Relocation

Planting, pruning, fertilizing, and mulching are all part of a gardener's tasks. But one of the most important and often undiscussed gardening chores is relocation. Over the years I've had to relocate many plants from their original locations. Most often this is because a plant fails to thrive in it's original planting. As tree canopies grow and change light conditions, a plant must be transplanted to an area that receives more light. Every once in awhile though, a plant must be moved because it is doing too well and begins to dominate it's area. The photos above are of an aster that has done just that. All I knew of this plant was that it was a native, and flowering in a one gallon pot it was a mere foot tall. I planted it in a moist, mostly sunny area near the front of a bed, assuming it would top out around 24" and not block sight of the 3-4 foot tall plantings behind it. The first year it was a lovely, well mannered plant. It bloomed when not many other plants do-October through November. It also provided dividends, it sent out offshots that I promptly transplanted to other areas. This year though, it grew to over 6 feet tall and not only blocked it's background neighbors, but became floppy and gangly. The moisture and fertility of it's location created a monster. Not only in this location, but in two other areas I planted it, side shoots were popping up and taking over whole beds. So this beautiful plant was dug up and moved to an outer perimeter area with less rich soil that is not irrigated. I hope it lives but doesn't thrive. Meanwhile I'm trying to erradicate pesty root shoots that keep popping up from the original plantings. Moral of the story: most invasive plants are exotics (kudzu, potato vine, et all), but given the most favorable conditions, even native plants can become aggressive.

Fall Color

Sweetgum

The Sweetgum trees on our property are glorious in the fall and would rival any northern display. The golds and reds against the clear blue autumn skies are so breathtaking we forgive its dropping spiney seed pods that keep us from going barefoot in the yard.

Dogwood

The fall leaf color of the Dogwoods, and the accompanying seed pods gives this spring blooming beauty added value.

Camellia sasanqua

The sananqua camellias have smaller blooms than the japonicas, but cover the whole shrub from before Thanksgiving until Christmas. They also drop their petals around each bush in a beautiful blanket of color. I have several as taller plants on the corners of the house as they have a contained structure and their glossy green leaves are attractive year-round.

Fading Flowers

Blue Ginger

Hydrangea

This little guy found something to love in this faded Dahlia

Beautyberry

Waterlily

This is a last glimpse of a few plants that are soon to disappear until next summer. The great thing about Florida though, is that lots of other foliage and flowering plants are ready to step in to fill the late fall and winter with color.

Dahlia's Last Dance

I planted these Cactus Dahlia's from seed last January, set the plants in the ground in March, and have enjoyed their blooms all summer. Last weeks frost has blackened their foliage, but I couldn't resist getting a few shots of the last remaining blooms going out in a blaze of glory.

Peppers

I plant thirty or so pepper plants every year. At least half are green bells which will turn to red if left on the vine to ripen. The rest are banana peppers and other sweet varieties. By early June they are producing the above amount every week and will do so until frost. They are the most resilient and productive garden plants in my garden, impervious to bugs and disease. They are truly the plant that keeps on giving. I pick the above amount or more every week and freeze some mixed with onions and tomatoes to add to Chili and Taco's, but use the rest in the following ways:

Pickled banana peppers and pepper-onion relish

Roasted Peppers

Roast Peppers on grill or in oven at high temp, turning until all sides are chared. Place in a bowl covered with plastic wrap until they have cooled a bit. Peel, seed and core, then toss with a bit of olive oil and garlic salt. The plastic wrap steam step makes the peppers much easier to peel.

Sausage and Peppers

Brown Italian Sausages in a large skillet over medium heat. While sausages are browning, cut up peppers (I use an assortment of sweets-red, green and yellow) and onions into wedges. Move the browned sausages to the outer edges of the skillet and cook vegetables until the peppers soften and the onions begin to caramelize. Stir occasionally. Use tongs to place the sausages on top of the veggies, cover and lower heat. I add just a bit of garlic salt as the sausages will release a lot of seasoning. Cook 45 minutes or until peppers are tender and the sausages are cooked through. Leftovers will make delicious subs. Heat the mixture in the microwave, then place the peppers and onions on a sub roll, add the sausage that is sliced in half and spread open, then top with sliced provolone or mozzarella and heat in the oven until the cheese melts.

Healthy Taco Meat Mix

Saute green peppers and onions in skillet until slightly tender. Add ground meat and brown. Drain fat. For each 1 to 1 1/2 lb ground meat stir in 1 can of refried beans and 2 packages of taco seasoning mix. At this point I add a quart of fresh or frozen diced garden tomatoes. Drain off some, but not all, of their juice. The remaining juice will replace the water normally added to the taco seasoning mix, but will give you more nutrients and flavor. If you don't have all the garden veggies available, adding a jar a salsa to the meat, refried beans, and seasoning is also good. Simmer the batch for 15-20 minutes and freeze any amount you won't use in 5-7 days.

Stuffed Peppers

Parboil pepper halves in simmering water 10-15 min. Use tongs to remove peppers so you can use the water to cook your pasta. Mix together 1 1/2 lb ground meat (beef/pork combo is best) 2 eggs, 1-1 1/2 c. Italian bread crumbs, 1/2 c. Parmesan cheese, 1 grated onion, a splash of milk, and salt and pepper to taste. Stuff parboiled peppers and bake at 350 for 45 min. to an hour. I always have extra meat mixture left over and shape these into meatballs. These can be baked along with peppers, but they need to be turned every 10 minutes and when browned can finish cooking in the tomato sauce.

Pasta Sauce

I like to use 2 cans of tomato puree and one can of tomato sauce for my base. To this I always add at least 1/2 c. Parmesan cheese, a couple of T. olive oil, a couple of T. of sugar, garlic salt, pepper, and fresh parsley. Then, depending on what's in the garden, I add-fresh or frozen-onions, green or red peppers, diced tomatoes and shredded carrots (sounds strange, but they really add flavor). Simmer for an hour to blend flavors. Serve over pasta and stuffed peppers.

Imperial Violet

Blue Ginger

Tibouchina

Imperial Violet is the pencil color of these two flowers that are now in bloom.

The Tibouchina, or Princess Flower, is a shrub, given to me by Linda Hart, after I lost the one she gave me last year to a late freeze. I understand that these are supposed to come back from the roots after a freeze, but my first one probably hadn't been in the ground long enough to do so. This year I'll definitely provide protection until it is better established. The velvety leaves are almost as beautiful as the blooms. The Tibouchina likes light-I have it in a spot that gets sun most of the day.

The Blue Ginger is not a true ginger but is of the same family as the Spiderwort and Wandering Jew. One of my customers at work, a fellow gardener, brought me some stalks of this one day and told me to plant them vertically under a few inches of soil in a mostly shady area. I was sceptical, but was rewarded the next fall with some ginger type foliage and a few blossoms. Now, four years later, I have clumps of these in several areas blooming like crazy with an almost florescent Imperial Violet flower stalk.

Cooking Lima Beans

Lima, or Butter Beans, as they are sometimes known in the south, are one of the few veggies that thrive in the brutal heat and humidity of our summers. If I had to pick a favorite veggie, it would be this. I have been eating a bowl of these every day for the last three weeks. It took me awhile to figure out how to cook them just right. If you buy a box of frozen Lima's the instructions will tell you to cook them for 20 minutes with an added 1/4 cup of water. This makes a not so flavorful, mealy bean. I experimented with cooking my homegrown Lima's just barely covered with water and cooking them longer and they were much more tender, but still not as full of flavor as I'd prefer. So after some experimentation I've come up with the method of cooking the perfect Lima:
Add chicken broth (homemade is best, but store bought is OK) and water to cover. Plop in a couple of tablespoons of butter for added flavor, add a little pepper and salt/or garlic salt, cover and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer 45 minutes to an hour. Remove the lid the last 10 minutes and let the water cook off and the beans will absorb all the broth and butter yumminess.
With many vegetables, I've found that cooking them in a skillet instead of a saucepan allows for more uniform distribution of heat and a more consistently cooked product.

Figs

I planted this "dwarf" fig tree at the end of the vegetable garden, and I suppose it likes the location as it has grown leaps and bounds beyond the "petite" variety it claimed to be. Apparently I am growing it to feed the birds and squirrels. No matter, figs are not my favorite food, but I do appreciate the beauty of its fruit and form.

Pink Eyed Purple Hulled Peas

I usually take a break in June from planting more vegetables in the food garden, as the heat and humidity are tough for both me and most vegetables to deal with. But this summer, as part of my quest to have the garden provide all of our food (with the exception of meat,milk, eggs, bread, and staples) I have planted this cowpea to supplement the lima beans, peppers, okra, and sweet potatoes that are the only vegetables that thrive in such hot conditions. I did a little Google research on these first to determine which variety to plant and the consensus seemed to be that the "Pink Eyed Purple Hull" was tops for flavor and yield. They are a bit meatier and larger than the White Acre, but not as meaty as the Crowder types, and sweeter than the Black Eye. I planted 4 3'x10' beds of these in early June, and began harvesting July 26th. They are very prolific, I'm halfway through the harvest and estimate we'll end up with 12 quarts of shelled peas by the time they are finished. These are easy to pick as the purple pods stand out from the green foliage. The above photo is of the plants in bloom, just developing their pods.

This is the second picking of peas. The first was about the same amount which took about three hours to shell. Mmm...now I remember why I haven't planted these in a while. So I took a trip to Ebay, and found...

A new in the box (from the 1970's) "Magic Fingers" which is motorized by attaching to a hand mixer..

and shelled these is 30 minutes! To cook -add ham hock and water to just cover, pepper and/or garlic salt to taste, and slow simmer 2 hours. Yum!

Takin' the Heat

Crape Myrtles

Rudbeckia

Ameranthus

Althea

Ornamental Pepper

Lythrum (Purple Loosestrife)

Impatiens

Crocosmia

Zinnias with Persian Shield

Periwinkles (front) with Zinnias (back).

These are the garden stars in July and August here in North Central Florida, when many others wane from the heat and humidity.

Gingers

If I had to choose a favorite plant, than it would be those of the Ginger family. I believe there are many varieties of these and I must have a dozen or so different ones. I don't know the Latin or common names of these, but think of them as regular (3-4 feet tall), or Peacock (low growing). I love them because they are not bothered by any pests, disease or fungus and they require no pruning or excessive fertilization. Gingers are easy to propagate (by division) and thrive in shade. Mostly I like them for their striking foliage-many shades of greens, blues, purples and silvers, and their understated and often hidden blooms. A garden area of shades of green, with a bit of color is much more restful to view than Disney World masses of color. Gingers work well with other shade plants and ground covers such as purple queen, wandering jew, aguga, and impatiens. Peacock Gingers make a great ground cover alone. The only downside to Gingers is that they are killed by frost and are a bit later to emerge in the spring. But the anticipation....

All of my Gingers were generously given to me by my friend and another plant lover, Linda Hart, of Hart's Nursery who sells these and other wonderful (mostly native) plants at the Gainesville Farmer's Market.