Planted the Strawberry Pot Again

Last week I planted some mint, strawberries, and ornamental sweet potato in the terra cotta strawberry planter.

This planter has been many things over the years. It's great for Basil. It loves patio tomatoes. It likes coleus.

Anne Raspberry in South Florida

The Anne Raspberries have showed a poor harvest this year. There are a dozen more berries to come. They sure do taste wonderful though. These are supposed to be golden-yellow at peak ripeness.

Here's how they looked a few years ago when I planted them. I think they need better soil.

More Free Spathoglottis Grapette

I spent an hour dividing the Spathoglottis Grapette (ground orchid) again. I must have pulled off 4 dozen baby plants that I planted all around the yard. I love this plant.

I started off with a one-gallon plant in 2007. After the first year, I pulled apart that plant and had 12 mini plants.

The first time I divided the plant, I dug up the whole plant and began separating the plant at the roots. This time, I just yanked small sections out of the ground as if I were pulling weeds. This was a much easier method than digging up the whole plant.

Here's the planter I filled with a few dozen baby plants. I planted the rest throughout the yard.

By the way, this plant blooms for months and months. Last year I counted many blooms that lasted for 3 months.

Pet Door Window Treatment

Here's the new pet door curtain or pet door window treatment.

I left the bottom edges unhemmed for now because I need to stop at the fabric store for more green ball trim.

Back in January I made new draperies for the ladybug bathroom. I've been pretty happy with them. Handy John installed a cute pet door for the Yorkie last month and it needed some dressing up.

How long does it take to grow a pineapple?

How long does it take to grow a pineapple? Well, for mine, it took two years. I planted it mid 2007 and harvested it mid 2009.

It was delicious. I planted it from the top of a grocery store pineapple.

The North Fence, Crabby Pool, and Faux Paint

The patchouli on the north side of the house continues to grow like a weed. I swear it couldn't love any other climate in the world better than this (zone 9b, S. FL). The marigold grew in the tomato cages because last year, I threw the dead marigold heads behind the tomato plants. The tomato plants burned up months ago. Marigolds are commonly planted near tomatoes for deter bad insects. The rosemary hasn't ever looked better and I KNOW it's because I aggressively trim it. I can't possibly use all the rosemary I have, so I always feel guilty putting the trimmings in the trash.
It must be blue land crab season again. We found the first swimmer of the season in the pool this week. Here are the swimmers of the past. Two years ago, we had them during the first week of July and again in October.


Finally, here's the completed shot of the faux finishing job that we did in the kitchen. It really turned out great and I owe a good two days of labor to my two friends for their help.

The Brambles are doing OK

The blackberries still have not blossomed. The raspberries however are doing ok. The lower half of the 2 ft long cane looks dead, but the top 12 inches is bursting with fruit. I should have fertilized them more because the fruit looks kind of pathetic. We'll see how these pan ou over the next few weeks.

The North Side of the House

The summer August heat is wearing on my plants. Here is one little spot that always does really well. It gets watered twice weekly by the sprinklers. The orange mint is blooming and the coleus is jusst beginning to bud also. The brugmansia (angel trumpet) keep forming new branches each time I top it off, so it will be nice and busy. I'm happy with this little area right now.

Recycled Indoor Flower Arrangement

I finally got a chance to get out in the garden today. I trimmed the Silver Buttonwood and Coco Plum bushes.

I brought the cuttings inside and stripped the leaves off the lower 5 inches of each branch. In my hand I clumped them together with the taller branches in the middle and the shorter ones on the outside. It looks really cute. We'll see how long it lasts.