Periwinkle in the Fall

Vinca is a genus of flowering plants in the family Apocynaceae, native to Europe, northwest Africa and southwest Asia. The English name periwinkle is shared with the related genus Catharanthus.

September in central Florida is still bright, sunny, and hot. The high temperatures are lower than August, and the low temperatures are in the 70’s (F) instead of August’s 80’s.

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September Yard In Central Florida

September is the height of hurricane season. It’s been hot, and we’ve had rain which means everything is growing. After years of getting up with an alarm clock, I wake up early most mornings. Sometimes I see a beautiful pink sky.

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Greet The Day In The Garden

I live in Central Florida, growing zone 9B which is semi-tropical. Amaryllis is a subtropical bulb that belongs to the Amaryllidaceae family and is native to South Africa. It is grown as a potted plant in most parts of the United States but can also be grown outdoors year round in warm areas like Florida. Amaryllis sold at Christmas are FORCED bulbs. Blooming season is January to June.

If I want to enjoy the garden in the summer here in central Florida, I usually go out early in the morning. The heat and humidity in July is extreme, and the extreme brightness of the sun during the day makes taking photos much harder. This morning I went out just after sunrise to greet the day.

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Vinca or Periwinkle In The Early Morning

Most mornings I walk in the yard between 8 and 9 am.  Summer in Florida is really hot and I like to get out before the heat and humidity are in the 90’s. Our heat index is in the 100’s. Today’s photos are of the periwinkle (vinca)  which are thriving in the hot, humid weather. I have both purple and white flowers.

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June Garden During Heat Wave

Central Florida is usually hot and sunny. Even during December and January when we can go down to freezing once in a blue moon, we usually have warm, sunny afternoons. The heat wave that crossed the country finally came down to Florida. Yup, I recognized it as more like August weather for us. When I first moved to Miami back in the 1970’s, it took a while to get used to the summer heat. For the last few years here in semi-tropical central Florida , August has become such a hot and humid place. It seems worse than previous years. I have been staying in a lot and when I go in the garden, it’s early morning. Last Saturday I walked briefly in the yard at 9:30 am, and it was bright and hot. The temperature was 86 degrees F. The afternoon will go into the 90’s with a heat index of more like 104 F. My house faces east and the garden is Florida full sun on 95% of my yard. Mornings are worse in the front yard. Afternoons are worse in the back yard. My photos are mostly from the side yard and back yard today. I hope you enjoy the flowers.

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Morning Blossoms

A few days ago I was waiting at my car for Vickie around 9:20 AM.  It was a beautiful day.  Unlike a few neighbors, none of my spring flowers are blooming yet. The sky was so beautiful and seemed to reach to the heavens. I had to snap a few photos trying to capture it.

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January Flowers

The weather here in central Florida was mild at the beginning of the month. Then when that big snow storm blew over the southeast, it brought a cold front down to us. Here in my area we had our lowest temperature so far this winter. Our low Tuesday night was 39 degrees F. Above us the counties had freezing temperatures.  Below us it was a little warmer. Unfortunately the south west side of Florida had multiple tornadoes and some areas had extensive damage.  No damage in my area just a wild cold rain with high wind gusts.  After 2 days of cooler temperatures, our highs and lows went back up.  I still have flowers growing and I’m happy.

 

 

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