February Garden and Happy Valentine's Day

February is a busy month for me, and I am happy that my garden is thriving without this gardener's much help.  Thanks for warm and sunny days of this month in Florida!

This is one of my garden beds that I am very happy with right now.  This reminds me more of a spring garden than a winter garden.  It also makes me thinking that I really should take more pictures of broad views of the garden each month for the records. 

With a relative mild winter, this year the agaves did not get any frost bites.  I expect they will grow much larger this year.  Bulbine plants and Indian blanket flowers are mingled with them quite nicely.

This corner used to be a boring spot with a rain barrel nearby and a gutter downspout next to the fence.  Now the downspout extension is covered with the purple hearts (Tradescantia pallida) trailing over from the other side of garden bed, and blooming begonia flowers.  Now I found I often stop to smell the fragrance of the begonia every time I walk by.

Another begonia is in blooming...   Love two tone shades of the flower.  Pink and red, perfect for the Valentine's Day!

This geranium was bought last winter. When summer came, it barely had any leaves left under Florida heat.  I did not pull it out since I still saw the life out of it.  Now it rewards me again with the beautiful flowers.   I will plant something around it when it is ready to retreat back to the ground, so that I won't have any bare spot left in the summer garden. 

This new verbena was discovered from a local nursery.  Just love the unique shade of the flowers.  Another Valentine's color-perfect flower, don't you think?

Oh, I just can not help to bring one more ground orchid home.  I am slowly starting a small collection of ground orchids in my garden. 

I grow impatiens in the ground, as well as in the containers.  This picture contains impatiens from two adjacent containers.  Thought it is a nice combination for Valentine's Day too!

The soft pink tone on Kiwi Ti looks even more beautiful under the early morning sunshine.

I am saving the best to the last!  My first ever Amazon Lily is in blooming.  Love the pure white on this flower.  For me, sometimes the white is even more romantic than the red and pink.

Amazon Lily
Eucharis grandiflora

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

My Awaken Garden

With weather's warming up, my semi-dormant garden is finally awaken!  There are quite some plants in blooming right now.  I will only show you a few of them today so that I don't bore you with a long post :)

Various Pentas Lanceolata (繁星花) are very attractive to butterflies.  They got severe frost bites during the unsual freeze weather we experienced in January. Now they all recovered quite well.  Wish the butterflies can get the messages and come to visit them very soon.

 

Weeping (trailing) lantana lavender is nicely trailing down from the container.  I also have the yellow color of this type in my garden, but it has not started blooming yet.

 Lantana camara (马缨丹) is also recovering from the frost bites and starting their blooming season.  This is another butterfiles' favorite.   I love the fact that its flower head shows different colors of red, yellow, organge and purple.

Geraniums (Pelargonium x hortorum, 洋葵/天竺葵) are proven to be cold-hardy in my south florida garden.  They went through the freeze weather just fine.  Only the leaves got some dark purple marks, but it never stopped blooming.  I love the spetacular display of the large flower clusters (across 4 to 5 inches) that rise above the leaves one after another.  They really added lots of brightness to my garden.  I think they are perfect border flowers.

 

This week there are two kinds of roses blooming: Rosa 'Perfume Delight' and Queen Elizabeth Grandiflora.  

Rosa 'Perfume Delight'

Queen Elizabeth Grandiflora (3/16/2010)

Queen Elizabeth Grandiflora (same flower two days later on 3/18/2010)

They are not located in my "Rose Corner". Since these were the very first two rose bushes I planted in my garden, I did what everybook told me to do: planted in a full sun area. I soon realized that south florida "full sun" in the summer is just too much, even for "sun-loving" roses! In the summer, the flower would soon wilt right after opening the bud, and the edge of the flower would be scorched. 

They are definitely more beautiful and hold much longer in this cool early spring (around 60 to 70 Fahrenheit) of Florida.  Check the change of the same Queen Elizabeth Grandiflora flower in two days range above.

 I hope my newly planted six rose bushes will find the "Rose Corner" a happier place to live in the summer since they do get several hours of afternoon shade.

That is all for today.   Have a relaxing weekend!

I will use this as my second entry to the Blooming Friday. For other bloomings all over the world, please check out Katrarina's site at http://rosorochris.blogspot.com/.