2023 Spring Revival

We moved to the suburbs in a neighboring town in 2019. I drove past the old place, and wow! The road is paved, and all our trees and shrubs are gone. So, all the old blog posts are irrelevant. Starting again from scratch. Seems an appropriate endeavor for Spring. 

I love Spring. 

It's Spring again, and were in our new place.  I'm coming back to document my off-the-cuff attempt at greenery.  

Vitex Chaste

I'll start with a Palm Coast Arbor Day tree we got in 2021: A Vitex Chaste

Put this one in the ground as a little stub about two years ago.

Loquat

I've been hoping to get a loquat in the ground forever, and I got one from Fast-Growing-Trees.com. My grandmother had a loquat in her yard in Palm Coast when I was a little pork chop, and we'd sit in her Florida room while she played Solitaire, and she'd suggest I go out front a pick some Japanese plums. I LOVED them.   :)

 

Chicago Hardy Fig

Also got a little fig tree from Fast Growing Trees.  I dusted it with sulfur trying to keep the leaf rust at bay, and I dusted some diatomaceous earth around it.   I'd love, love love some figs!

Yes, we need to pressure wash the fence. That's actually the neighbor's fence, but it's our side. 

Blueberry

Got a little blueberry too. I think you're supposed to prune cross branches on stuff but these things seem a little hair-brained. I don't know. I did prune a wee bit. I'm not sure if you're supposed to wait for fall or something. There were no little blossoms, so I went for it. 

Gardenia

I have four little gardenia growing by my fence now. They seem a little light-yellow-ish in the leaf, so I gave them a little vinegar to help acidify the soil to allow them to absorb nutrients a little better.  I did about a cup to three gallons of water.  

Two Hibiscus and a White Bird of Paradise

 

This may be trouble-city for me, the White Bird of Paradise. I've no clue. I'm afraid my hibiscus is too close, but I'm trying to go for the non-manicured, as best as I can get to jungle-look in the suburbs. 

I tend to be smitten by non-conventional beauty, so... 

We'll see. I really can't tell if I've overwatered or under watered the White Bird of Paradise. I keep googling.  The soil is sort of sandy there, and they supposedly like constantly moist soil. 

Oh My, a Papaya

I don't know. It's a bunch of Papaya seeds. I know they don't like to be transplanted, and I'm not sure if I weed these out as they grow or what.  The biggest ones are like, on the edge of the pot.  

I'm not sure this will become anything, but it will be fun to watch. 

Cilantro is Good for the Soul

I've learned that a good taco is with a good corn tortilla, a well seasoned meat, onions, cilantro, and

salsa verde, okay, so I need a lot of cilantro.

Cilantro isn't a tropical plant. It doesn't like it too hot (iroinically, as it's paired with spicy stuff, often enough).  It also is a perennial, so you can let it go to seed if you want more each year.

Cilantro does not produce lily-like flowers.  That's a calla lily in the background that fell into my cart at Aldi. 

And there on the ground,
lay a fallen loquat leaf.
The promise of spring resounds.

Hot Peppers of Some Sort

I'm also doing this again. This is a small bed for peppers, but, you know, magic is possible. 

Hot peppers and cilantro. That's what I'm hoping for. If I get one hot pepper, that's enough of a win!