once and never had to make another purchase . . . my kind of plant.

Another way to provide high contrast in the garden is to utilize those plants with unusual leaves.  One of my favorite plants to use for this purpose is shown in the above photo . . . Florida Beauties.  Their leaves are white with green specks and look awesome again green foliage.  

Crotons and aucubas are more favorite plants that provide a high contrast through foliage for my climate (zone 9).

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Paver borders and walkways

This wide border framing a perennial garden 

 comes from Toledo Botanical Gardens.

The use of pavers in the garden is one of my most favorite things.  It leaves a clean and natural line that serves as both border and a walkway.  

I love wide paths and walkways that leave plenty of room for a wheelbarrow or a large garbage can to make maintenance and moving around the garden more efficient.  Many of the paths that I put together many years ago were designed in that manner for ease of maintenance and we will be utilizing the same paths in our future garden design.

The design of the border, placing pavers in a pattern also brings another dimension to the total look of the garden.

Photo credit: Michelle Gervais, Fine Living Magazine

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