Things Money Cannot Buy

Thanksgivings come and go so rapidly and by them we measure the launch into the holiday season. It's a day we love to celebrate in my home. It would be difficult to recount how many Thanksgiving meals I've prepared over the years.

It takes a couple of days of preparation to cook all the yummy traditional foods we look forward to with great anticipation.

We realize the importance of having a grateful heart at all times around here. We are so blessed with so much. I'm not even thinking about material things although we are ever thankful for the things that make us comfortable as humble as they are.

This year, for so many reasons, I am especially thankful and feeling a bit sappy this morning.

Maybe it's all those onions I've been chopping.

No, this is what happens when I'm the only one awake in the pre-dawn hours.

My heart is overflowing with gratitude for the blessings that reside deep down inside. They are the ones that keep me a grounded, sensible girl.

I give thanks first of all to my God and Savior, Jesus Christ. "O give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;For His lovingkindness is everlasting." He is the air I breathe.

I'm so, so thankful for family and friends near and far today. For my parents who are both still with us and very much a part of my life. For my children (and their spouses) who love me unconditionally and with longsuffering patience even with all my glaring flaws. Each one of them (my children~ not my flaws) makes my world spin ... they fill me up with the best laughter, joy, and goodness a mom could ever hope for.

I'm so very full today with thanks for the gift of my late Grandmother's tattered and misspelled original recipes in her own handwriting. She was THE best cook and a mentor to me at the stove all my young life.

It wouldn't be a proper Thanksgiving without her pecan pie at our table each year and long after she has been gone.

I'm grateful for veggies picked straight from the garden to give our celebration meal that fresh, personal touch...

... for fresh herbs and beans out of the garden in November

... for the rain the last two days that got us all caught up on our moisture levels.

... and for the end of it today with sunshine and cool temperatures in the 70's on tap.

And grateful...

for peace of mind, joy in my soul, and health in my body. For truly those are the most basic things in life and the things that keep me steady... the things that money cannot buy and that no one can take away.

... for the purity and innocence of grandchildren to remind me what life is really all about. They keep me steadfast and my mind fresh with childlike perspective. Most grateful for their tender, sweet voices that fill up my life to overflowing. For helping hands to eagerly help make Thanksgiving decorations. For laughter and sweetness and love abounding without hesitation because they see life with all hope and goodness ahead of them.
And grateful...

especially for Mr. Meems who has lovingly supported every one of my crazy ambitions for 31+ years and counting. I can't imagine spending one day of my life with him.

For each of you. The friends I know who read and the friends I don't know who read. Imagine creating a blog (on a whim) about gardening of all things and somehow folks actually browse to it on purpose and leave kind comments ... fascinating.

I'm grateful and I wish each and every one of you a most Happy Thanksgiving day (and holidays~even if you don't live in the U.S. ~always good to be thankful right?) from the depths of my heart. Meems

It's Like Spring All Over Again

Other than our shorter days and the southerly angle of the sun Florida's fall gardening is much like a repeat of spring. The garden calls out for the gardener to plant, to prune, to seed, to cut, to mow, to propagate... but more than anything to take time to breathe in the beauty of each day.

Our gardening days are full with plenty to do in order to keep things tidy since the passing of our endless summer. With a look ahead to springtime there are cuttings being taken for rooting new plants. This year I've made sure to pot up some of my favorite tender plants that I know I will lose if we get a random frost like last winter. They will find a place indoors if the threat occurs. Which means I'll be assured to at least have some starter plants without having to purchase new ones.
Please Don't Make Me Go Inside

Cassius Blue on Flax Lily bloom (both the flower and the butterfly about 1/2" in size)

It is so delightful to enjoy our butterfly friends who visit even throughout the cooler months. On the warmest, sunniest days many of them treat us to their company while we work.

There should be some caterpillars on the milkweed soon as the Monarchs have been sighted still laying eggs.

We have had the most divine weather of our autumn season so far. Finally, the humidity has given us a reprieve for the length of about ten days straight. Whew! It has been glorious outside with our lows at night hanging right around 60 and our daytime highs right around 80. What a glorious and much welcomed change it has brought.

This is perfect gardening weather! It's perfect outdoor weather! These are the days when I figure out how to spend every possible moment outside. I even take my paperwork to the back porch so I don't miss a minute of the splendor.

There are two large plantings of Plumbago auriculata, or leadwort in the back garden. They've both been blooming all summer and still they are putting on a great show with their true blue blooms. One does better than the other due to better placement in more sunshine.

They have a habit of sending out suckers making new plants all on their own. Not in an invasive sort of way but in a way that adds to the bushiness of the shrubs. I dig up those volunteers occasionally and pot them up for pass-alongs or to put them in a more convenient spot in the garden.

Last summer I was determined to see if I could get a cutting to flourish and to look pretty in a container planting. That poor thing has been moved around from place to place trying to find where it would be happy and produce. It was the scraggliest thing for the longest time. Just last week it flushed out with presentable blooms for the first time. It's always fun to try something new. Maybe by next year it will really good.

So many plants in the garden come alive and perky this time of year just like they do in springtime. Summer is relentless around here and plants have to be tough in order to survive it. But even the ones that tolerate the stress of summer nicely just seem to come to life again in the fall when the nights get cooler and the sunny days fade away much quicker.

We don't have too much in the way of foliage change this far south. It's the trade-off for the year-round tropical temps. So we opt to create our own autumn vignettes with shades of foliage helping to reflect the season.

At summers' end this un-named coleus what brought home from a nursery in north Florida. Making several more plants from cuttings it is giving us fall colors of bright gold on the upperside and deep magenta on the underside. A wonderful sort-of garnet and gold combination. *grin* Just right for the season. It's mixed with cuttings from persian shield filling out behind them and ground orchids blooming deep lilac flowers in front of them.

Speaking of deep foliage the Pseuderanthemum nigrum, 'Black Magic' offers a nice contrast in autumn. I like the way it echos the deep purple leaves of the purple queen across the pathway from it (seen behind it in the above photo).

The drooping white clerodendrum C. Wallichii 'bridal veil' is a happy bloomer that waits for autumn's change to flower its fragrant blooms.

You may remember the two Giant Spider Lily Crinum augustum 'Queen Emma' my neighbor gifted to me. One was situated in the back garden and became the centerpiece for the tropical pathway.

Autumn's Backyard Garden
It has adjusted to its new home with ease. One of the main joys of foliage plants is the way they remain steady all year. They just keep on giving in every season.

I do hope your autumn is filling you with joy. Have a wonderful weekend. Meems

Maple-Leaf Hibiscus

Gardener's like to indulge in the anticipation of blooms from our reliable performers.

We just kind of keep our expectancy reserved until we see signs that any one of those particular plants is actually going to bud out right on time.

At which time our hopes become realities and we ditch all doubts in exchange for humble thankfulness that another plant is happy and secure assuring us we must have done something right in the nurturing.

Being that November is the middle of autumn and generally gardens can be (depending on weather) winding down a bit here in Florida all November bloomers are especially celebrated.

Adding to its appeal and probably the most distinctive characteristic of the Hibiscus sabdariffa or often called Roselle, Jamaican Tea, Maple-Leaf Hibiscus, Florida Cranberry, October Hibiscus, Red Sorrell~~ is its outstanding burgundy-colored maple-shaped foliage.

In a photo taken earlier this month (above) the sunlight streaming through it highlights the veining in each leaf and the brightness of the new growth.

Here you can visualize how it contrasts so wonderfully with all the shades of greenery in the back garden. They were frosted to the ground last winter. Recovering quickly in spring, I have been consistently pruning these vigorous growers back since then.

My goal was to keep them more compact and bushy and from getting too tall and leggy as they tend to do if left on their own. Even so, they are towering over me in height. Note to self: be even more aggressive next year.

As with all hibiscus, each bloom only lasts about a day but fortunately on the maple-leaf the buds form along the length of each stem.

The flowers that grace the branches this time of year are a bonus bright spot to the already showy foliage.

Besides having pest free habits, these hibiscus are one of the easiest plants to propagate by cuttings. It has been fun to pop these plants in the ground in several locations around Hoe and Shovel for the deep foliage I lean towards loving all year long.

The Joys of Fall Vegetable Gardening

It's kind of hard to know at this point what the end result will be in the fall veggie garden. The challenges have been numerous.

"So," you say, "that's nothing new in any garden."

"True," I say.

Only this season it feels as though just when we thought we got some things right ... one more adverse element was on our heels to challenge our tenacity.

I just keep telling myself "every ounce of diligence is worth it ~~ not to have to purchase days-old green beans from the market." The voice in my head that keeps me steady through it all reminds me how very invigorating it is to pick from the vine and sauté in the skillet for a delightful yummy freshness of which there is no replica.

We are happy to say we've been doing just that lately.

Maybe it's my tummy afterall and not my head that rules with such determination. *grin*

The summer squash is very happy we have finally dropped to temperatures yielding decent growing conditions.

After waiting until the last possible (planting calendar) date for our zone the lettuces, spinach, carrots, collards, beans, squash, broccoli, radishes, tomatoes (started earlier in the patio) and onions were seeded. What followed were four interminably, sweltering October weeks of unseasonably high temps. Day and night.

Those little seeds were begging for mercy but gave their best by popping out of the ground anyway. Bedraggled and stunted there was something else going on they were having to overcome.

Somehow the armadillos, I've always had to deal with in the rest of the garden, found a way into the fenced-off veggie garden. What they discovered by rooting their ghastly snouts into all that luscious soil was a gold mine of big fat earthworms. Ahhh... midnight delicacies easily supplying these night creatures with full tummies.

We managed to trap (and release into some woodlands) one of them. There are more and we are relentless in our pursuit to capture as many as we can. Some temporary fencing has been erected around each raised bed; too costly, but sometimes you have to pay for peace of mind.

As the heat and animal activity took its toll it was clear some re-seeding was necessary. Most of the onions, carrots, lettuce, spinach, and broccoli just didn't have a chance given the elements against them. It was kind of comical to see the radishes moved from one side of their hill to the other. Well, I wasn't really laughing... but to an onlooker it might have been comical.

The cool weather (re-seeded) veggies will probably still produce and maybe even better now that we have finally slipped into some cooler temps at night. There is possibly an up-side to all this trickery that goes into producing edibles.

The few tomato plants that survived the unintended additional tilling by the varmints are now producing some fruit.

The poor collard greens must be super-tough to withstand all the nose-nudging they've endured over the weeks. I've tucked and re-tucked their roots back into the ground as they were shifted around.

Last year I waited until spring to plant nasturtiums. This year I'm getting a head start as I think they'll be happier longer in this milder season. Flowers soon... hopefully.

In the meantime, the blue porterweed, the cosmos, alyssum, bacopa, pentas, black and blue salvia, salvia coccinea and ...

maple leaf hibiscus draw in the butterflies, bees, and flying critters of all kinds to keep everything balanced.

This time of year is so much easier to garden ... once we get through all those pesky troubles, that is. I'm pretty sure it's all going to be uphill from now on. *grin*

Happy Autumn! I sure hope your garden is bringing you lots of smiles, Meems

Australian Tree Fern

Cyathea cooperi, Australian Fern

It's been said that Australian Ferns can be somewhat demanding and fussy plants. I suppose if grown indoors or in a not-so-sub-tropical climate they could perform less than expected.
The sheer majestic presence of the unusually large woody specimen in a shady setting draws one's attention to them . When you think about it the uniqueness of tree ferns is limitless.

The greenery of each oversized frond is soft and lacey while the trunk is stiff and fuzzy brown. The contrast is visually and tactiley appealing. This fern is a slow grower... though they can possibly reach heights of 10-12 feet.

Moist conditions in a shaded area with filtered light helps reproduce the forest-like provisions they prefer. Composted mulch and leaf litter around the base is suggested to use for amending the soil.

One rather small one purchased last May was sited in the back garden just off to the side of a flagstone pathway. It didn't take long at all before I realized what a hardy asset it was to the understory of the oak treed canopy.

Florida's high humidity level is a plus for growing the moisture loving tree ferns.

Just as it was getting so cozy and feeling at home here, all those long leafy fronds on my fern were bitten by frost last winter. They are not at all cold hardy. But by blanketing the trunk on the two coldest nights of the year, its trunk was preserved. Then with the first bit of warm weather the fern recovered and quickly put on new growth.

Each new fiddle head unfurls from brown, curly, tautness into a gracefully arching 4-5' evergreen frond that is gargantuan as ferns go.

This year it has tripled in size. Didn't I read somewhere that they were slow growers?

Planting the Australian Tree Fern in the midst of lower growing shrubs had me wondering initially if it was the best place for it. It has proven its worth by standing sentinel while not blocking the view beyond it. Another lesson in following gut instinct. I'm very happy with it right where it is.