Flowers 2006

An old favorite, but new-to-me this year is the Arizona Sun Gaillardia (scientific name: Gaillardia aristata).

Plant in full sun, keep moist by watering every couple of days. Once established, plantings can tolerate short periods of drought, but grow best with weekly waterings during hot weather.

Propagation is simple - start plants from seeds. I'm curious to see if this plant joins the ranks of others wherein if you grow it one year, you'll have it forever after because it reseeds itself. (I have red salvia, cleome and amaranthus growing every year and I haven't bought any of them for the past five years.)

Garden flea hoppers are one the major problems. They cause the leaves to develop yellow dots that gradually grow together to form major spots on the foliage. Control with a synthetic pyrethroid insecticide.

Taking the time to deadhead this plant will reward you with a long flowering season. Butterflies like this plant and the long-stemmed blooms can be cut for bouquets.

My amaryllis Double Record presented me with another gorgeous display of flowers this year. Numerous stalks with several huge flowers on each stalk. The flowers measure up to 8-inches across.

Heavy eaters, I feed them on a regular basis. When flowering, they also prefer moist soil. I tend to water them by hand during their blooming time because I don't think they get enough from the irrigation system.

I had a courtyard basket of bacopa this spring that filled in and draped about 15-inches over the side. I took this picture with our flag in the background, focusing on the flag so the flowers are slightly blurred. This is a favorite picture and it's been on my desktop since March.

I like to try the lovely old cleome every year. It does re-seed itself so it isn't necessary to buy plants. Just remember where you had them and watch for babies to grow. Cleome is a light, airy plant that is, unfortunately, prey to little sucking bugs that can take it down quickly.

It also does not seem to like our hot and humid Florida summers. At the moment, my white cleome is struggling to produce a couple blossoms, but I had to trim quite a bit off to get rid of the insects and the powdery mildew.

However, even though it looks like death-warmed-over during the hottest months, it's so attractive in the garden that it's worth growing through the spring planting season.

I decided to try strawflowers again this year. I had these yellows beauties, a white and a yellow/orange combination. All performed great up until June/July. Then they decided to take a break for the summer.

I still have flowers, but they've fallen over and can't quite get up again.

I'm hoping they'll come back next year. As the flowers have dried up, I've taken them apart and spread seeds so we'll see.

OK, this is not really a plant. It's our Fred, or Jabba the Hut as we prefer to call him. Fred is on a diet and has lost about 3 lbs. since this picture was taken. Fred and his sister Ginger have lived with us since August of '99. Actually, looking at that picture, I have to say he isn't as fat as he looks there. He likes to sit up and slouch over like that and and it makes him look like more of a blob than he really is. Fred is a big cat (even without the fat!).

This is the amaranthus I mentioned earlier. The plant that returns year after year. And, it's generous in re-seeding itself. I usually have a dozen babies to transplant. Some I let grow up with just the one stalk. The heads are huge and can be seen from the street. Others, I cut back and let branch out with 3 or 4 heads, not as large, but still striking.

The always lovely white penta - a perfect pick for our Florida summers . They are loved by both butterflies and hummingbirds (and bees!) and fit any garden. They also work as cut flowers.

Even though pentas are related to the ixora and gardenia, they do NOT like an acid fertilizer. They actually prefer a soil pH of 7. If your home is surrounded by rows of ligustrums, try white pentas in beds in front of them. They'll make quite the contrast.

Pentas can outgrow their spot. At that time, you can either trim them back before their spring growth, or take cuttings to root in water and replant in the yard. Or, since they are vigorous re-seeders, you can just look around for small plants with the penta leaf-shape and there you go. I only buy a new penta when I want a different color, which I did this year when I bought my two new reds. Otherwise, I just keep an eye out for babies and move them around accordingly.

This cobalt-blue agapanthus is one of my personal favorites. The color is outstanding when the plant is in bloom. Again, heavy eaters, feed regularly and generously with a general garden fertilizer. That's a sky-blue (more common) agapanthus in the background. My neighbor has two whites in his yard. I asked (and was given permission) to divide them in the late fall and plant a couple in my yard. I've been wanting a white for quite a while.

My alstroemeria blooms so prettily through the spring and summer. Sometimes I denude the plant and bring all the flowers inside to enjoy. Other times, I just let the plant go and enjoy it in the courtyard, where I can set it back in the shade.

I love my jacobinia. This picture is the very heart of the flower head. They are in the front courtyard this year, set back where they can enjoy some shade from the hot afternoon sun.

This red celosia is the great-great-great-great-grandson/daughter of a packet of seeds I planted many years ago. A great re-seeder and easy to find with it's darker stems and leaves. I just move them to where ever a grouping of red would stand out.

My orchid came from a Winter Haven flea market the year we lived there. I bought three very small plants. They are in the same basket and quite large now. My orchids seem to thrive on neglect. I have them in the front courtyard in the shade and don't do anything special for them except throw some fertilizer their way when I'm doing the others. They reward me with blooms 2 or 3 times a year.