Anna

Those are some beautiful pictures! Your garden always inspire me and I like to think that I do window shopping when I look at your plants. Thank you for posting.

Silvia

Love your succulents! and the photographs of your edibles, too, Anna. What is the big leaf plant on the left in your 5th photograph?

I'd love to know what is still alive in my Florida garden, but we're back in PA for Christmas. I can only show you photos of the snow outside--and 20F temps. :-)
Marcia in PA/FL

Nice job! You had some excellent models too.

that is nice! love seeing the pictures! veggies are nice, but some of the flowering plants we can grow in florida over-shadow anything you grow to eat. keep the pictures coming, i love them. thanks for making my night after a hard day at the office(garden)......m

Thanks, everyone. I posted these as a starter, though. Please get out with your camera and share anything you can find. People are sad about no ornamental talk/posting. We know you are out there now, so come on, people!

Marcia pa5, that large-leaf plant is a bird's nest anthurium. Even last year they did not die. As a matter of fact, only a little brown on the edges. I love them and would definitely recommend these. I believe you are not that far from me (?Northport). I have a baby for you if you're ever up my way. By the way, I'd love to see pictures of your garden under snow. Talk about ornamental! Please?

Wallisadi, you have been carrying the ornamental contingency for a while now. Glad I could give you a little enjoyment for a change.

Silvia, that's how I feel when I look at your veggie garden!

Anna

Just gorrrrrrrgeous Anna!! Thank you for sharing. :)

Love that anthurium pic & the resurrection fern pic. Just gorgeous!!!!!

Oh, Anna, you are making me soooo jealous! My yard looks like a flame thrower was used on it...again! Just like last winter. We had 25 degrees for over 8 hours, 2 nights in a row last week, and everything is either toast or melted to slop. *sigh*

It seems we just can't grow tropicals up here at all...no bananas, cannas, etc, seem to last long for very many people. At least not here in Sanford. I'm planting more camellias, azaleas, Walter's viburnums, coral honeysuckles, sweet almond, loropetalums, and other cold hardy shrubs. Any tender plants, I have started growing in pots so they can be brought in during the freezes.

Your yard is always an inspiration, and your photography shows it off so well. Thanks for sharing.

Marcia (ps...even my yesterday, today & tomorrow is frozen to the ground already this year.)

Anna
Thanks for the pix!! Though most of my stuff seems to have survived the cold they were already suffering from the drought ,wind storms and neglect during my treatments.
Feeling much better now but the house needs work
So the grow area goes on the back burner yet again lol
Would be ashamed to show pix of my mess lol gary

Anna-
So wonderful to see your pics! You are, once again, an inspiration to us all.
I also appreciate your call to everyone to post photos and/or discuss ornamentals. I have learned so much from you and others and I want that to continue!
As to my attempt at posting photos..I shall try at some point. I don't have a digital camera so I have to transfer everything from Walgren's disk and site to photobucket and I forget how to do it! Will work on it.
I lost some tenders in the freeze but most things were under the cover of my trees and of course, all my pots came in the house.
I'm now on a search for hardy plants to put out back where cardboard reigns (as you suggested) and can't wait til plants are back in garden centers (once the poinsettias are gone!)
Thanks again for starting this thread . BTW, you were having such trouble with your veggies but it looks like you are doing just fine!
Don't you love ressurection fern? I have them on the bottle brush trees and they are happy today after yesterday's rain.
Oh, and your cuttings are perking along - I put them in the garage during the cold - lots of green showing!
A little disjointed this morning but just wanted to join in the Anna Appreciation thread!
Hester

Anna I've always admired your yard and pond. May I ask why you want to pull that cigar plant? It looks great to me!

Thanks, mrs tlc and junglegal!

Marcia, it got to 33 twice in my yard so far with a breeze, so I was spared complete torching, but still, most of the tropicals are torched as they were last year when it got down to 27 on several occassions. Few things look good, and you just saw them! My brunsfelsia was twice as full a week or two ago before it started dropping leaves. Hey, we can always post birds, other creatures at the feeders, and anything that has managed to stand up to the cold weather. Your yard and pond are beautiful, so show us something!

Gary, I've been thinking about you. The last couple of years has been rough on us gardeners, hasn't it? Your blue goddess has brought me such joy, and many others that I've shared it with. I cannot believe it blooms despite any weather. Yes, it's leaves and flowers shrink this time of year, but it still looks pretty. Thank you again, friend. Good luck with your indoor projects. I'm so glad you're feeling better and posting again!

Hester, I've been thinking about you too. Your yard is gorgeous and we NEED to see pictures of it! I think all your bachelor's buttons made it and they should have a good year next year. Hey, if you want it, I have a pretty big justicia golden flame I am going to pull in the spring. I went crazy with cuttings a couple of years ago and have them everywhere. One is getting too big for the spot. Let me know, I think you would like it and it might be good for your back area. By the way, its foliage is completely green and unscathed so far. I am still having trouble with some greens, beets, etc, but I keep trying! Overall, the garden looks sad, but I just photographed the closeups of the few things that look good!

Anna

Anna,

Thanks for posting pictures of both type gardens. Now that is as it should be.. Florida gardening indeed! and at it's finest. I comment mostly on veggie gardening because I'm not familiar with the types of flowers and plants that grow well in Florida. It is only through the posting of floral that I learn but so few of you post. I'm way out in the wilderness and cannot look at a neighbors yard to get ideas. The neighbors yards around here all are fenced and have pit bulls, goats, sheep, horses, and cattle, etc. and the floral around their houses are hundreds of feet beyond their fences with the barking/growling dogs standing guard.

Lou

Ok, Anna, I'm going to try and post some pics!
The color isn't great, I'm not sure how to label, size or rotate, but that being said, here goes!and sorry the pics are so big - I tried to resize but obviously didn't do it right.
Calliandra just 2 months old

And, sure, Anna, I'd love to have the justicas - anything that will grow out back without freezing!
We'll get together maybe after the holidays?
Hester

I did a walkabout in my yard earlier, hoping to find something to contribute. The pentas with their brown hue were nixed. The crispy angelonia foliage also didn't cut it. So...here, with a stretch, is what made it.

Clusters of red nandina berries are perfect for this holiday season:

The bulbine was unfazed by the recent cold:

New Goblin gaillardia plants are holding up cheerful yellow and red flower heads:

This Fruit Cocktail shrimp plant, tucked under the eave and sheltered by overhead palm fronds, sailed through the recent cold. Another shrimp plant, around the corner and in an open area, is not picture worthy:

This clump of bromeliads cuddled together under a double set of sheets last week but now look presentable. The clump began as one pup shared by a garden club member several years ago:

The begonia with the gray dichondra Silver Falls spent last week in the garage. The begonia is the progeny of a plant I bought several years ago. I've made upteen cuttings of it to refresh my own stash and share with friends:

A cardinal nested in this front door coral honeysuckle last spring so I've left it nice and full to entice a return this coming spring. Its blooms were not affected by the recent cold although overall bloom production has fallen.

The picture below isn't very colorful but this plant made my eyes light up when I saw how well it tolerated the cold. This is bronze fennel. Planted just this fall, I'm hoping it will survive to entice the black swallowtails this coming year. So far...so good, and it's even growing. The young green foliage near its base are self-seeded Laura Bush petunia plants. I've been transplanting clumps throughout the garden.

Also added this fall for the black swallowtails was this rue. I debated about it because reports say that those who are sensitive to poison ivy (and I'm waving my hand here) may be sensitive to this plant too. Again, I'm very pleased at how it ignored the cold:

Almost done. Hopefully you can hang on for two more pictures.

This fresh bright green greeting visitors as they make their way to the front door is foxtail fern. Behind it is cast iron plant (aspidistra elatior). The mush in front is what remains of the alternanthera that forms such a lovely "hedge" in front of the fern in warmer times.

Finally, this is how I use the chiminea when we and the neighbors aren't sitting 'round a fire. It's just an ordinary bedding begonia planted in a very shallow dish garden pot. I'm amazed that it grows so well in such a small amount of soil.

Thanks for looking - June

Nice pictures Anna & Hester!
Everything in my yard is crappy-looking but a few things have blooms on them although the leaves are brown.

June, Your pix are pretty, I especially love the begonia in tne last photo.

I just LOVE seeing the gorgeous gardens ! You folks have got such wonderful taste and an eye for beauty... I don't even own a camera and my garden sure doesn't add up to pic-worthy... Thanks for taking the time, and for posting such beautiful pics.....sally

June and Trini
Thanks for joining in! Makes me realize I really should get a digital camera as your photos are great. I now have new plants on my wish list after seeing yours.
The bulbine variety I have has much smaller flowers - I like yours. better And love the varigated sea grape.
Also the coral vine.
Ooooooooooo I wish it were spring!!!!
Hester

Oh wow, wow, wow!!! I was gone for a few hours and what a treat I came home to! Yay!

Hester, your place looks magnificent. You are the container queen. All those pots, I don't know how you do it. I especially love the picture with the arbor inviting one in. That pink powderpuff is so delicate and pretty against the wall. Hard to believe you've been in your place less than a year. Unbelievable! Yes, I'd love to get together after the New Year.

June, I don't think I've ever seen such a pretty coral vine. Mine is kind of skinny, don't know why. Maybe it's still young. I can see why the cardinal thought it would be a good hiding place, and protected and warm. I love the begonia pot with the dichondra. I don't think I'd ever heard of or seen that plant. Really pretty color and I love the way it drapes. The begonia in the chimenea is too cute. What a creative idea!

Trini, you always have the most unusual and amazing plants! How big is that yellow african tulip? I don't have a good sense of scale for that flower. It looks like a man-eating flower. Ultra exotic! I've also never seen a variegated sea grape. Never even heard of it. Quite beautiful. And that first flower- the osmoxylon- looks like something beautiful from outer space! A galaxy or solar system! Where do you find these beauties? I feel like I've taken a trip!

Wow, I'm so glad to see all these ornamental beauties. I've already learned so much today. Thank-you! I hope to see lots more.

Anna

Lovely lovely pics shared by you people... inspirational for me..

some blooms in my garden:

{{gwi:667089}}

{{gwi:667085}}

{{gwi:9728}}

Anna, the yellow bloom is about 12-15 inches across and the flowers are still unfurling. It's not supposed to bloom right now but I am not going to be the one to tell it. :) Some of these plants I grow from seeds and others I get at plant shows. Thanks for the kind words.
Izhar, the colors on your plants are wonderful.
T-

I've noticed that many of the people that post pictures of their flowering plants do not show the zone they are in so it's no help to me knowing if they would grow here in zone 9a. Please try to be more helpful to others that may be searching for plants that would grow in their area. Please show your zone.

Thank You,
Lou

Lou: I think the inclusion of zone info in our headers was dropped for about a week by Gardenweb (maybe when they were having their recent troubles). I noticed it was missing from my posts. I checked my member page to see how I could have possibly removed it; the info was still there.

The zone info now appears to be back and I'm sure many of us are pleased. - June

Lou: Well it looks like I'll have to take back my previous post - the zone is still not showing for me although I noticed it is for you. I checked some posts others made today and the zone shows in some and still doesn't in others. - June

Thanks June, that explains why the zones are not showing up. My computers run 24/7 so apparently they couldn't change mine to show nil. I had noticed the zones popping on and off when I lurked for years so when I finally subscribed I included city & zone into my name.

Lou

Izhar, those dahlias are incredible. What color!

Stuartwanda, sorry I missed your post before. These cigar plants have been in the ground two years and this is the only time they have looked good- the last month. I made the mistake of planting them in the front of one of my butterfly areas and they are so tall and lanky I have to prune a couple of times a year. They also stay flowerless the rest of the year and there are nicer, longer-blooming things behind them that they obscure. I have few sunny areas, so they are in a prime spot. I will probably just plant them in a less coveted spot and put something there that has a longer season.

Trini, you definitely have a discerning eye. Your plants are amazing.

Lou, my zone is 9b/10a and it used to show after my username, but as June said, it disappeared except on my member page. Go figure.

Anna

Love all the pictures everyone. Wish some of my plants didn't look so awful after the big chill.

When I look at all the wonderful colorful flower pictures you people post I realize what a failure my paltry attempts at growing flowers are... however the weeds I grow here with minimal effort are spectacular!!

If I plant only weeds will flowers automatically spring up around the weeds and try to crowd them out?

Lou

Lou, flowers are easy, it's veggies that are hard for me at least. Keep trying.

Anna

Great pictures everyone. Anna, you always have such a great yard and Hester, I really like the way the hardscape (edging and fencing, etc) integrates in to your landscaping. That is something I have been working on. I really don't grow anything but ornamentals as I don't want to fight the bunnies and squirrels and other critters for a few veggies. Too much energy. And the plants have to be able to survive the winter and come back although I will buy a few annuals each spring to spruce things up at the beginning of the growing season. When the temps drop to freezing, I bring the roughly 25 plants in pots (which are mostly succulents and a few very cold sensitive plants)into the garage but cover nothing in the ground. I try to attract bees and butterflies and hummingbirds.

As for my yard, it is toast right now. All gray and brown. Here are some pictures from the last month or two before just about everything froze. It should all come back to this next summer though.

Melissa

Melissa-
Loved the photos! I've never had great luck with some of the plants you have (like guara sp?) but you inspire me to try again. I really like the mass of flowers - you have a good design sense.
Like you, I only do ornamentals and have so many in containers so that I can have color all year. Moving them in and out is not hard and well worth the effort.
In my photos, you see a lot of pea gravel - that is part of a huge circular driveway that I am slowly getting rid of. I've only been in this house since April and it's a long process! I'm digging holes through compacted dirt- even putting up the fencing was a struggle. Eventually, I hope to just have gravel paths winding through a garden that will look like yours!
And I enjoy bargain shopping and everytime I find an arbor or trellis cheap, I get it and then fuss about where to put it. But since there was no landscaping when I moved here(except old, old leggy crotons and schefflera), there is amazing potential.
So, thanks again for posting and remember, it will all be green again before you know it!!!
Hester

Wow, then you really have done a lot if you just moved there in April! We built this house three years ago and so I understand about doing stuff from scratch. The front beds have required extra effort because they were planted on the compacted dirt foundation of the old house that was there. Much of the rest around the house was builders sand. I added lots of mushroom compost.

The guara is funny. I have had it two years and it went crazy this year. Huge! Unfortunately it was at the front of that bed and blocked everything and so right at the end of October, I moved it to the back of the same bed. I am hoping it comes back next spring.

I have been bargain hunting too. Last winter I painted and added an old footboard and headboard that we had in the shed. One is for roses and the other got morning glory. this is the one that got the red cascade. I am hoping to find an arbor sometime too.

The DH has added paths as I need them. It's a good thing he is handy.

M

Love the headboard! I'll have to keep a lookout for one at my local goodwill as I like the creativity.
I found my arbors at Big Lots and Kmart - at the end of the summer when they mark them down.
I also found one in a million pieces put out for trash - after two days of trying to match up part a to part a and so forth, I got it up! A little bent, but no matter, it was free.
Your lucky to have a path builder - if he wants to hire out, let me know! Just kidding I really enjoy the work.
Happy Holidays to you
H.

Great pictures!

Anna, I love the leaves of farfugium gigantae too. I bought one this summer and it is doing great. I would like to have more of them, but the nursery only had one. Do you know how to propagate them? Can they be divided? Or do they grow from seed? Mine is blooming now, not sure if it will set seed or not. But if it does I will try sprouting some to see what I get.

Melissa, love the pictures! Your yard is maturing so beautifully. I too, love the headboard idea and the gaura and blue basil are amazing. Yes, our yards are bad now, but with spring we'll be happily planning and planting again. By the way, I love the purple ruellia with the firebush. Great color contrast.

Sun worshiper, isn't the farfugium a great plant? I have tried every which way I know to propagate them. I have spread seed, I have chilled the seed in the fridge for weeks as I saw somewhere, I tried from leaves like begonias. I also tried to secure the flower stems to the ground to see if that distal little leaf would form roots. Nothing. I do have a 3-4 year old plant that looks like it has a baby- but the baby has been the same size all year. I think maybe it came up from the roots? Mine do get bigger. Almost like they get more than one head, but it takes a couple of years. Maybe that's why they're so expensive. I buy them when I see them though, because I rarely see them. I plan on getting more because they are so easy and always look good, especially in cool weather. Let me know if you figure out a way to propagate, and I will post if I do too. Anyone out there know?

Anna

The blue basil is the one thing that won't come back after a freeze but I buy it (or beg some off of friends) each spring because I won't be without it. That plant was tiny in May and took no time to get gigantic. It really likes it hot. I tried overwintering it last year but it was a huge hassle and failed anyway.

This post subject and the photos are going to cost me a lot of money in plants!

Carol B.
9B

Anna, I just sent you an email - please email me back - thanks!

Carol, did you get my email a while back?

Jo, I emailed you.

Melissa, my blue basil died this past summer when it got wet feet. I will look for another one next spring as it was an incredible bee attractor for the veggie garden.

Anna

Thanks Anna for the info on farfugium. Interesting they are so hard to propagate. Mine is happily making seeds, so I'll try sprouting some and see what happens. Otherwise, I'll keep an eye out for more and buy one when I see them=)