Toilin' In The Soil

This morning brought much needed rain,via strong thunderstorms,to the Great Wall.Hallalujah!

So,it was decided,mutuallyI might add,that the day would be spent getting the rest of the plantings out of the way of Hillsborough County,before the projuect starts.It is now on the schedule for late June,early July.And we figured it would be best to do it now,instead of the heat of June or July.So,anything we really wanted to save has now been relocated to other areas of the yard.Even the Al Gore Memorial Fire-Pit has been taken down(hold back your tears,people....),and a new walkway out to the well has been put in.

The rest of the day was spent with container gardening.This is one that has gone in by the pool(AKA WaterWorld),containing Tick Seed,variegated Liriope,English Ivy,Dichondra,and Heuchera(Mocha Mint).Almost everything was rooted from previous cuttings,so it will take a while for it to fill in.

Jon decided to take apart our old,rusted charcoal grill,and I figured,"Oooo,a new planter." Two of 'em in fact.This is the bottom,which sits under the big old oak.It contains a division of a variegated Flax Lily,a lonely Impatien that popped up in the yard,and a potpourri of rooted cuttings that needed to be planted.

Shall we move on?

I really don't care for strawberry jars.They never look good,they're a pain to take care of,blah-blah-blah.but this year I decided to go for the succulent look.These two are on the new mini-me wall.Jon made some "watering sticks" out of PVC(I found the directions on the Internet).So far,they look pretty good in the succulent,rock garden.Time will tell......

You can actually see the piece of PVC in this picture.

The cannas are growing by leaps and bounds.Obviously,the freezes of this past winter did not effect them.I just wish the palms by the pool would recover as quickly.They're getting there,but they suffered some extreme damage from the cold,so I think it will take most of the summer for them to recover.That and alot of TLC.
And,Glory-Be,the "contraband plumerias" are bursting forth!! They got all mixed up on the way home(husbands just do not get the importance of these things.Grrr....),so,now,I'm not sure which is which.I'm hoping that this one is the double white.
The stag horn ferns are going great guns,too.So,if anyone needs a cutting,let me know.This one is incredibly huge.It really needs to be reduced in size.

And,of course,our gardening buddy was back,today.......I'm not sure,but I don't think this is the same one as usual.It seems bigger than our usual visitor.And he/she didn't seem to want to pose for the camera like the other one does.He/she had the attitude of,"Take the picture quick,lady,and be done with it!"

By the way,if anyone in your neighborhood wants to plant an Elephant Ear tree(actually,I think they are now considered invasive in Florida,and are no longer allowed to be sold.Correct me if I'm wrong.),shoot them!This is our neighbor's tree,and it is the messiest tree,I have ever seen!The pods are all over our yard.They do a real number on your lawn mower.If you don't get them cleaned up right away,they each start to grow.When there is a strong wind,branches fall into our yard.Yuck!!!

So,now,it's time for a shower and.........