First, the Caladiums came back in full force this year....I was surprised to see how many actually survived the cold weather this winter. I'm not one to dig up bulbs and save so if you are a Caladium at 11429 you best hold what cha' got through the winter because your tail is in there to stay.
Next we have my wonderful roses. They are all doing really well, thanks to some advice from my friend Summer and a little bit of Miracle Grow rose food.
Up next is my current fav, and for the life of me I can't remember the name of it at the moment. It starts with a "P".......anyway, I saw it all over Disney World last September and it was gorgeous. Since there is no Master Mickey Gardener working at 11429, mine isn't up to the quality found at Disney World but I do like to think I have a little bit of Main Street USA in Daphne. :) (Especially for you JuJu)
The ol' stand-by....Lantana. Lantana made a huge come back this year. My next project includes filling in more lantana in some bare spots. Lantana is a good choice for the beginner. Doesn't require much water or upkeep, usually comes back every year. Just a good choice for the novice (or in my case, the lazy).
East Pot
West PotNow for one of my larger "Showcase" areas. My porch pots. These are 2 years in the making, covered in the winter to guard against the freeze. The back is either ornamental grass or a lily, I can't remember which one I ended up putting back there. There's some purple ornamental grass, which I've used through out the yard because.....yep you guess it, it comes back and it's real easy, sweet potato vine (which is the bright green), red begonias, 2 pink Vincas given to be from the girls at Mother's Day, and some left over Creeping Jenny that has seen it's better day but I'm trying to fertilize and improve it's quality.
As most of you know, we have Delta, and now a few puppies (which we'll discuss at a later date exactly how many we have because it changes daily) and for the 2 years we have lived here, we haven't been able to have a backyard. Dogs and nice backyards just don't mix....OK, let me rephrase that, Dogs and PO' FOLKS backyard's don't mix. I'm sure the rich peeps send their dogs off to some "How to Behave in the Manicured Backyard" school but at 11429, where we live in the real world, dogs are just dogs and they dig and mess up your yard. Well, Delta has now been reduced to a smaller area in the backyard, thanks to a picket fence and electric collar. I've spent the past month or so trying to reclaim what 2 years of unruly dog has done.
So far we've worked on 2 beds extending out from each side of our back patio. It's definitely been S L O W progress. All of the plants are coming along but there weren't too many worthy of the photomontage yet so here's a small glimpse of the backyard:
Making use of the never used Chimania? Chiminary? .....Fish made out of stone.... A little sweet potato vine coming out of the mouth.
Marigolds finally made an appearance. Not really my favorite flower but hey, they were cheap and I got a whole flat of them so they actually are making a BIG appearance around back.
Last but not least, a little purple Salvia surrounded by some Dusty Miller. It looked better before we went to the beach for the weekend and they went with out water. I'm thinking this Salvia might be a little too much maintenance for my taste but since it's right outside the backdoor and easy for me to water, we'll give it one summer to prove it's worth.
So, that about wraps up the Tour de River Birch. Maybe my next blog won't be so boring.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot, if there's a chance a Master Gardener from Disney World happens to read this, I'd like my P plant to look like the ones there....could you hook me up with some tips to make that happen?
