Hey, it's Spring!

The days are getting longer, the bees are buzzing

The buds are bursting

And everbody's smiling!

Lately, I've been feeling the need to get away from it all and have some quality alone time in nature.  Now, I can do that in my backyard, but when I really want absolutely no distractions - I head to the Fakahatchee Strand.  I rarely see anyone past the 6 mile point as the road gets really rough and that's just the way I like it!

The gators hang out on the road in the winter months to get some heat and a little sun.

Or they find an alluring swamp-side spot for an afternoon nap.

The deer pop out in the road in front of me.

They are so lovely!  I thank them for gracing me with their presence.

It's dark and lush and filled with incredible wildlife!  I am most enchanted!

I found a new trail to stroll.  This one's rather civilized - most are just paths through the jungle.

I'm always amazed at the beauty all around.

"Blessed are they who see beautiful things in humble places where other people see nothing."  Camille Pissarro.   Something like that...

I never know what I'll find - like this cool Gumbo Limbo tree, with its peeling red bark.

There were tons of these brilliant Julia butterflies visiting the Shepherd's Needles.

I hadn't seen these before, so I was very happy to see not only one, but so many!

No, I haven't forgotten this is a garden blog - I apologize for the detour.  I always see pretty flowers on my journey as well!

Stuff in the Yard

Well, it's been rather cold and grey out and a bit rainy, so I haven't been in the garden much this month.  I suppose I should really take advantage of the cooler weather to do some of the heavier cleanup work and trimming that needs to be done....but, as usual, I am being the lazy gardener once again!

I am quite pleased that my milkweed plant that I got for a couple of bucks on the markdown rack is doing so well.

It's still in its nursery container and I've been waiting for a bit of a warm-up before I try to plant it in the garden.  While it's not the native milkweed, I'm still hoping it will attract the butterflies!

Here's one of several palm clumps that are in the yard.  I just wander around and take photos of what I think is pretty or interesting.

Did I ever mention that I like a "jungly" yard?  lol

So pretty!  Nature is amazing!

Funky seed pods from one of the palm trees.

Seed pods add much more color than I would've thought...

Here's some seagrapes that are interesting.  I took this shot awhile ago when the grapes were more abundant.

Here's a leafscape - it's from the Giant White Bird of Paradise.  I liked how the morning sun was shining through and made it glow.

This little pollen-covered bee was making his way from one Mexican Clover to the next in the grass.

I captured his antics while I was sitting in my birdwatching chair out back waiting to get some shots of the beautiful Painted Buntings.

So, of course, I have to include one of the afore mentioned Bunting shots!

And here's Mr. Opossom saying hello early one morning.  It was so cold my lens had fogged up, but I had to hurry to capture him before he realized I was there.  There were two of them and they have taken over an old armadillo burrow under the hedge.  I haven't discovered where the armadillos have their burrow yet, but I'm sure it's nearby as they're all over the place in our neighborhood.

Feels like Florida again!

Thank goodness it's warming up again down here in the deep south!  But, I won't go on about that as I know we still had excellent weather compared to most of the nation.  The other day I came across this photo I took of a rose park where we lived up north several years ago.  I remember how lush and decadent it felt to be among these gorgeous roses.

They had such charming displays.

They had every color imaginable and the fragrance was magnificent!

I had quite a few rose bushes in the yard up north as well.  I can't believe I didn't take more photos!  I chose them for fragrance and most were the old-fashioned kind.  I really miss them a lot.  (I also miss that herb planter as I don't have any railings to mount it to down here)

I think this was my favorite rose.  They were such huge blooms and the fragrance was a bit like Juicy Fruit gum.  (Which I haven't had for ages)  Anyway, I have to laugh at how I sure wasn't very good at setting up a photo back then.  Leaving all the mail and newspaper hanging around in the background along with some debris and a dog bone!  Oh, well, I hope I've improved a little since then, lol.  

I've only had one rose since we've been living here in Florida.  It was a Tropicana rose and it did quite nicely for awhile.  But when winter came it started declining and before I knew it, it was gone.  Now, I admit it was mostly my fault, I wasn't sure quite what to do with a rose in zone 10.  I also had it in a big pot, because I thought I might have to move it about when the sun got super hot.  Well, I have since learned a bit about roses, so I'd like to give it another try this year.  I hope I can find one with a bit more fragrance though.  Not that this rose wasn't fragrant, just not so much so.

But, I'll most likely keep to growing things that do well down here, like orchids.  This is my $10 bargain cymbidium that I got for that price because one of the flower stems was broken.  I can't believe they marked it that low for me.  I love a bargain!

It has some gorgeous lime green blooms!  And I LOVE lime green blooms.

This shot makes them look a little yellowy, but it was just the lighting.

I've been fascinated lately with botanical shots edited in infrared.  So, I'm trying my hand at it, I'm not sure exactly what I'm doing.

I like to think I'm firing up the old brain pathways and keeping my mind sharper by trying something new!  Plus, it's fun!    Let me know what you think, you won't hurt my feelings if you don't like it!  Cheers!

Cold, rainy and a bit dreary, I'm afraid...

Wow, I had to unearth some gloves yesterday to walk the dogs - that's pretty darn cold down here in south Florida!  We brought the orchids in to the cabana bath that's off the lanai, just so I could quit worrying about it.  It got down in the 40's last night, so I just felt better they were inside, out of the cold.  Not that the house feels very warm, lol!  I'm wearing a sweatshirt with the hood up while I'm typing this!

Chirpy the Cardinal came to the window this morning (as he does every day) to chirp for seed.  So as I took that out to him, I strolled around the gardens a little to see how things are faring.

I'm happy to see the Plumeria is still blooming.  I wouldn't think it'd like the cold too much.

I did find a few fallen blooms, but that's not unusual.

The Anthurium is looking okay.  I really need to get some fencing around them in this area.  The animals - probably armadillos - are trampling them at night and I'd hate to lose them.  They really brighten up the shady spot between the palms and hedge.

Purdy... :)

No complaints from the Lantana.

The Bougainvillea is in its glory, not too bothered by the cold.

This Milkweed plant that I got from the markdown rack at the garden center is even doing okay with its new buds.  How lovely, that it's going to be yellow.

While I was out there tooling around the yard, this guy looked at me and perhaps seemed to say: "Hey lady, thanks for bringing out extra chow for us on this super cold day!"

Since it's been raining for the last few hours, I've been inside for most of the day.  We're getting ready to enjoy a slightly spicy and smoky Tomato Chipotle soup that's loaded with shredded chicken, black beans, corn and all the fixins'!  I'm sorry to say not one thing from my garden is in this soup, but I'm going to be working on that and give vegetable gardening another try!  I do buy from the local farmers markets and this has turned out pretty darn good, if I say so myself!  LOL!