Work to do-- tomorrow.

A lot of work to do tomorrow. There's the re-potting of the bougainvillea, the bromeliade J Zinn, a macho fern. I received a cutting of trumpet vine from my friend Adrian's garden on Fire Island. I've got a large terracotta pot that's going to be available, I think I'll pot new macho fern and trumpet vine together and find a nice place against a wall for the vine to climb. 

REMEMBER-- paint the inside of your terracotta pots with roof tar. The south Florida sun just won't allow unglazed clay. The soil dries out in 10 minutes.

The cereus is getting a grip on the walls. It is very exciting. Although I am expecting uneven growth, it's a totally different creature than creeping fig, it should be an interesting wall cover-- especially when in bloom.

Another picture from the folio. A lonely looking spot for such a monument. Perhaps a tombstone for some forgotten prince.

Templo de los sueños, romantico, pero no es tropical.

Discipline and design

Easy to forget that a garden is like a furnished room. Pieces should be considered for placement before being placed. Plant furniture has the additional considerations of light requirements, protection from the wind, etc.

I'm afraid the star-burst Clerodendrum Quadriloculare might have to go. It's growing in and although  I love the deep greenish purple of the leaf, I'm not sure there's room.

I also have to tackle that issue of vines and the handrails. I don't have the busty cascading effect that I want at least on the center rail. The chalice vine I've planted might fill it up, but the rectangular planter might not be big enough in the long run. There is always something isn't there?

There is nothing more romantic than this.



The plans for Munstead Wood are to me like a stern teacher with a ruler



The results, however, turn out to be flowing perennial borders, stuffed with carefully chosen plants, each with their own function-- color, height, texture.


I am going to make a draw out a plan of my terrace. I'll post it when it comes to me.

Other voices, other terraces

My first Terrace. PH B off of CPW in NYC. 
Gus, a prince.  Edie in the background with yellow roses. It was a narrow, but fun terrace. Southern view-- roof tops of the upper west side.

Speaking of roses, here is a great link: tips for growing roses in zone10b. You must use roses grafted onto a R. fortuniana  rootstock. Check out the link for types especially suited for the heat and humidity. The Bermuda roses sound like one of the easier to grow varieties.

No protest here

Plumeria in its new home. Hoping I'll get a few
more canes with the larger pot.

Hoy, me compre dos hermosas jardineras-- son fabulosos

Today's great finds about $70 a piece. The darker pot for the bougainvillea, the other, covered in lichen, is for the plumeria.

I found them at Flamingo Road Nursery. Perfect sizes.  They are both unglazed terracotta.
I've planted the plumeria, in a Miracle Gro potting mix after weighing the pot down with a bag and a half of lave rock. I'm not sure about the potting soil for the bougie. The pot has great drainage but the Miracle Gro by itself strikes me as a too rich.

A Sou'easter... waiting for the rain to stop

Waiting in my 'to do' queue:

Nicely shaped bromeliade

Need to un-pot, separate pups, and start a new plant.

Later that night..... I came upon a large bed of smaller, bright green bromeliades.  They were under an oak tree, so I'll have to find a shady spot for the one that broke off in my hand as I was admiring it.

Undoing the tighten up

Purple bougainvillea, a showstopper when in bloom
(which is soon to arrive)

You can see on the left the actual size of the purple bougainvillea in question and the pot below which is maybe 18" high.

I'm going to get all scratched up repotting this sweet thing.

Then there's the purchasing of the new beautiful pot, for as little as possible of course.

When is tight, too tight?

Welcome to Zone10b:

 кто вы русские читая мой блог? делаете вы любите садовничать в вашей замороженной земле? вы phishing для моего номера кредитной карты? Возможно вы уже имеете его. Я плохой садовник. добро пожаловать друзья. посмотрите меня вверх по когда вы в Fort Lauderdale. Добро пожаловать в zone10b

Salut copii de Cezar. Cum gradina ta să crească? Ai cresc nuci de cocos sau napi sau sunteţi phishing pentru numărul meu de card de credit?
 În orice caz, eu sunt sărac, şi sunteţi binevenit. Bine ati venit la zone10b mea.

Groeten aan je windmolens. Hoe gaat uw tuin groeien? Heeft u groeien begonia's in uw velden met de tulpen? Ben je een eenzame hacker op zoek naar mijn waardeloze creditcard?
In ieder geval, ik ben arm, en u bent welkom. Welkom op mijn zone10b.

Good morning, Fort Lauderdale

Looking East 7:10am

Light watering with some Miracle Gro. Coffee. A picture of the sunrise. That was about it on the terrace today.

Should I repot the purple bougainvillea? 




Bon Nuit

The early hours, zone10b

  6:30am walking the dog

No time for anything on the terrace except a cup of coffee. Watered creeping figs, cereus and bamboo with weak Miracle Gro. I need to get some high nitrogen food for the bamboo, it's canopy needs some greening though I read recently that the internode swelling on the buddha belly occurs when there is little food or water given to the plant.

There are still, however, exciting things happening here. The creeping fig, recently planted in different spots, has been getting busy with  the masonry. Several plants are sending up creepers that are adhering. And, one of the cereus planted with creeping fig, has started to send out rootlets that have attached themselves to the concrete. Explanatory pics to be posted.

It would be very exciting to get that cacti growing on the walls.

I need to get burly marx planted in a protect spot on interior wall where it might be able to grab ahold of wall. May have to use Liquid Nails to glue it up in the beginning.

Cereus rising

Growing by leaps and bounds

Jet stream clears the air

Seasonal Skies
[photo: me]

Lower level cumulus clouds scattering to reveal higher cirrus.

Clean, thin wisps. Refreshing to look at. It's still hot in the direct sun.

Gave everything a deep drenching. Still warm enough for evening water.





Heliconia seen on my dog walking route



Sunset

And a FINE looking morning met me at my door!

With the autumnal equinox past, and the winter solstice approaching. the days are already markedly shorter. However in S. FL we are heading into the beautiful dry season-- tempatures ranging from 70's down to the 40's in the depths of winter. For now, the days will still be hot in the direct sun, but the morning and evening temperatures will be slowly dropping.

As the days begin to cool, I'll start  pulling back on the watering. By mid-winter, watering once a week might suffice. Like the summer, wet roots rot. Especially cool wet roots.

Walkin' the dawg

The serious roots of a Ficus Banyan on my dog walking route.

75 or so degrees in the morning same in the late pm. Nice dry day though the sun was direct and could put a hurting on ya. We played tennis around 2pm and my body panicked in the bright heat.

Took advantage of the still air of the afternoon and swept. Nice not to have the wind blow the swept piles of leaves around before they can be collected.

Watered everyone after the sun had set behind wall. Below please find a picture of a leaf of the begonia 'Caribbean Corsair' that I recently aquired. It has the texture and look of a stiff silk brocade. Deep rich reddish-brown. Quite handsome.

b. Caribbean Corsair

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Beautiful lightening storm outside. It's lovely.

Need to water. I was able to take only a quick look at the terrace before walking the dog. The leaves were curling up. First thing tomorrow. Early.

Here's another plate out of my folio. Perhaps an insect one might see on a tropical terrace garden-- in the Devonian period.

Any guesses?

The wonderful geometry of cacti

Water-fed  cacti, desert rose and cereus. 2 tablespoons of Miracle Gro in 2 or so gallons of water.

Splashed some on the leaves of begonias and some others. Hopefully, as advertised,  the nutrients in these salts can be absorbed by the leaves.

The symmetry of the growth is mesmerizing.

Grandma -- she didn't teach me anything about gardening.

She taught me nothing about gardening per se, but her love of nature was infectious.

Her contemporary, Vita Sackville-West however did teach me about gardening. Her volumes 'In Your Garden' Vols 1-4 are a very readable almanac of the English gardening year.