Thursday

Fall Planting... "Florida Style"


This pretty little bunch of flowers is called "Dwarf Ixora"  
It's a bush or shrub, and will grow as much as 10" tall.  The flowers bloom all year long here in Florida and it's the perfect new addition to my front garden.


 We just went through about three months of rainy season and all my plantings have pretty much had it. I go through this every year when Fall sets in because this Northern girl cant seem to not want to plant flowers that just don't work year round and I'm tired of replacing all my flowering plants and bulbs.  So I've chosen a bush that will spread wide and high and is Florida friendly.  It might even give us a bit of privacy in the front of the house. 
As you can see everything was fading and it was looking quite messy.

  
Yes, I pulled it all but did keep the tubers and bulbs to replant in the back yard.  That large space always has room for one more.




  After planting I put on a weed preventing mixture and plant food then covered the entire area of dirt with Pine Bark Nuggets.
The smell of these nuggets was so good,, I'm thinking of putting an open bag into the house for the scent..(no it's only a thought).


 There, look how neat and tidy.... Why didn't I do this 5 years ago?  I still need to get a few more bags of the pine nuggets to finish the area but  the bushes can't grow fast enough for me.. hopefully they will get taller than the suggested 10"s ?

(The little green plastic circle on the bottom right of the photo below is a termite killer.. we get them bad here and the bug guy comes to replace them every few months)


Another day and I finished the Pine Bark with the addition of a few yellow Marigolds. (that's the Northerner in me)



 It seems when one owns a house the projects never end.  Now I want to replace the brick that lines the street side of the area.  Something pretty and tall to keep the soil from running out into the street when the rain pours down.
That is for another day!

The weekend is almost here and I want you all to enjoy yours! 



(((HUGS)))





7 comments:

My name is Riet said...

You had all that rain in Florida,thought the weather was always nice. Must be a bad year. We have been to Florida many times and gladly had nice weather most of the times. We have plenty of rain here so we don't need it on our holidays. LOL

Susan said...

The finished result looks very pretty and very fallish. Your idea to put an open bag of pine mulch in the house is not a bad one. I love how it freshens up my car when I leave them in overnight.

Beth said...

Your garden looks pretty, especially like your new shrubs. We mulch with pine needles, which come from the white pine tree (it sheds some every year). We rake it up at the neighbor's and voila - free mulch! It smells good too!

Tootsie said...

LOVING THOSE BEAUTIFUL PLANTS!!!

I have enjoyed my visit today...good post!
I wish I had more time to visit all of my favorites everytime you all post!
Thank you so much for linking in and sharing your post with my party today! I am sharing this post on my Tootsie Time Facebook page! Have a wonderful day!!!
(¯`v´¯)
`*.¸.*´Glenda/Tootsie
¸.•´¸.•*¨) ¸.•*¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.•´ .•´ ¸¸.•¨¯`•.

Naperville Now said...

Sandy
The landscape looks lovely. In Chicago, it's leaf-raking time and winter looms. Aack.
Btw, love the closet remodel at your daughter's. Go, you!
Thanks for stopping by.
Sue

EG CameraGirl said...

Florida begins to look so beautiful once fall arrives.

SarahBeth said...

Hmmm, I wonder how that will grow in Texas... although I have the blackest thumb there is! Your new flowers look so pretty!