Hibiscusssssss

Many,many years ago,we grew hibiscus,here,on the GreatWall.But after an infestation of grasshoppers destroyed them,we sort of gave it up.

This year,they have been rediscovered,and we're giving it another attempt.

Don't ask us the names........we're not good with names.

Unless one of us remembers to save the plant tag.


Which hardly ever happens.

We saved the tag!!!!!..............Hibiscus moscheutos 'Luna White'

The flowers are the size of a salad plate.Love this one!!!

for more of Today's Flowers,click here......................

Container Gardening On The GreatWall.......

Here,in Florida,we've come to the almost end of our growing season

(Oh,shut up!You gardeners up North!).

It is just too hot and humid for anything to grow,except for Caladiums(love 'em!) and Impatiens.
So,I thought I'd show some of the different types of containers,we,here,on the GreatWall, use to grow plants. It seems like those are the only things that flourish in our heat and humidity,during the long,drawn out summer months.

The typical garden-type urn..........growing under our canopy of Norfolk Island Pines.

Yep---we can grow those in our gardens,down South.

(Boo-yah! for us Southerners!)

We,on the GreatWall,also use sea shells(another boo-yah!!) for containers.

These hold bromeliads.

Of course,a true Southern garden wouldn't be Southern without using whatever is at hand.


Here,we're using galvanized buckets to grow Christmas Cactus............

Ain't it cool ?

How about the lid to a bar-b-que grill? ........................in our shade garden.

Re-use.Re-cycle......................that's our motto,here on the GreatWall.



And the bestest was saved for last.................

After two days of rain,fighting mosquities,heat,and other myriad of household chores(summer in Florida can be a pain,after all),did I mention mosquitoes?---the "toilette" planter(thank you FloridaSue for the name!!!) is

done!!!!!!

So,now for your viewing pleasure...................................

The top was filled with Vinca vine,a Dracena,and a red begonia.

The bottom has a Giant Liriope,some Caladiums,Mezoo,English Ivy,and a Horsetail plant.

Enjoy!!!!!!!!!

You know you want one.Admit it.




for more of Share A Garden Sunday(thank you soooo much,Artie,for doing this),click here.......................

as an addendum,the GreatWall went on a road trip,today.Stay tuned.........

Canna Lilies

For more Today's Flowers,click here.............

A Little Bit of Garden Whimsy............

Gardens can be soooo

boring

They need a little touch of fun and whimsy.

So,I thought I'd share our version of whimsy.

Sometimes,also known as

YARD ART!!!!!

This first piece is a collaberative effort between myself,and Erich,the Younger.When he was a wee-one he made the blue bird at summer camp.I felt it needed someplace special so it could shine.So I bought some copper pipe,bent it,wired it together with copper wire.

Voila'

A trellis thingy!You

HAVE

to have animals in a garden..........

And every good Southern garden should have

a toilet planter!!!!!!!

This one sits in our shade garden.The top part of it is still waiting to be attached.Eventually,that part will have ivy trailing down.

And now for the piece de resistance........

Our pink flamingo collection!

Yep-----

We collect pink flamingos,which are incredibly hard to find,I might add.Good ones,at least,are hard to find.Even tho we have a toilet planter,we don't want to be too horribly tacky,after all.So,our pink flamingos must be stylish and tasteful.

Every Florida garden should a pink flamingo,or two.Or three......Or,maybe,even

six......

Gardens should be

fun

places,after all.

To see other gardener's gardens,check out Share Your Garden Sunday.Thanks to Artie for hosting.

And for more of Scenic Sunday,click here......................

Die You sucker! Die!

Between the invasion of the stink bugs on the cucumbers and

THIS !!!

life on the GreatWall is not pretty these days.

This invader died a not so pretty death right after the picture was taken.

No services are planned.

The lizards and ants are chowing down as I write.

Chow down,guys!!

You need some hot sauce with that?

Succulent Succulents

For this month's GBBD,I thought I'd focus on our cactus garden Last spring,when we took down that big-arse Schefflera,that died in the Great Freeze of '09,we were left with two huge stumps(one was from an old oak that died,the other from the schefflera).Because that area of the yard gets sun almost the entire day,and is unbearably hot in Florida summers,we decided to make a rock garden with cactii. The Pony-Tail Palm is one we've had for years.

Bear with me,here.I'm not good with the names of the different cactii.So here we go......... Anigozanthos,Kanga Orange.

This one I know,as I saved the tag.I love the way it looks against a backdrop of Cannas(which are red,by the way)and the St.Bernard's Lily.

I have become an afficionado of succelents.They ask nothing from you.(which is alright by me!)

I love their symmetry and all the different textures.

Hens and Chickens

(I knew this one,because my mother grew them in her rock garden)

Kalanchoe.

I love the grey-ness of this one.

Posted for Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day,June 15,2009.

To see other gardens and what's blooming,visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens. Thank you Carol for hosting.

Angel's Trumpets

This past winter,I wrote of the Great Freezes of '09,which struck Florida,and the devastation that happened upon the GreatWall.You can read about that great sadness here.
But hope is eternal,and the Angel's Trumpets have survived and are thriving.I love when they are in bud,and flowering at the same time.
When they first open up,they are white,and then their color changes to........

....... the prettiest,palest peach color!

This is a 3-fer post,because,as some you already know,we are incredibly lazy arse people!

For more of Scenic Sunday,click here...............

For more of Today's Flowers,or to visit Luiz Santilli,click here.........


For more of Share A Garden Sunday,click here.........................

What Happens On the GreatWall When We're Not Home....

Haven't you always wondered what went on in your garden when you weren't there to keep an eye on things?We did,and this is what we found,today.



Where did this marigold come from?It is growing in a pot with a plumeria.Neither of us can remember planting it......How did it get there?We have no idea,but we think it's kinda cool. We have bananas!We thought they all had died off,this past winter.But taking a stroll down by the pseudo-lake front,we found this one hanging on.
The Angel's Trumpet, that we thought had died in the Great Freezes of '09,recovered,and have buds!

An orchid that I had trimmed.And my dad-the Orchid King-said,"Plant that piece,and it should grow." Doubtfully,I did.And it did!The man knows more about orchids than I could ever hope to learn.

So,I tried it with another piece,and it is starting to grow,too!What kind of orchid either of them is,I have no idea.Guess I'll find out,down the road.......Isn't that the fun part of gardening?Trying new things,and seeing if it works?

And when the parents aren't home,the kids will play!

In the water.....

In the plants.......

And I spied a trouble maker in the midst!You don't really want to know what happened to this one,do you? I could see where he had been,and I decided he wasn't gonna do that anymore!Need I say more? But there will be no viewing before his funeral.

If you offend easily,you may want to close your eyes with the next photo.

Obviously,weird things go on while we're away from the GreatWall.

Garden porn has come to the GreatWall! What shall we do?!

You may want to take a closer look at your garden,and what happens in it when you aren't there.It's incredible!

I'm just saying.........

Angel's Tears

A Florida native plant,Angel's Tears is a dwarf,sprawling perennial.It flowers mainly in the spring,but this one is confused.It is flowering now.Confused from the cold winter and all of the freezes we had this past winter,perhaps?It spreads by creeping and grows in full shade to full sun.Zones 8B-10A.And it likes to live in moist,sunny spots.It is so easy to take cuttings from this plant,or to transplant it.The perfect Florida native,if you ask me.It is called Angel's Tears,because of the tiny lighter spots on the flower. Resemblant of tears,I guess?The flowers are tiny.Maybe,1/2"-3/4",each.
For more of Today's Flowers,or to visit Luiz Santilli,click here............

For more of Scenic Sunday,click here..................

Dodging the Raindrops,and Some Visitors To The GreatWall

Wanting to beat the rain,I left work early,today.Plus,it is Friday,after all,and aren't you supposed to cut out early on Fridays?

Lately,work has cut into my gardening time,so arriving home,the first thing I had to do was take a stroll through the garden.With the camera,of course.

Obviously,it had been sprinkling on and off all day,but this hibiscus seemed to be loving the bath it was getting. I thought the seed packet of Nasturtium seeds I had bought was all red,so imagine my surprise to se this guy pop up!I love his/her colors,and I am most definitely going to collect some seeds from this beauty.

Another orchid is in bloom.It must be the rainy weather.So,it has come up to the patio(we're Southern--so,we don't say lanai;we say porch),so we can enjoy it.

The Mezoo Trailing Red is blooming! I think it looks Christmasy,don't you?

And we had visitors toThe GreatWall,today.

I think this is a female Black Swallowtail.Am I right?

Whichever it(boy/girl) is,it's loving on the parsley.

"I am the Master of All I Survey!"

He so owns that chair!

While just checking things out by the pool gardens I felt/heard a whirr over my head,and lo and behold this guy flew right over me!Guess he/she was checking out the gardens,too.I did not have to use the zoom on the camera or crop this picture at all.Funny thing was,hubs had just gone in the house with his camera(he was mad because he missed a great shot of a Swallowtail Kite that landed in our oak tree).Needless to say,he wasn't too happy he missed this shot,too.Or was it because I got it and he didn't?Either way,LMAO!!!

This is not the same one that's been hanging around.This one looks younger.To my eyes,at least.

When I strolled down by our pseudo-lake front(we are still in the midst of a three year drought, after all),I found this Little Blue Heron foraging for yummy treats.Notice how low our so-called water front is.These days,we've been mowing our water front.Wonder if our property taxes will go down,as fast as the water level?Ya think?

And that's what been happening,lately,on The GreatWall.

Have a great week-end,everybody!!!!