Falling in love again-- what am i to do...

Cut down some leggy plumeria that had been growing with some orange and yellow bougainvillea, Although somewhat wiry, the uninterrupted color of the bougies is striking. Two beautiful colors. I'll post pics tomorrow. Spread some bougie food "bougain" around and watered in. It will kick out some green leaves and a flush of new bracts. Planning a trip down to bougainvillea.com in Miami next weekend. Some of the red flowered / variegated leaf varieties look like the tits.

Imaginary numbers

It’s presumptuous to assume that, other than the wayward page view in response to a search for ‘Selph’s Mahogany’ or ‘U402’, that anyone would care to read my journal of mistakes and happy progress. So, freeing myself from any performance anxiety, I’ll wander a bit. I have to say, that despite what seems like the ever changing members (experiments) of the terrace cast, those who have remained are green and with vigor. The jasmine and gardenias are in bloom and wafts sweeten the dusty city air. 

Got up early this morning to be able to water before downstairs neighbors were about, I need to be thoughtful.. Finally planted the stephanotis and xanadu. Trimmed vine up as it will have to wait for trellis’s I think I’m going to order from: www.gardenmetalwork.com

Foliar feeding

Filled up the 3L spray bottle this morning and gave the family a nice MiracleGro shower (2 heaping tbs fertilizer). Everyone had been deeply watered yesterday. Spray-food just se
ems to make sense for potted plants.

Food for the hungry mind:
Pots restrict growth.. http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/18612661 ..

but some plants grow best in tight spots? http://www.wikihow.com/Grow-Bougainvillea (since when did Wiki start putting ads on their entries?)

Interesting tretise on fertilizers and the home gardener:
http://www.cleanairgardening.com/npkexplanation.html

Disarray toward order



Torn apart in the name of order, part of me would rather have the terrace full of shrubs, palms and vines with a winding path from one end to the oher.

and now for the first steps toward the bondage of order. 1/16 stainess braided wire with ferrule and stop.

 

Workhorse tilling back 40 (away from garden)

Overworked, I've only been able to make time to water, though early in the week everyone got a light brunch along with. Exact (or slightly less than) suggested amount was used. Even still, there is residue on the leaves which isn't a great look. I'll research on its avoidance.The days have been sunny, but the end of daylight savings time has thrown off my internal clock. Last Saturday and tomorrow in the office. It's keeping me away from my new primary purpose-- the wire trellis installation. This revolutionary introduction will entail almost complete disassembly of the garden.

A quick one

A breakthrough. The beginning of my wire trellis system. 1/16th stainless braided wire, with a double ferrule. Pull the wire through, and then back through the other hole leaving a small amount of slack. I'll submit a drawing of the compete system tomorrow. We've had set the clocks ahead and it's past bedtime.

 

 

An arm and a leg

I called Seco South, a company who has a very handsome cable trellis solution. A 10'x10' grid runs about $2400. It's stainless, it's elegant, and it's not going up on my terrace.  I need to find some wire clamps that will work with 1/8" stainless cable, maybe just screw in some eye hooks put a clamp on the wire terminate the end of the wire. The goal will be to cover it with green anyway. Cheap. I'd rather spend it on a beautiful vine.

BTW, regarding foliar feeding. I've noticed a very nice response 3 weeks after first application. I'll come by with another light feeding when it warms up a bit. It's cold down here--50's feel like 30 in South Florida for some reason.

Cable Trellis

I should have done this 2 years ago at the outset of creating this garden. Below is a cable trellis system from a Florida company. I'll have to call next week for pricing. I scrubbed the aisles at Home Depot for anchors that could provide something to attach cable to, but it had to be two or more inches from the wall. And there needed to be clamps to neatly attach cable. I couldn't find a clamp that was appropriate for a cable less than 3/16" which is too big.  Here is the Seco product. Hopefully it won't cost an arm and a leg.