We returned home to Florida to discover that several frosts had decimated our garden. Gone were several palm trees, bromeliads, and orchids. The plants that hadn't died had scorched leaves and looked haggard and sad. We consider our backyard part of our living space, so one of the first things I did after coming home was to prune and plant.
I found some beautiful specimen plants at our local Ace Hardware--the flapjack kalanchoes, neo fireball bromeliads, and elephant leaf plants all came from there. I like buying plants in threes and planting in less than obvious triangle patterns. And we prefer tropicals. (Northern plants look like misfits.) This time I planted the less hardy plants (e.g., kalanchoes) in pots so that they can be brought in during our few frosts. I bought a few of the staples from Home Depot--ground orchids, mandevilla, and a bird's nest fern. I also went to our local nursery, Rockledge Gardens and bought a few flowers I've never grown before (including the beautiful blue lobelia in the photo).
For the first time, I bought vegetables and fruit plants. I planted two pots of basil, two types of eggplant, jalapeno, a kiwi vine, and two fig trees. (Odd assortment, but none are supposed to be susceptible to insects.) Our backyard is small. If I have to chose between food and flowers, I'm going with the flowers. And all of the flowers I planted are supposed to attract hummingbirds and butterflies. I prefer butterflies to Mexican bean beetles and June bugs.
Now that the garden that was lost to the frost has been replanted, it's time to turn our sights to the front yard--if you can call it that. Cinch bugs had their way with the lawn and the foundation landscape is about as dull as you can get. We have an appointment tomorrow with a landscape gardener from Rockledge Gardens to see what can be done. My husband is insistent that he be involved. I know why. He's worried that the new plan won't include grass. He has to advocate for that lawn. For some strange reason, he likes mowing.
