Tag Archives: vines

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CAM00532

St. Patrick's Day is the day that we show off our green!   We wear green, we drink green beer, and we eat cabbage....and we write Limericks to celebrate Ireland, also know as the Emerald Isle!  So, we should be talking about plants with Emerald green leaves, but instead, I am going to talk about plants with Lime foliage, my little twist on "Lime-rick"!  I know, it's a stretch, but what better day to talk about plants that bring something different to the garden?

When designing your landscape, you can add interest to the final plan by including plants with varying textures, flowers, mature height, and foliage color.  There are an endless number of plants that have various hues of green, all the way from a dark emerald green to almost a bluish-silver hue.  And, surprisingly, there are a handful of plants that offer a shade of lime green that will make your landscape pop, especially when paired with other plants that help them stand out and shine.

If you are considering adding some lime green foliage plants to your landscape design, be sure to place them next to plants that will highlight their uniqueness.  Lime green foliage can really pop when planted next to dark greens, reds, and oranges.  Conversely, it can be lost or washed out when planted next to a white or yellow house paint, or white and light colored green foliage plants.   If you are uncertain as to what will work in your plant combinations, try a few pairings at your local nursery before making your final selections.  Ultimately, you want all of your plants in your design to compliment each other, to bring out the best features of each individual plant.  As always, half of the fun of gardening is experimenting, and going bold can bring a delightful result!

Considered any of these lime green foliage plants to add to your landscape.  All of them are low maintenance and easy care plants for our Tampa landscapes:

  • Foxtail Fern, added bonus of unique texture
  • Coleus, available in many varying leaf colors with limes, yellows, and reds (in picture above)
  • Potato Vine
  • Gold Mound Duranta (in picture above, with Coleus)
  • Ti Plants, either Kiwi or Lemon-Lime varieties

So, let's get growing, Folks!  This St. Patrick's Day, let's really show of our greens.....with Lime greens!  You just can't go wrong, and you will be bringing something new to table, so to speak!

Donell

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angeltrumpet

A well designed landscape attempts to stimulate our five senses of sight, smell, touch, sound, and taste.  With that in mind, adding scented plants to create a fragrant garden can be the most surprising and rewarding of all garden design, by tickling our sense of smell.

Some plants, such as Gardenia and Roses, are universally known for their beautiful fragrance, and are added to gardens for just that reason.  Others, such as Crinum Lily and Angel's Trumpet, are not as well known, but can bring as much pleasure as their better known garden mates.  As well, most scented plants do not provide scent year-around, so to create a fragrant garden for almost all seasons, one must plant a variety of scented plants.  With that, not only will your landscape be diverse in scent and texture (touch), you will also have the added benefit of flowers (sight) and possibly taste (with herbs, like Rosemary and Mint).  As an added bonus, plants like Loquat, Citrus, and Magnolia provide a food source for birds and wildlife (sound), after their scented flowers have passed.  Why, one might even say that the beginning of a full-senses garden experience begins with scented plants!

Selecting scented plants for a fragrant garden is easier than you think.  As always, you must take into consideration the plants preferred planting sight (sun, soil, etc.) as well as it's size at maturity, and then simply begin adding them to your current landscape.  Alternatively, you can build and design your landscape around scented plants, selecting ones that bloom in different seasons.  As always, half the fun in gardening is experimenting, so just enjoy the process and no doubt, you will be amply rewarded!

Any of these easy-care scented plants would make a wonderful addition to your fragrant garden:

  • Carolina Yellow Jasmine
  • Sumbac a/k/a Arabian Jasmine
  • Confederate Jasmine
  • Night Blooming Jasmine
  • Star Jasmine
  • Anise
  • Loquat
  • Magnolia
  • Citrus, all varieties
  • Crinum Lily
  • Angel's Trumpet
  • Roses, not all varieties
  • Society Garlic (not pleasant smelling to all)
  • Butterfly Ginger
  • Tea Olive
  • Rosemary and many other herbs
  • Gardenia

All of the plants listed above are well-suited for Tampa landscapes (zone 9) and are generally drought tolerant and low maintenance.  As well, some of them provide a heavy scent, while others, a more light and subtle fragrance, providing an opportunity for all gardener's to find the perfect plant, to tickle their senses!

Let's Get Growing, Folks!

Donell

 

 

 

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carolina-yellow-jasmine

Spring can be elusive, especially in Florida where the sun is shining, birds are singing and plants are blooming, while snow is falling in record numbers once again, in the north.   So, when and how do we determine if Spring is here?  When can we start our spring cleaning of our landscape and gardens?  Well, I would say that the time is now, and I will tell you why I think that and what I look for.

Firstly, I look for blooms on Day Lily and Carolina Yellow Jasmine.  Day Lily are mostly an "iffy" plant for Tampa, but when planted in their perfect place, they are one of the earliest bloomers, and can provide a welcome display of fabulous colors, for those weary of gray days, typical of Florida winters.  Not to be outdone, Carolina Yellow Jasmine is another one of those plants that welcome in the spring, with small yet fragrant flowers that can surprise you with it's deceptively small "rest of the year" presence, both with it's mass of flowers and it's subtle perfume scent that carries through the dense evening nights.  It's a true "wallflower", until Spring.  While many plants will bloom throughout a mild winter, these two plants are a true harbinger of Spring.

Secondly, I watch the trees, particularly the large hardwood shade trees.  While some large trees like Sycamore and Maple drop their leaves early, Oaks take a little longer.  With that said, Live Oaks seem to be the most stubborn, waiting to the very last minute to drop the rest of their leaves, even to the point that Maples have already seeded and begun new leaf growth.  With the Oak's last leaf drop, they will soon seed (called catkins), and drop them within weeks, which can create as much of a mess as the leaf drop itself.

Lastly, I watch the moon phases and trust my instinct, after 25 years of experience.  Old timers say that there will be no frost after the full moon in February, and I would say that prediction has held true 90% of the time.  Of course, it's the other 10% of the time that is the concern.

Today, I see Carolina Yellow Jasmine blooming, and Day Lily with buds.  The Maples have seeded already, and are putting on new leaves.  The Oaks have dropped most of their leaves, and some are even flushing with new leaves.  The majority of Live Oaks, though, have not seeded and dropped their catkins, but I do believe that will happen soon, and it will be a small production yield this year, not near as bad as last year.

With that, Spring is very near, and it is time to make your plans.  To get the full benefit of what a Spring garden can bring to your home, now is the time to prepare to take action, with regards to Spring cleaning of your landscape, seasonal plantings, new plantings, vegetable and herb gardening, as well as fertilizing and pest control.

In the next few days, I will post a guide as to what to do and how to get started.....Don't let Spring pass you by, with all of it's glorious wonder.  Let's get growing, Folks!

Donell