Midweek Fizzle

Another busy gardening day took place here in Pensacola, Florida this past weekend.  My grandchildren were around to help with the planting.  They were so excited to see the progress of the seeds they had planted.  Of course, rain was threatening again so we worked quickly and were able to get the job done before the thunder and lightning started.

In the main garden area off the newly painted shed, I planted 2 Asiatic lilies, called “Tiny Todd.”  This is one of my favorite of the lilies for their pale delicate colors. Perenials.com has an excellent description of the plant and its habitat at http://www.perennials.com/plants/lilium-tiny-todd.html

My grandson grew the spaghetti squash (Calabaza) by seed.  He was amazed at how quickly the seeds grew.  My idea is to let them grow up the garden trellis so they have some major support for the heavy squash. This is my first time growing them, so we will check in occasionally and see how they fare in the hot Florida sun.

The grandkids and I decided we would plant a pepper forest.  We have done that before in other gardens and the peppers seem to like the closeness.  We planted red, green, yellow banana, and Thai varieties of pepper that I purchased from Home Depot.

Thai peppers grow upside down and are one of the hottest peppers on earth. They dry well and I use them to season many of my stir fries.  Believe me they are so hot that a little goes a long way.  The website, “Homegrown Peppers,” http://www.homegrown-peppers.com/chile-pepper/growing-thai-hot-peppers/  is a great start to researching how to grow all your various kinds of peppers.  Peppers of all kinds do well in Pensacola’s humid hot conditions.

As I have said before, I like to incorporate my veggies in with other plants and garden areas.  My particular backyard is rather shady so I try to make use of all of my gardens according to when they receive the best sunlight.  This particular garden has an Azalea named, “George L. Taber,” planted (left) in it along with two perennial Duranta’s (right) called, “Golden Edge.”  Both plants are partial shade lovers so the area was perfect for them, even though this garden gets hot afternoon sun.

The University of Florida at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fp509 says this is one of the best Rhododendron evergreen shrubs (azalea) for our area.  The durantas are one of my favorites because of their yellow and green color.  They will break up the backdrop hedges of solid green and bring some contrast to the area. This site, the San Marcos Growers at http://www.smgrowers.com/products/plants/plantdisplay.asp?plant_id=2993 has all the information you need about this versatile plant.

Since the azalea and the duranta are young this year, I decided that this garden area could accommodate one of my grandson’s zucchini plants that he grew from seed. Zucchini is one of my favorite vegetables and I eat them daily.  If you can grow your own you will save quite a bit of money on your grocery bills.  

Zucchini grow quite large and spread all over so I am experimenting with an idea to support the leaves with a tomato cage.  I found this idea on Pintrest from the Clever, Crafty, Cookin’ Mama at http://www.clevercraftycookinmama.com/2013/05/growing-zucchini-in-small-spaces.html#.UztEzPldWSp.  More to follow on that idea later.

Zucchini are prolific and I went to an organic gardening website to learn what I could about this hearty vegetable at http://www.organicgardening.com/learn-and-grow/zucchini-growing-guide.  Last summer, I planted too late and my young plants were eaten by the hoards of insects that seem to inhabit our area.  I will provide updates on all my gardening areas through the seasons.

I hear the buzzer on my washing machine going off.  That means I am on to the next chore.  See you tomorrow.