We've had two hurricanes, Irma and Matthew since I last posted. Some of the trees have gotten bigger, impressively so, but they may be at a slight angle due to the unforgiving force of heat transportation. As of right now, I am at home. I'm not working today. I have lost my voice with some sort of viral madness, but I am meandering around my yard trying to soak some vitamin Florida into my bones and realize I'll be getting the itch to mingle with leaves and sun and soil all too soon. I need a shovel, stat!
Look at this tree! This tree was a little shrub just two years ago. When we first moved into the house, we had a water oak that was growing in this spot but it resigned its life to wood burrowing insects, and we had to have it removed. This red bay will be assuming the new floral leadership role in our front yard. It's doing well.
I don't even know which ones are the originals or if the original still exists. Each year these things get super ugly after winter. They're there doing their thing, though, which apparently does not include producing any sort of fruit.
The front of my house was once nicely landscaped with azaleas and mulch. I throw scraps out here by the bananas. I've had citrus, potatoes, and who knows what else trying to compete for peat beneath the 'nanners.
This banana plant is a refugee from Hurricane Irma. It was a tall pup that was knocked down during the storm. I found her, still pulsing with life, strewn on her side, severed from her family. So I grabbed her and stuck her in the Earth by the side of the house. She's frozen up this past winter, browned up her leaves and seems to be yawning with life in the spring time sun
.
Alright. This one looks a little yellow. I'll find some recovery soon, but look how big it is? My son and I squished a bazillion different citrus seeds into little tiny flower pots for the fun of it when he was a little tater tot. This tree is getting up there. If you look at older posts, you'll see it in a reddish pot.
I also have a trifolate citrus out in the woods doing splendidly. That one was a tree I bought from Home Depot which died and left the live grafting (thorny, bitter fruit producing tree). So, it continued to grow, but I kinda put it into the wilderness corner of seclusion on my lot. I have a small jungle in my front yard. It stays, that jungle does. No clearing. (Just in case my husband reads this).
Got two pear trees, and guess what? They live! Hallelujah, they. still. live.
Listen, I love the green, the leafy green. I love things that pop out of the Earth (well, not water moccasins. or spiders. or creepy clowns), but I am not a green thumb. Nope. I just like when stuff grows. I have to ask nature and God to take over, really, when I put something in the ground, so it's a fantastic joy to see a thing still growing.
One of the tricks I've learned to growing things is to grow what already grows. I found these growing along the bus stop where my kids got on and off the bus. I sneakily snagged a few out of the road mounds (dirt roads here), plopped them in my yard and they've taken space here for years now.
We planted winged sumac and the hurricane distorted them. Sumac make great seasoning berries which are very tart. They're more like seeds you can roast and grind. You can soak the seeds in water to make a sort of lemony drink, too. But this picture isn't about the sumac. This picture is about the gardenia bush behind it.
Looka that! Big, green lush plant. You know, I've put pickle juice out there? I didn't know if I was helping or hurting, but the leaves were yellowing a certain kind of way and I read a thing on the Internet and tried it. So there ya go. But look at what's coming soon!!
It's like waiting for Christmas morning! Yeah. Gardenia blossoms. I have gardenia body lotion, perfumes and body wash. Nothing compares to the real deal. When these sweet white blossoms open up, it will be an olfactory fantasy.
There are little blossoms all over this plant. I cannot wait for them to open up! There should be a holiday. Gardenia day.
This tree is another creature that gets unsightly during the winter, but look how it takes off in spring? I love the leaves on these trees. Mulberry trees are beautiful trees with soft large leaves. This is another one of my local rounder-uppers. I don't remember where I found this, but I found it somewhere as a leaf-child and smuggled it to my own yard. It's mine now!
I have a lot of aloe. I don't know if there's anything special to say about that other than I could probably make a side income selling it if I wanted to. I do want to, actually, but aloe aren't easy to work with. I have some in the side pockets of my yard that have tipped over in pots and rooted themselves halfway in the ground. Aloe have spikey things on them, just so you are aware. So they stay there. What aloe wants, aloe gets.
Where the Red Bay Grows
Look at this tree! This tree was a little shrub just two years ago. When we first moved into the house, we had a water oak that was growing in this spot but it resigned its life to wood burrowing insects, and we had to have it removed. This red bay will be assuming the new floral leadership role in our front yard. It's doing well.
Banana Plants
I don't even know which ones are the originals or if the original still exists. Each year these things get super ugly after winter. They're there doing their thing, though, which apparently does not include producing any sort of fruit.
The front of my house was once nicely landscaped with azaleas and mulch. I throw scraps out here by the bananas. I've had citrus, potatoes, and who knows what else trying to compete for peat beneath the 'nanners.
.
Some Sort of Citrus
Alright. This one looks a little yellow. I'll find some recovery soon, but look how big it is? My son and I squished a bazillion different citrus seeds into little tiny flower pots for the fun of it when he was a little tater tot. This tree is getting up there. If you look at older posts, you'll see it in a reddish pot.
I also have a trifolate citrus out in the woods doing splendidly. That one was a tree I bought from Home Depot which died and left the live grafting (thorny, bitter fruit producing tree). So, it continued to grow, but I kinda put it into the wilderness corner of seclusion on my lot. I have a small jungle in my front yard. It stays, that jungle does. No clearing. (Just in case my husband reads this).
Arbor Day Pear
Got two pear trees, and guess what? They live! Hallelujah, they. still. live.
Listen, I love the green, the leafy green. I love things that pop out of the Earth (well, not water moccasins. or spiders. or creepy clowns), but I am not a green thumb. Nope. I just like when stuff grows. I have to ask nature and God to take over, really, when I put something in the ground, so it's a fantastic joy to see a thing still growing.
Spiderwort
One of the tricks I've learned to growing things is to grow what already grows. I found these growing along the bus stop where my kids got on and off the bus. I sneakily snagged a few out of the road mounds (dirt roads here), plopped them in my yard and they've taken space here for years now.
Behind the Sumac
We planted winged sumac and the hurricane distorted them. Sumac make great seasoning berries which are very tart. They're more like seeds you can roast and grind. You can soak the seeds in water to make a sort of lemony drink, too. But this picture isn't about the sumac. This picture is about the gardenia bush behind it.
Looka that! Big, green lush plant. You know, I've put pickle juice out there? I didn't know if I was helping or hurting, but the leaves were yellowing a certain kind of way and I read a thing on the Internet and tried it. So there ya go. But look at what's coming soon!!
It's like waiting for Christmas morning! Yeah. Gardenia blossoms. I have gardenia body lotion, perfumes and body wash. Nothing compares to the real deal. When these sweet white blossoms open up, it will be an olfactory fantasy.
There are little blossoms all over this plant. I cannot wait for them to open up! There should be a holiday. Gardenia day.
All Around the Mulberry Tree
This tree is another creature that gets unsightly during the winter, but look how it takes off in spring? I love the leaves on these trees. Mulberry trees are beautiful trees with soft large leaves. This is another one of my local rounder-uppers. I don't remember where I found this, but I found it somewhere as a leaf-child and smuggled it to my own yard. It's mine now!
Aloe Me to Introduce Myself
I have a lot of aloe. I don't know if there's anything special to say about that other than I could probably make a side income selling it if I wanted to. I do want to, actually, but aloe aren't easy to work with. I have some in the side pockets of my yard that have tipped over in pots and rooted themselves halfway in the ground. Aloe have spikey things on them, just so you are aware. So they stay there. What aloe wants, aloe gets.
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