Joyce’s Plants
Posted: April 20, 2014 Filed under: Gardening | Tags: aloe, Butterfly Vine, Chocolate Plant, Ginger, Gulf Coast gardening, Mussaenda Luteola, shrimp plant, Staghorn Fern Leave a commentIs there a person in your life that was influential in your gardening? Joyce was that person for me. She shared her plants or found new ones for me to try. Now it is time for me to take care of her plants. In taking guardianship, her legacy will continue and be shared.
This Staghorn fern is at least 23 years old. It was always lovingly brought into the garage every year to winter-over.
Chocolate plant was always a staple in her yard.
Joyce searched high and low to find this Butterfly Vine like the one she grew in her garden. These vines make seed pods that look exactly like a flying butterfly.
Shrimp plants flourished in Joyce’s garden and grew in abundance providing many bouquets for the house.
Joyce introduced me to my first Ginger plant. She hunted down the “Ginger Lady” who occasionally sold plants.
Mussaenda luteol delighted Joyce with its unusual tropical flowers. It is advertised as an annual, but by giving it a warm place in the winter, it will continue to survive. This one is around 10 years old.
Joyce shared this Aloe with me and it has multiplied many times over. Stories are still told on how Joyce soothed many burns with her Aloe.
And she also knew that 15 pounds of fertilizer was the perfect birthday gift!
Something About Yellow
Posted: August 20, 2013 Filed under: Gardening | Tags: Esperanza, Evening Primrose, Gulf Coast gardening, Mussaenda Luteola, Oenothera grandiflora, rudbeckia, summer heat, tecoma stans, White Wing, William Bartram, Yellow Bells, Yellow Flowers 1 CommentOn these oppressively hot summer days, the Yellows seem to thrive. Their bright colors pop from across the yard when the rest of the flowers can’t even be bothered to open in the summer heat.
The first two photos are of Rudbeckia. The large flowered one has been in the garden for over ten years and the small one is a recent pass-a-long plant. The exact names are long lost and there are many different varieties of Rudbeckia. Both are perennials that also reseed, which makes them a perfect pick for the Automatic Garden.
Yellow Bells, also called Esperanza (tecoma stans), love the heat and are at their best on the hottest days. They likewise win high points for enduring the drought we have been dealing with the past few years.
White Wing (Mussaenda Luteola) have tiny flowers that cover the shrub with eye catching yellow. It started out in a small nursery pot and has grown to 4 feet tall. It is a true tropical and spends cold days in the garage.
Evening Primrose or Oenothera grandiflora greets me each morning with its sunny yellow blooms outside the window. It begins to bloom as the sun sets, but will stay open for most of the morning. It is a reseeding annual. Oenothera grandiflora was collected by William Bartram in 1775 near Mobile Bay, Alabama. And yes, as William put it, it is a pompous and brilliant (yellow) plant!
Automatic Gardening & Real Gluten Free Food 