Tag: spring garden

A Lovely Spring Day in Michigan

Carol 11 Comments

Today’s spring photos are from my friend Diane who lives in the greater Detroit area. One day spring was everywhere in her garden. I do love tulips which of course do not grow in hot Florida. Thanks Diane!

Spring is my favorite time of year. As a child, it seemed a miracle when things around me came alive after the drab, gray days of winter. I do miss a northern spring and all the beautiful spring flowers like daffodils, tulips, forsythia, and lilacs. When I lived in Michigan, it was like a fairy land when you woke up to a sea of yellow blossoms on bushes everywhere or tulips in all the yards. I now experience northern spring vicariously through the photos of others. Florida does not get cold enough for all these beauties.

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Spring Amaryllis Blooms

Carol 29 Comments

First I wanted to let everyone know I am at home recuperating from my surgery on Monday. It will be a slow recovery, but I’m happy to report my pain is less than before surgery. Thanks for your support.

Last week I shared my first amaryllis blooms of white flowers. This week photos of the continued white flowers with the addition of red amaryllis. Despite the worse drought in 10 years here in Florida, I still have amaryllis blooms to lift my heart.

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Last Day of April in The Garden

Carol 24 Comments

Plumeria is a genus of flowering plants in the dogbane family, Apocynaceae. Most species are deciduous shrubs or small trees. The tropical species are indigenous to Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, and as far south as Brazil, but are grown as cosmopolitan ornamentals in warm regions. Common names for plants in the genus vary widely but Frangipani or variations on that theme are the most common.

Yesterday I went into the front yard checking my plants around 10 AM. The sky was blue with white clouds and the temperature was about 81 degrees F.

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April’s White Amaryllis Blooms

Carol 26 Comments

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. The red amaryllis you buy at Christmas are FORCED bulbs.

Last week I shared my first amaryllis blooms of 2022 with my variegated pink and white flowers. My photos showed large buds on the white amaryllis next to it. Today is time for large white amaryllis flowers!

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Colorful Amaryllis Mosaics For Spring

Carol 19 Comments

(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.)

Rosemary:  If you live in USDA plant hardiness zones 7 or below, rosemary will only survive if you bring it indoors before the arrival of freezing temperatures. On the other hand, if your growing zone is at least zone 8, you can grow rosemary outdoors year round with protection during the chilly months.  I live in zone 9B, semi-tropical, here in central Florida.

Most of the amaryllis in my neighborhood are gone already. Most plants bloom late February and March. My amaryllis don’t even have buds yet, but I expect flowers in April. My plants bloom late. Last year I had flowers from two amaryllis I planted the summer before as late as May. Spring flowers are my favorite, and I love big amaryllis flowers. Most of mine are red but I have one with a white center and red leaves, a pink one, and a white one. Today I combed the archive from the past 6 years to make colorful amaryllis mosaics for spring. I am so ready for mine to bloom again!

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Terri’s Spring Flowers

Carol 21 Comments

My friend Terri lives up outside Nashville, Tennessee. She shared some photos of her first spring flowers. These are the flowers I miss every year. I love living in Florida and don’t miss a northern winter, but every spring I miss the beautiful flowers that bloom at the end of winter in a colder environment. Lots of us in Florida will buy a pot of forced spring bulbs to enjoy. Unfortunately you can’t plant them for next year. They will not come up and bloom in Florida as our temperatures are too warm. Thanks Terri for sharing!

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