Monday, May 08, 2023

The post in which I share the planting experiment
{meaning which varieties thrive in Florida heat}

My mother had an innate talent for knowing which flowers and vegetables would flourish at our home in Pennsylvania.  Have you ever visited Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square? Amateurs compared to my mother's abilities!

To my deep regret, this gift was not passed down to me.  Doug and I have been enjoying learning about plants and which ones do well in sun/shade at our home.  It's been fun.


The daylily plants are thriving.  For what it's worth, these plants are doing well in northern Florida where it gets extremely hot in summer months.  Very humid as well. We'll see how they fare after June when it's like living on the sun.


The larger photo on the right is a daylily named Strawberry Candy.  The blossoms are prolific and quite pretty. At the top left is Mary Reed and underneath is Stella de Oro .The bottom photo is an Arizona Sun Blanket. 

We've placed sun blankets in two different areas to see where they will grow best. Both get sun but one area gets less in the mornings so...we'll see.


Monrovia Archangel in dark purple, Celosia and the sun blanket. Near the 12 year old defunct satellite dish we’ll add a Star Jasmine which will hopefully vine upward.





To our delight, the Sun Blanket plants are attracting a great number of bees and butterflies.  The goal is to attract bees, butterflies and hummingbirds.  A work in progress.

It's good to learn new things and experiment - keep my old brain active :-)

If you live in or near our zone (I think it's zone 8) and have any tips please leave a comment.  I appreciate any advice.


17 comments:

  1. Beautiful flowers. I visited Longwood Gardens for the early spring flower displays, and I would love to know how your mother outdid them!

    best, mae at maefood.blogspot.com

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    1. Mae, our yard was prettiest on the street. She was always adding or planting and it was lovely. Our back garden was flush with vegetables and I wish I'd paid more attention to what went in when and all the gardening info.

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  2. Your flowers have such glorious colors!

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  3. Vicki, thanks so much. We are taking it slowly in figuring out where the plants need to go to get the ideal amount of sun or shade. I had to ask about the difference between part sun and part shade plants. Seems the same to me -
    The man at the nursery said it's the first part in the descriptor. If it says part sun to shade it means sun is ideal and the plant will tolerant the shade.
    I'm learning!

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  4. It is a journey sometimes finding what thrives and what doesn't. I don't have the gift either. :)

    There are few things i like more than watching butterflies in summer. I should do a butterfly garden.

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    1. Greg, it's been relaxing starting these gardens and a workout as well! I am keeping notes on whoch plants thrive in particular beds so I can adjust for future planning. I can't wait to see hummingbirds again sp plants for those little guys are in the planning phase.

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  5. I'm impressed with any flowers & plants that can sustain the direct heat in Florida. I'm not sure which ones are best there but your flowers look really good now. I love gardening and buy plants at the local nurseries ... and somehow that helps my info.

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    1. Florida heat can be a challenge. We are in the northern part and get many bitterly cold days and nights cme January so that will be another thing to think about. Protecting the plants in winter. Thanks for the nice comment!

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  6. We had a lot of daylilies when we lived in Nebraska, which gets VERY hot in the summer months. Stella de Oro did very well, as did butterfly bushes, black-eyed Susans, and echinacea.

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    1. Les, we have only visited Omaha in summer and yes, it was HOT! Thanks for the names of plants which do well in heat as we are expanding the flower beds. Our son was supposed ot move to Jacksonville this July but sadly, he can't make the move now. He'll be in Lincoln so if you have any tips on good areas to live, I appreciate it!

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  7. I've never been good at flowers though I do enjoy them. I'm adding Sun Blankets to my list of flowers to try (or for my husband to try because he's good at the gardening thing) because I love butterflies.

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    1. Katherine, this is a learning process for us. I will warn you, the Arizona sun blankets attract bees as well. We like it as they can pollinate all over our little property!

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  8. such colourful plants. Yes it can be difficult here in humid Qld to grow certain things. Such a good feeling to plant to attract the insects.

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    1. Thanks, Sherry. It's extremely humid here as well. I am hoping to see many more butterflies and bees.

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  9. Beautiful! We had a lot of daylilies in central NY and now have a few in CT. We have been embracing native vegetation down here since the hurricane.

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    1. JoAnn, it's been fun learning about the various plants and which will work for our zone. I'd like to get the native plants which grow wild here put in as well.

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