Green Thumb Sunday

Here's what's happening in my garden on this beautiful Mother's day.

Only one or two flowers left on this little mini

My new orchid is still blooming despite the change in address

Two new blooming spikes. i finished

Red vanda looking good

Brown vanda looking good too

Hot pink dendrobian just keeps on tickin!

My topsy turvey tomatoes are still alive!

Bouganvilla is crawling across the roof - not good.

Phalanopsis - this one looks like porcelain

This phal is as loaded with blooms as I have ever seen one.

This nobile type dendrobian is getting ready to bloom on the old canes

Looks like we are going to have two bloom spikes on this one

And finally, the real show stopper. I can't wait to see all the blooms on this fella. Can you believe all the spikes? Wow.

Before and After

Jerry & worked in the yard today - together! Normally he mows the lawn & I do the rest although "the rest" has grown and grown in this Florida climate. I once said to him "Sometimes I wish I had married a landscaper" and he replied "I did". LOL

Here is the perimeter around the pool. You can probably see that we could no longer walk around the pool without the risk of falling in. Same was true for the rat terriers actually. It was lush & full and beautiful but it was a safety hazard and way overgrown. While there is still much more work to do (is a gardener's work ever done?), this is what we accomplished today.

Since this photo I have swept up all that debris and threw it back into the beds as mulch. Need all the moisture rentention mulch we can get these days. We are three years into a drought in our area. Serious watering restrictions with serious fines for breaking them.

This little corner where the walkway around the screen porch ends and the patio around the pool begins. Completly run over by a jasmine vine and a hibicus bush. Hard to tell in this photo that there was "stuff" under the foliage.

The same spot although a tad closer. Under all tht mess of plant was several pots and a lantern.

I curse the day I planted this plant. It was about 5 years ago and the following year I dug it all out, or so I thought, because it became invasive. Oh, and it wasn't planted in the ground, it was in a pot with my succulents. Every year I find it somewhere. I even found some in the front yard!

Ahhhhhh, much better..........until next year that is!

Green Thumb Sunday

Can't have a garden shot without orchids because they are about the only thing blooming this time of year in my yard and I do not vegtable garden.

My pool garden is out of control. I would love to clean it up before my Dad comes for Christmas because I am always afraid he will fall in trying to walk around the pool. I need WiCKED's help!

Daisey and dendrobiens on the screen porch in that fancy-dance plant stand hubby bought me a few years ago. I LOVE it because it is on wheels.


One of my favorite things about Florida is the unique flora. This is a shrimp plant bloom. I also had a red one too but Conan the gardener removed them. Busche Garden, Disney, and Universal Studios are all fabulous plant displays in their parks. There is a lot to learn from the professionals! My fav, for foliage, is Busche Gardens. Plus it is right here in Tampa!

You can pretty much find Hibiscus blooming anytime of year here in Florida.

A rouge bloom on my Passion Flower vine. I thought it was finished for the year.

And finally, it is Key Lime season I guess because they are everywhere in my little backyard.

I know, they are going to waste but a few years ago I picked them and used them and got bad burns on my hands from them so I avoid them now. My DH wanted to cut downt he tree after that but, as you know if you read my blog, I use the tree as an orchid stand, LOL.

Green Thumb Sunday - Garden Gnome

Here is proof that I have a Gnome living in my garden. If you have a Gnome in your garden and you have a blog, please feature your Gnome in a post so that he/she can be acknowledged for the wonderful work that they do!

I discovered my Gnome sitting in my Phalanopsis where he guards it agaisnt any preditors that might hurt the plant or its blooms. Luckily I was the recipient many Christmases ago of a book by Poortvliet/Huygen simply titled "Gnomes" so I knew not to fear my Gnome when it appeared in my garden.

I believe my gnome is a Forest Gnome so I'm not exactly sure how it ended up in Central Florida but we are happy to have him! I believe he may have a few friends around here and when I am feeling better, I will search the garden for photographic proof.

Scary Garden

I am considering turning my front yard (garden area) into a really scary walkway area for Halloween. I usually keep it seasonal but not scary. Our neighborhood is very popular for trick or treating because cars can park at entry and kids can hit 50 houses by sidewalk. All the neighbors participate and most come outside and set up tables, chairs, and candy in the driveway. Lots of people iwth small kids come to my neighborhood and even my simple autumn scarecrows freightens some of them. Humm....what do ya think? should I be the scary house this year?

Green Thumb Sunday

My "Green Thumb Sunday" is devoted to preparing my home and garden for the possibility of a Hurricane named Fay. This is what it looks like when you put storm shutters over your windows. Inside, it's very dark. I will post photos of more preparation shortly. In the mean time, enjoy the lovely yard photos, LOL.

Green Thumb Sunday

No words - just garden photos from this morning after I did my watering. Click image for larger view :)