Last week was rainy. After several days of heavy rain, the garden looks so lush and green. I made a garden sign, and painted several bird houses. I don't think birds will use them, they are mainly for decoration.
 |
| Bird houses |
The garden sign looks a bit childish 😊 but I hung it on the side gate.
Most plants in the garden are blooming. Curry leave plant is full of flowers and tender leaves. I add curry leaves to my morning juice. There are flowers on Chaya, eggplant and tomato plants as well. Some type of squash appeared in one of the raised beds and it's also flowering. I don't expect any squash though, because this morning I saw ants eating them. 😟
 |
| Flowers. Top: Chaya, tomato, eggplant. Bottom: curry , elder, squash |
I kept a store bought celery base in water, and it started sprouting very quickly. The other day I planted it in a small pot. I also have two loquat (Japanese plum) seedlings sprouted from seeds.
 |
| Celery and loquat. |
 |
| Mango |
Rain lilies are popping up everywhere. When I saw them a couple years ago, I dug several up and planted in a pot. They are so pretty, but don't last long. I like weeds that have pretty flowers. And they don't need any care at all, which is a big plus for me. 😃 Another low maintenance plant in the garden in Crinum lily. There are several under an elderberry tree.
 |
| A rain lily and Crinum lilies |
I have been fighting with bugs to save edible plants. Lubber grass hoppers have grown now, and I am sure they are laying eggs for the next year. 😕 And ants have moved into raised beds. I keep sprinkling diatomaceous earth, but rainy days are not the best time to do it. The other day I saw termites in the same raised bed. The next day I went to the home improvement store and bought a box of termite stakes. The raised bed is near the back fence, but I wanted to protect the house from termites. I installed stakes around the house, about 3 feet from the foundation.
 |
| A lubber grasshopper - pretty but destructive. |
The other day I noticed this weed with pretty yellow flowers. Is this purslane? I thought it looked like purslane, and put it in a pot before yard guy came to mow.
 |
| Purslane? |
What's growing in your garden? Do you have any edible weeds?
XXX
Nil
There's absolutely nothing growing in our garden, Nil, as we live in an apt now. However, we do have a basil plant and a rosemary plant growing in containers on our windowsill. They were bought at the local supermarket and we use them in home cooking. I hope you are able to stop the termites and grasshoppers as both can be very destructive to plants and home, as you well know.
ReplyDeleteI’ve been trying to grow rosemary and they always last about one year and then die. So now I have it inside, hopefully it will survive. I think Florida is too humid for certain plants.
DeleteYour garden is looking great. I would have to take a nap under that big tree :-) if it wasn't raining of course.
ReplyDeleteOne of these days I’d like to have a hammock somewhere in the backyard. That oak tree is full of squirrels and they wouldn’t let you nap peacefully. 😁
DeleteCurry leaves in your morning juice? I wouldn't have thought of it, but I must give it a try! I have an Australian book on identifying weeds -I want to be more sure of what is a helpful weed and what isn't. Many cultures value the plants we call weeds- purslane, dandelion and thistle!
ReplyDeleteEarthmotherwithin, I use tender curry leaves. The mature ones are too fibrous. I really like the taste of curry leaves. 😊
DeleteYour gardening is very nice. I bet some little birds might make a home in your birdhouses! Andrea
ReplyDeleteI think some of these bird houses are too exposed for birds. I hung a couple between branches, so I hope birds will use those as they are a bit hidden.
DeleteWow! What a gorgeous yard you have, Nil. It's so green and lush. I have dandelions and what I think is called oxalis. We used referred to it as "sour grass" when we were kids. It has long stems with small yellow flowers. I hope you don't have termites in your house. I just spent almost three thousand dollars on repairs from termites and having the house fumigated. Ugh. It is a relief to have it completed, though.
ReplyDeleteI did a termite inspection when I bought the house but that was 3 years ago. I don’t see any signs of termite damage but it’s good to be proactive.
DeleteI’m sorry you had to do an expensive termite treatment, Stephenie. But now, you know for sure that your house is termite free.
We find growing herbs to be very satisfying, and they are very tasty. The Florida climate does sound very challenging, though.
ReplyDeletebe well... mae at maefood.blogspot.com
Homegrown herbs are the best. And it’s also less expensive than store bought ones. 😊
DeleteI love your garden sign, Nil. I am a big fan of some whimsy in a garden. I have warrigal greens growing in my garden which is like a spinach. MegXx
ReplyDeletep.s. I love the way you are presenting your photos, Nil. How do you make collages like these? Meg:)
ReplyDeleteMeg, I have an app called Photogrid on my iPad. I use the free version. 😊
DeleteNil we have several edible weeds here. My my, it is looking green over there. Obviously you aren't in drought. LOL! I am not sure about the purslane but someone will know.
ReplyDeleteChel, we had rain for a week or so, so everything looks green. I like it because I don’t have to water every day. 😁
DeleteYour yard sign is cute! I have a sign, too, but I haven't painted it yet to set it up in the garden. Maybe it's a project to do before the summer is out.
ReplyDeleteYes, that is purslane. Edible both raw and cooked. :)
Thank you for identifying purslane, Bless. Now I can’t wait to taste it!
DeleteI look forward to seeing your garden sign. 😊
No garden for us this year. I have always wanted to learn about edible weeds tho.
ReplyDeleteI like edible weeds because they are very low or no maintenance. 😁
DeleteWhat a beautiful garden - it looks so green and fresh.
ReplyDeletexx
Thanks Joy. A week of rain made everything green. 😊
DeleteI like your little bird house - very pretty. The termite issue sounds worrying. I had to Google termite stakes as it's not something I've heard of before - I hope they are effective. I'm so glad I live in a brick built house!
ReplyDeleteTermite is a big problem is Florida. My house is a block house, but that’s only the exterior walls. I don’t think anyone builds brick or cement block interior walls here. When getting a mortgage the bank requires us to do a termite inspection.
DeleteI love weeds with pretty flowers, my bunny loves the dandelions.
ReplyDeleteI don't grow any vegetables but I do have a couple of raspberry bushes, I do battle with the blackbirds each year! I do like to grow herbs though, as the cost from the supermarket really mounts up. I've started to dot some around the flower beds rather than keeping them in pots, which looks nice too.
Yes, fresh herbs are quite expensive. I’m struggling to grow sage and rosemary.
DeleteNil you have a green thumb,growing all of those lovelies. I think your garden is doing well. We have chickory growing around the yard at times, I didn't plant them but they are pretty and edible.
ReplyDeleteI googled chicory, and they do have beautiful flowers. Have you made chicory root coffee?
DeleteThe bird houses are so whimsical and pretty. I've heard that birds won't build nests in painted bird houses, but I still love them. I would have them in my garden if I had one. We have a birdhouse with Plexiglas for the door, so you can see the birds inside. They never build in it either, I guess the like their privacy. LOL
ReplyDeleteI don’t think birds will use these houses Belinda. They do like their privacy. 😊
DeleteIt is amazing to me to see all that lush green. Your gardens look wonderful. I think your garden sign is charming. Keep those pictures coming!
ReplyDeleteThank you Anita.
DeleteI thought the sign looked like a kindergartner’s artwork, but didn’t want to paint it over. 🤣
Your garden looks wonderful. Thanks for the primer on flowers. I do not have a green thumb and have pretty much given up on trying. I enjoy seeing all your successes! Those termite stakes work great; we've been using them since we saw a swarm a few years ago. We periodically replenish the stakes and haven't seen a single termite.
ReplyDeleteOh, I’m so glad to hear that termite stakes work. Thank you Bobi.
DeleteLove everything in your garden. For some reason I thought you lived on a large property with no neighbours around hahaha, now I see your street. I have very nice rosemary that I cant kill lol
ReplyDeleteHeheee I wish I lived on a large property.
DeleteFortunately I don’t have neighbors behind me.
It would be sweet if the birds takes residence on the bird houses. They look so cute! Your sign is very cute! I have never heard of Loquat, I looked it up and find it to be a very interesting plant. You must live in a warm place if one can grow mangoes there. It's too cold here for mangoes to grow. Hope your problems with ants and grasshoppers are solved. They can be a nuisance. Have a great week!
ReplyDeleteIt is warm enough here to grow mango, but trees have to be protected from frost until they are well established. My neighbor has a large tree and its leaves all turn brown in winter. Luckily we only have a handful of nights with close to freezing point temperature. 😊
DeleteBeautiful photos, these bird houses ate so cute!
ReplyDeleteThanks Natalia 😊
DeleteI love your bird houses and your whimsical sign. I have a robust sage and rosemary plant and I know they don't like their feet too wet and prefer a free draining soil or their roots will rot. Wondering if your loquats are the same as the ones I previously had as they can become quite tall (15-20ft) and bushy and the birds adore them. Needed to paper bag the fruit I wanted as the parrots didn't share!
ReplyDeleteI knew rosemary doesn’t like wet soil, but didn’t know that about sage. No wonder I can’t grow sage. Thank you Robyn.
DeleteI’m going to sage to a covered area. It’s getting too much rain water.
I need to do some bird houses with the grandkids, been a long time since the older ones did theirs when they were young... now I need to do some with the two littlest grandkids! We just paintd clay pots for their new jade plants that I bought for them. There are years we just can't seem to fight the pests, last year was a really bad one, this year it's bunnies. Oiy. Little stinkers are all over. The grandkids love to chase them lol. Hoping we all have good gardens this year -- at least a few veggies please! Blessings to you, Nil! ❤️
ReplyDeleteOh kids will love painting bird houses.
DeleteA part of me wishes if there were bunnies here because they are so cute , but I know they can be very destructive in a garden.
Hope you are doing well, Diana. Take care.