February

2024

Willow Tree: 4 pansies, 2 purple petunias, 1 clown striped petunia so ridiculous I couldn't resist it, a basil badly in need of repotting, fingers crossed, rosemary, and some cucumbers. Also bacopa, little white flowers, and an African bush daisy, euryops.

2023

2/9/23 Planted 8 of the pink tall weedy things I got at Sweet Bay, 4 pansies, all different colors, offset with some garlic chives, and a native porterweed.  Lots to go to fill in where I did away with all that ganges primrose that froze. Things are just coming back to life, milkweed, etc.

2022

Those chickens. 

To Do:  Order caladium bulbs for front, near palm tree. Prune cassia & Texas sage. Propagate crossandra. 

 2.5 - 3 foot tall. Blooms late spring through early fall. Perennial. Germination is 2 to 3 weeks. Space 1 to 1 1/2 feet apart. 

2019

New plantings

2/17, I planted a palm in front of the garage, with some milkweed I'd started from seed and some Schwacke magentas in front of that.  A nice little bed, I hope. Love the combo of magenta and orange. If everything grows and blooms.   

2/16, Started some amber wheels gaillardia, gaillardia aristata,  which I ordered from Swallow Tail Garden Seeds.

May get to be 40' tall. Leaves change color in the fall and then drop. DIED

2/16 Planted the Florida Maple which Duke Energy obligingly gave us.  The directions explained how to make a 'moat' around a young tree. Bury the tree level with the ground, but then build up a moat of earth around it so that it can access more water.  Clever.  Might be too late for the fig tree. 

Dividing and repotting: the Fancy Fern, the oyster plants which got so stepped on by the termite guys. Moved the baby beautyberry to a nice sunny spot nearer the fence. It seems to be surviving its uprooting and is putting out new buds. I'm hoping I'll have a longer and more beautiful blooming and berry show for it in this sunnier spot. The cranberry hibiscus are productive but they get so scraggly.

Rooting: Lucille's bays. One might actually make it. Two pots are still green. Update: Nope


2018



Just got back from the Saturday Morning Market where I purchased a mecardonia "little sunshine", a very cute little creeper which I hope will do for me what I thought the Ganges primrose would do last year.  I plan on propagating it and lining paths with it. Also, it would look terrific with my variegated sanseverria. The mecardonia requires full sun to part shade, which makes it a great choice for the front yard. NOTE; EXCEPT THAT IT IS AN ANNUAL.

Broke down and got a polka dot plant.  Think I'll put it by the back door, and maybe propagate a few buddies for it. 
2012
Yesterday, heavy rains. Today, a perfect day for gardening. The air was cool and moist on my cheek, the soil soft, and the weeds unsuspecting.  I was sad that Nov, Dec and Jan had left me so uninterested in the Great Outdoors. But no, as a good peasant, I was just busy laying low -- making new brooms and whittling nutcrackers -- until springtime.

Since we're having such a mild winter, it's safe (I hope!) to prune back all the dead coleus, the blue porterweed (and to weed that blue porterweed) and to try to come to some kind of conclusion about the beach sunflower which promises to overrun the front yard.  Potted up some brugmansia (???) cuttings that very obligingly rooted in just three weeks.  Planted out some nice pink Mexican petunias that I hope will do OK in our damp soil. If I remember to water them.

From Care of Injured and Orphaned Squirrels by  R. Avery Bennett, DVM. MS. Diplomate
ACVS College of veterinary Medicine, University of Florida Gainesville, Fl.
In north central Florida the birthing seasons are February-April and July-October, with a 44 day gestation period. Litters average 2.5 offspring in winter have been known to stay with their mothers for 3 to 9 months.

During the first week baby squirrels are pink with no hair and closed ears and eyes. At two weeks age squirrels turn a pinkish-gray color. The third week brings tiny hairs to the body and the hair on the back darkens. At 3.5-4 weeks the ears begin to unfold, fur starts to show at the nose and tail and spreads toward the body, turning brown on the muzzle and eyelids. Fur appears on the stomach and the incisors push through.. At 4-5 weeks there is a line velvet hair coat. Silver fur appears on the dorsal aspect of the tail. The eyes open at about 5 1/3 weeks and the squirrel begins to stand.