PATIENCE PAYS

It seems that having patience has paid of in the form of some cool Blanket flower blooms. I first saw this flower in bloom in a planted bed out in Los Angeles, California in 2008.

The blooms were so sharp and colorful that it went on my list of plants that I wanted to try in South Florida.

Last spring I started a couple of Gaillardia Aristata seeds to stick in the garden. After they germinated they were transferred to a planting brick where one of the plants got trampled by my dogs and the other grew slowly under the foliage of a bigger plant.

Back in January of this year I dug up the plant to use the planting block for something else. It was stuck in a beat up plastic pot with some homemade compost. I added some holes to the pot top and some wire and made it into a hanging basket.

This was moved out front into the sun and hung up so I could keep an eye on it from the porch.

I had read that the blanket flower likes the sun and that it doesn't like much water.

It didn't take long to figure out that in this hanging pot and South Florida sun the rules didn't apply here.

I found that this plant takes a large drink cup of water per day to keep it from wilting and happy. Exposed to the wind and sun the moisture is quickly evaporated from a hanging basket here.

I had also read that this perennial wild flower doesn't bloom the first year when planted from seed. Of course this didn't apply either because with the warmer weather and its one large cup of rainwater per day the Blanketflower has prospered.

It is now as happy as a pig in ...Ah well anyway it is content and sending out stems with blooms in bursting color.

It may look kind of funky in the hanging basket but I like it . I mean after all this is South Florida where the normal is considered unusual.

The blooms of the blanket flower are so bright you have to love them,right.

The reward for a little patience is well worth it.

And how does this figure in with your 2010 Challenge you ask.....

Well i'm fittin' to tie it all together.

First I had to research the flower to determine what it was in the first place. Then read up on what exactly it likes to grow well. Then disregard everything that I had read because in South Florida the gardening rules don't work here.

Second I grew this plant from seed . One seed at a cost of maybe a dime . It was planted in a rejected old pot that had been saved from the garbage. It was made into a hanging pot with the simple addition of a few holes in the pot rim and a few feet of wire that I was able to bend and twist into the hanger supports.

And last it is growing in the compost that I made in my backyard and watered with saved rainwater.

Did I mention that the Blanket flower is a Perennial that will last for more than one year and re bloom again.

This plant has done well here and I give it the much coveted Sanddune Seal of Approval.

---SANDDUNE--

WEATHER EFFECTS

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It might just be me but has anyone noticed your garden behaving strange from the weather lately?

This Christmas Cactus is blooming in March. It seems a little confused. My local temperatures have gone from the mid 80's to the mid 40's as each successive cold front rolls through.

Usually the cold fronts don't make it this far South at this time of year.

The difference in weather here in Florida this year is due to El Nino. It is a natural cycle occurrence every two to five years due to periodic warming of the
central and eastern pacific waters. El Nino usually lasts about 12 months and the one we are in now was announced July 9th 2009.

It effects the subtropical jet stream allowing for cooler and wetter weather in reach down in Florida.

Researchers predicted for Florida that the Winter temperatures would decrease 40% from normal and that we would get 50% more rain during the dry months here.

For Central and South Florida El Nino significantly increases the chances for tornado and for severe weather.

So the extra long January freeze and the rolling cold fronts were predicted and can be attributed to El Nino conditions.

The good news is that the El Nino going on now helped from us getting slammed by a hurricane last season. Also the wetter conditions reduced the number of wildfires that we have been getting in the past few years during the dry season.

So for a few more months we can expect unusual weather for Florida.

That was no consolation for my Black Flamingo plant.

This is how it looked in early December when the temperatures here were still warm and toasty.

This plant is Chrysothemus pulchella if you like.

It likes the shade and has leathery coppery green leaves.

I found out while it likes the heat and being in the shade it doesn't like the cold fronts we have been getting.

And here is the proof. This is my Black Flamingo now.

Below 50 degree's apparently it didn't like.

The upside is that when consistant summer weather arrives it is supposed to come back again.

Anyway I still have the Orchid's blooming to cheer things up.

This one is soaking up some late afternoon sun.

It is a Phalaenopsis type named Chien Xen Pearl.

And some more progress toward my 2010 challenge .

For this week I started six more seeds in the yogurt cups.

They include:

2-Butterfly flower [Asclepias Tuberosa]

2- Sunflower

1- Jubilee heirloom Tomato

1-super beefsteak Tomato

------Sanddune----

SMALL STEPS

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Even though I was out of town all week I was still able to round up some plants for the garden. I am trying to comply with my 2010 challenge to learn more about sustainable gardening, spend less by using seeds and propagation techniques and to recycle the things I have on hand whenever possible.

I was able to take some cuttings from some plants that I liked to add to my garden.

One was a Kalanchoe that had bright red flowers. I have two of these succulents already a light orange and a dark orange .


The other cutting is from a plant I am not familiar with.

It was still growing strong last week in 20 degree temperatures up North so I have to figure its a pretty tough plant.

Here is a picture from last May of the donor plant in bloom.

I am sure that some one will recognise this plant and tell me what it is. I had my eye on it for awhile and finally got some cuttings from it for my garden.


These guys are Park's Sweet success Cucumbers that I started from seed from the 5Th of this month.

They are replacing the Tomatoes that had been in the five gallon container.

I'm hoping to start some seeds a couple each week so that I can get a continuous crop of the cucumbers up into the summer.

These Sweet Success seeds are hybrids and I plan to start some organic heirloom Cucumber seeds after the hybrid seeds are used up.

Some more of the old seeds that I am starting have sprouted. These are mixed Zinnia plants that I am going to plant around the garden. I have a lot of the Zinnia seeds so I can start several more of them every week also.

The hardest part of changing to organic sustainable gardening is the attitude part. The challenge helps me to set some goals and helps to keep me honest about the methods I use. I really want to move away from the average garden center garden and plants grown by the nursery. Not that there is anything wrong with that it's just you don't learn much .

It's a lot harder to plan ahead and propagate your own plants than to buy them already half grown. The reward is that you learn and at some point I suspect no longer need the garden center. Not to say I am anywhere near that point but I am slowly inching closer. I have found lots of gardeners who will help and share their experiences and techniques if you are willing to ask.

It is a process that is taking a lot longer than I suspected. But there is a lot of forgotten information out there to be learned . Small steps to becoming less dependent and more self sufficient.

I suspect in times past folks knew how to garden organically and grow their own food and garden. Else wise they would have starved. The best part is that it is kind of fun to learn and empower oneself.

---sanddune---

GETTING THERE SLOWLY

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The beast barrier project is moving forward like molasses in January. I was finally able to cut some 4x4 posts in between rain showers into the frame of the area to be filled with rocks.
I took some old pressure treated boards and cut them into stakes to secure the 4x4's to the ground. This is hurricane country so I figure it is a good idea to secure them so they ain't goin' anywhere.

Now comes the fun part of removing all the grass in the enclosed area .

This is done slowly by hand so that I can recycle the grass to be planted in some of the bare areas of the yard.

I fill up a 5 gallon bucket with the grass then move outside the enclosure and replant it sprig by sprig.

Digging up the grass sprigs led to another discovery.

Not only have the dogs been trampling the grass from the top these here grubs have been eating the grass roots off from the bottom.

That's one of the drawbacks of trying to go organic and not use poisons.

I haven't sprayed the yard with poison for several years now. I will try to find an organic way to treat these grubs if possible. Any ideas?

Anyway in between grass pullin' and replantin' sessions I did make some progress on my 2010 challenge.

I started a bin of old seeds that I had saved up. Some are from 2007 so I have no idea if they will germinate now.

I recycled and reused some of the boards for the barrier project. Reusing and replanting the grass taken from the enclosure area. Am using my old seeds instead of buying new seed this year.

It's a start in the right direction at least.

My 2010 challenge is simple--- Learn more , Buy less, Recycle and utilize what I have on hand.

One other thing that I discovered from plantin' grass sprigs is a different point of view.

Looking up from the ground level I realized just how big this elkhorn has grown.

I found it several years ago the size of a coffee cup saucer on a pine tree in the front yard. Don't know how it came to grow there. I stuck it on this tree and have really not noticed how much it has grown. Pretty neat for free. My kind of plant.

---------sanddune-----------------------------