#August Garden

 Still Hot. But that's okay. Lots of arranging and rearranging in the garden areas can happen now. I have to admit that I love the gardening foreplay: Planning, figuring out how to store all the bits and pieces I'll use this year. Big stepping stones used as bucket covers for seedlings too young to survive a downpour. Plywood, unwieldy yes, but perfect to lay across four buckets of those fragile seedlings. Concrete blocks and a two-by-four will balance four fabric baskets of potatoes. Shovels and trowels, rakes and claws, clippers and cutters, hoses and watering cans, vermiculite + peat moss + compost, worm castings and fish emulsion. A sprayer of soapy water and one of vinegar. Plastic containers for the garden twine, scissors, markers, paper, reading glasses (!), labels, piks, stuff. You know, all that stuff!

I love spending time mixing dirt, filling up the buckets in the raised beds, and the ones that will hold court on the ground. Planting seeds. Marking them. Making notes to put into the laptop: Date planted, days to germinate, number of days until harvest. Reading my books to be sure plants play well together. Moving around those that are more friendly to others. 

Every morning I take a soak in the hot tub around 7:30. Rocco reminds me if I'm busy working. Then I take a walk around the gardens, evaluate what's happening, and make a plan for that day's "tend the gardens" work.

Almost always I'll have to water, unless we are being blessed with decent showers. I check the radar and the forecast. If big rains are coming I set an alarm on my phone so that I get back out there and cover those fragile seedings in time. I am so spoiled. I'm thankful for the technology that helps me garden well, but sometimes I think I'd be better off "roughing it" in preparation for a time that all this ready information is not available.

Speaking of roughing it, no time spent in the garden is complete without the pool cool-down. Rocco waits patiently for this part, too. See that tanning ledge in the foreground, right under the umbrella? That's his spot and he takes his pool guard job quite seriously.

👩‍🌾

Little by little I am creating this Fall 2020 Garden. I'm loving the anticipation of what is to come, but equally enjoying the tending.

#July Garden

They are tired. 

Worn out. 

Depleted.

And hot.

Like, really HOT.

The gardens, I mean. 

When the weather forecast says 90-something, feels like 100-something, you know it is past time to retire any struggling plants.

I've dug up most and they are keeping company in the composter. This morning though I spotted a baby cantaloupe, so fingers crossed!

 

Otherwise, it is time to start giving everything a rest and let the torrential downpours of the rainy season wash all the growing areas clean.

There are bush beans still with flowers and tiny green beans. I don't think they will be able to mature but I'll leave them for a bit and see what happens. Right beside them is a big Jalapeno plant that is producing like crazy. Hubs made poppers last night and I just about couldn't eat them- serious heat there. 

Today was a rainy day with not much sunshine. Guess that doesn't make for great photos but when the muse strikes. . . .

The two Lockspur plants that grace the steps to the dock have also grown heat-tired. They are going to be a bear to get out of their containers as they've got to be totally root-bound.

Today I bought these two Curcuma Ginger plants as the Lockspur successors. I think a couple weeks of living in some freshly composted soil will make them robust with color. 

I found this Coleus arrangement that I'm going to repot and place in the center of the deck table.

Ouch- I just remembered I broke my rule of 'no more plantings until September' - found this cucumber bush that was just begging for a home. It will live near the cantaloupe and we'll see what happens.

I think that's about it! We have corn that produced a few ears that haven't matured so those will go this week. There are still two burlap bags of potatoes. It will be interesting to see how they do in the heat.

Even though we've gone completely "raised beds" now which means using bagged soil, in my mind, I still feel like this is the time to give the Earth a rest. And I'll have one for myself, too!

#Gardenitis

We moved to South Florida in May of 2005. 

After a lifetime of heavy sweaters, coats, boots, gloves, scarves, dead car batteries, stuck in the snowbank-call the tow truck, with very few days of sunshine, we packed it up and moved to where the climate suits our clothes. 

Happy 15th Relocation Anniversary to us!

"Us" includes my Hubs, Mike. He is a Deputy at the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office. He's one of the good guys, and I'm so proud of him. 👮‍♂️💕

In 2016 I incorporated my own business called All Things Administrative. 

Take a peek: Cathy's Business Website. 

So I work from my home office and get to spend lots of time out in the backyard where all sorts of fun and weird things happen. 

I'll show you around #StrineBackYard right now!

Looking out across the pool, facing North. Notice the gentleman sunbather in the pool.

HINT:
For best viewing, right-click on a picture
and select "Open link in another window" 

Looking easterly toward the canal.

Wildlife in the canal is a whole world unto itself.
Stop back for those picture stories!

This potato plant is a few days away from harvest.

This was a beautifully blooming Hibiscus plant when I brought it home from Lowes.
The Doberman tells me Hibiscus is a delicious snack.

We like to sit out here on the patio and do nothing.

Have you ever smelled Night Jasmine? You need to!
But you have to be quick- it only blooms with aroma at night.

Baby Lemons

Brussels Sprouts

I love homegrown tomatoes more than anything.

I love radishes right from the Earth, too.
Well, I do rinse them off first.

The vertical pole is all flowers and strawberry plants.
The raised beds are full of tomatoes, peppers, swiss chard, pole beans, cucumbers, and onions.

Remember the "down & dirty" I promised? Right there- that trash can 🤣
Otherwise, this is a nice shot of the tomatoes lined up against the fence.

Just put this guy in a week ago.

This is Aloha, aka Plumeria. They make Hawaiian Leis from this flower.

Corn growing in burlap bags.
Have you ever done this?
Our first year trying it.

Green Pepper. It looks like the leaves are getting snacked on.

Jalapenos! Some like it HOT! 
I don't, Hubs does.
So I keep containers of raw and roasted Jalapenos for him.
They freeze well, too.

Very last tomato on this vine- the runt.
This plant was the first to feed us this year, and it is nearly ready to retire at the Compost Pile.

Dwarf Lockspur, with Plumeria in the background.

Hubs just built these new beds, and they are fantastic.
With the heat of the season upon us, I might wait until Fall or Winter to plant these.

Bloom of a pepper plant.

Blooms of the Night Jasmine.
We moved it (all 150# of it) to a spot right outside the backdoor.
If you ever see me standing there sniffing, now you know why.

Pole Beans.
Had the first harvest last night.
Steamed them a bit with butter and 3 cloves of minced garlic.

This guy and his partner oversee the pool area.

Potato Plants and Lavendar.

Red Pepper

Swiss Chard.
I like to add it to tossed salads or add to stir fry like you would with spinach.

This is a baby Navel Orange.

Looking out from the back door at #StrineBackYard

Yard Deco