Author Archives: theshrubqueen

Miniata Bromeliad-Aechmea miniata

Miniata Bromeliad flowers

Flowers

These are currently blooming in my garden and have been for a week or so. The flowers look a bit like a panicle of red hots with a few touches of periwinkle blue. In the realm of Bromeliads, these are terrestrial, which means they root in the soil, and they have tanks, botanically speaking, the leaves form a rosette creating a reservoir in the center of the plant that holds water and traps various insects and debris feeding the bromeliad. The image below is looking down into the tank. The foliage has a nice grey green variation and is attractive year round.

 Foliage and Tank

The tanks are a bit of a maintenance chore sometimes because they trap more junk than you would think. I have some tongs to fish debris out and then I usually put some BT granules in to discourage any mosquitoes from hatching out.

The plant itself ends up about 18 x 18″ , so it is a nice size for addition to a shady perennial bed. These have reliably reproduced one or two pups per year, so not really invasive, but they are living among friends now.

Happy Fourth of July

 

Happy Fourth from my garden in South Florida!

These plants are currently blooming in my garden:

Miniata Bromeliad

Miniata Bromeliad

The red is a Miniata Bromeliad-Aechmea miniata, this bromeliad is reported to bloom at any time of the year, in my garden it blooms in summer. A reliable perennial south of Orlando, the backs of the leaves are grey mottled and shiny green on top. Foliage is not too sharp for a bromeliad and they seem to double in quantity every year.

Bridal Bouquet Plumeria

Bridal Bouquet Plumeria

The white is Bridal Bouquet Plumeria-Plumeria pudica. An evergreen Plumeria that is not fragrant but flowers on and off through the rainy season. The name is apt, it would make a nice bridal bouquet.

Blue Plumbago

Blue Plumbago

The blue is Plumbago – Plumbago auriculata. I think of this as the Mophead Hydrangea of the tropics. Reliable blue flowers primarily in the rainy season this is sort of a creeping shrub. And sort of indestructible, a good thing.

I hadn’t considered a patriotic planting for the Fourth, but I got one.

The Dreaded Lubber Grasshopper

 

Lubber on a Cross Tie

Lubber on a Cross Tie

 

Here is another joy of living on the peninsula known as Florida. The Lubber Grasshoppers. The first one of these I saw was another one of those “What the hell is that?” moments. Grasshoppers, in my experience were about maybe 3″ long. These things are biblical plague sized and seemingly armored with orange and yellow warpaint as well. Scary looking and they can eat an astonishing number of holes in your favorite plants to boot.

Eventually, even if you hate to, you will squish these things. I was walking my spotted hound, Charles, the other night and one of my neighbors was throwing things in the shrubbery whilst loudly apologizing to God. I knew what she was doing immediately. Squashing Lubbers, the crunch gives it away. Another neighbor’s theory is that karma gets you instantly when you squish one of the grasshoppers because of the smell they exude when crushed.

My curiosity aroused, I checked into this. It seems Lubbers have a gland that exudes a toxin that is poisonous to most things that might eat them. One bird, a Loggerhead Shrike, bites their heads off, (the poison is in the middle) impales them on something thorny or a fence, lets the poison dry out and then eats the grasshopper. This explained the decapitated grasshopper I found in my Pygmy Date Palm. Unfortunately, the bird never came back to finish his or her lunch.

To the misfortune of my Heliconias the Lubbers have found them apparently Heliconia leaves are a gourmet treat. When I first read about these bugs it was recommended to drown them in a bucket of soapy water. I tried that, but it seemed unnecessarily cruel and I ended up with a bucket of dead, soapy grasshoppers that I had to figure out what to do with. Ugh. A better solution is an old pair of tongs, crunch and throw them in the bushes. Maybe a Shrike will find them.

 

My Girl

 

 

CAM00256

This is My Girl
This is my girl Greyhound, her name (her actual racing name) is My Girl. She is thirteen years old. Really old for a big dog and Greyhounds in general, she has been with us for years. I am very attached to her. We tried to rename her Faye when we first got her, but she wasn’t having any of that. So, My Girl she has remained.

When I refer to her as my girl greyhound, people get pissy and say “what’s her name, doesn’t she have a name?”

I think this is because our other dog is Charles and is male. My Girl is simply that and she always has been.

She is sitting with her food bowl in the picture because she has taken to eating, lying down, which, really at 80 or 85 dog years who could blame her for wanting to lie down while eating.

Another side effect of a dog of advanced years is needing to go out in the middle of the night. I give her credit for waking me to let her out, but I am not at my conscious best at 3 or 4 a.m.

Hence, the following picture of my foot:

Totaled Toenail

Totaled Toenail

I found out the hard way running into a concrete block wall at 3 a.m. will destroy your toenail.
Eventually my toenail turned black, rolled over at a 90 degree angle, then got infected and had to be removed. Surgically.

Oh, well. My Girl is keeping me company as I sit to prop my foot up. The doctor said it wouldn’t hurt..he left out the part about wearing shoes or putting weight on it. As long as you don’t wear shoes or stand up it feels fine.

American Rustic

Extreme Low Maintenance Container Soap Aloe and Sedum

Extreme Low Maintenance Container
Soap Aloe and Sedum

Is there a new style of gardening emerging in America?

I think so.

Based on what we have learned over the past forty years, our style and outlook on gardening are changing.

During the 1970’s, Oehme van Sweden, Landscape Architects in Washington, D.C. pioneered ‘The New American Garden’. Their gardens featured perennial grasses in large sweeps and largely ignored lawns. These guys were the original purveyors of the Miscanthus craze that continues to this day. I had Miscanthus strictus in my yard for about three years, as a striking accent plant it worked until it got big and flopped over; this grass once flopped was 10 feet around and not very striking. Unlike my southern mother, I am not a plant staker. Plants have to stand on their own in my garden or they asked to leave. Unceremoniously.

The term Xeriscaping was coined in the early 1980’s by a guy in Colorado. Since then the idea has caught on and is utilized in the United States and around the world. Permaculture is an Australian idea that expands and encourages permanent culture of the earth in the most sustainable ways. Basically the idea of Xeriscape is grouping plants by their watering and maintenance needs and only watering when necessary instead of just dousing everything. In permaculture the further away from the house you get, the less intensive the maintenance of the landscape. Intensively planted vegetable gardens near the house that fade away into the forest zone by zone. Of course, this is an oversimplification of both concepts.

While I appreciate the validity of both schools of thought, the difficulty begins with the fact that all this has to be figured out, zoned, designed and then implemented. I have yet to meet anyone who paid me to do a Master Landscape Plan for their house that did not change their mind about something.  Usually a significant something. Rare is the person who can make a plan, zone everything for water and maintenance and stick with the program. I certainly can’t. The older I get , the more I enjoy hardscape.

People seem to enjoy taking small bites of sustainability. A Rain Garden in a low spot in the yard. Using pervious gravel or mulch for pathways. Planting native plant material. Cutting out toxic pesticides and herbicides.

I have read of eco lawns becoming popular in the Western United States. This intrigued me until I saw what it was. More of the Wildflower Meadow romanticism that has been floating around for 30 years. I think Old fields look great weeds and all. However, I don’t want one in front of my house. I suspect the majority of gardeners like to have some lawn. I have a lawn, purposely sited over the septic tank. It does so well, we are afraid to fertilize it. It might overrun the house late at night.

Now there is talk of what is the Modern Garden. I am not sure Modern is the right word. Modern coming after New. It is all the same. Soon it will be the updated Modern Garden. All I (we?) really want is something we can plant and enjoy that is not too much work or a waste of resources! It seems like such a simple idea ? Here are some ideas to reach this goal:

Plant reliable, drought tolerant, non invasive perennials. In small doses.

Focus on natives with a soft lens. Some are great. Some are weeds. Do some research; plant the good ones.

Quit using Glyphosphate and anything with Atrazine in it. It is already in our groundwater and nobody knows how long it takes for the earth to metabolize it. Stop adding it. Non toxic weed killers and pesticides work. If you have a few bugs or weeds – get over it.

Support your local gardening community by planting seasonal containers, they are different everywhere. A pop of color near your favorite walkway is a pick me up every time you pass by. I like succulents for the summer.  My size limit is a 15″ wide container, if it is smaller, it takes too much maintenance, (watering). Buy a big pot, go to the local nursery, buy some flowers and hope for good advice. Embrace local..add some tropicals in the summer. Floridian growers need support too.

Use the most drought tolerant turfgrass possible. If it turns brown in winter, so be it. If there are a few weeds in it, so be it. The Golden Bear does not live at my house, I think he is retired..

I think people get overexcited about irrigation. I have never had separate zones because I am really frugal with water. The lawn has to need it badly before the water comes on, if I have a new  tree it gets a gator bag (this is a bag that can be filled with water, the water slowly leaks out onto the tree providing a few days worth of water). Irrigation does not abdicate anyone of the responsibility of paying attention. It will not establish anything but turf unless everything is wastefully watered.

I think the New Modern American Gardening Style is Rustic. The Rustic Style includes: Being mindful of water and its use, ceasing the use of toxic chemicals, a little brown and a few weeds are OK. Always have a nice container planting where it will be enjoyed. Add hardscape where you would like to hang out and relax, it is really less maintenance.

I think it was the Landscape Architect Dan Franklin, who said: “You should be able to take care of your garden in the time it takes to drink a cup of coffee in the morning or a glass of wine in the evening” I am striving for that.

 

Rain Lilies – Zephyranthes rosea

Rain Lilies

Rain Lilies

 

It rained here on Sunday. An inch or so. This morning I walked out in my front yard to find these blooming for the second time in a month. Rain Lilies, I had these in my garden in Atlanta and they bloomed maybe every five years. It was a real event. And actually a different kind of Rain Lily.

After a bit of research I find there are many kinds of Zephyranthes, 71 according to Wikipedia. I believe these are the rosea variety. Well, they are pink..I bought them at a garage sale nearby, so they could really be from anywhere. The native species in Florida is the Atamasco Lily; this lily has white flowers and occurs in low, swampy areas. As I live on a gigantic sand dune I don’t think I will be seeing any of those around here.

The latin for these plants is Zephyranthes, named after the Greek God of the West Wind. Interesting considering the rain is what makes them bloom.

These are about 12 inches tall and have grass like (really strap like) foliage my husband mistakenly weed whacked. After that it rained and they started blooming. This is my kind of a plant. Takes a licking and pops up with flowers. They will reseed in the garden but so far it has not been a problem but a nice surprise.

Male Dog Syndrome

The first person who coined the term, male dog syndrome, was, in fact a landscape architect, a guy! I worked with who  had a similar sense of humor; he had worked for big and famous firms in the 80’s and had, unfortunately, been laid off multiple times. During the course of all these so called design projects  as a junior staffer he experienced the marking behavior. Oddly enough, this guy has been really successful in his own right and is probably peeing on bushes in the Western United States as we speak.

As a dedicated Greyhound fan, I usually have a couple of dogs around. Dogs do some weird things that would not have occurred to me prior to having dogs. Many of these peculiarities are urinary based.

My first Greyhound, Butler, was a male dog and having worked with men primarily for years in design and construction I was aware of “male dog syndrome” In life and business the last male to pee on the bush is King. And all the princes must pee on it as well. After twenty or thirty years, this gets tiresome in all respects; perhaps not to the men. I feel that, for men this is probably a lifetime dilemma. Even  Gen X and Millenial men must do this. I will have to say this slays me as it is totally counterproductive.  And then there is the ‘measuring’..

At least dogs don’t do that. On the other hand, it could be related.

One cold winter night around 2 am, Butler came into the bedroom, whining a bit and woke me up. I thought “Oh, he will be OK for a while he just went out” He came back in a bit later and proceeded to pee all over the foot of the bed and carpet. Oops, of course, I should have gotten up and let him out, but it was Thanksgiving, my parent’s fiftieth wedding anniversary and we were having 15 or 20 people over for dinner shortly.  I had been trying to live up to my southern cooking heritage all day and was exhausted. Thank God for the enzymatic carpet cleaner.

In the garden Butler had issues with anything Juniper scented. I suppose it it fortunate I detest Gin. My favorite Landscape Contractor had been singing the praises of Hinoki Cypress shrubs for years, so I decided to buck up and buy a big one as they are sort of slow growing. I am usually frugal in the purchase of plant material because, well, sometimes I forget about water and stuff. And I must always cope with my cheap Scotch heritage. This time I paid $150.00 for a really nice shrub not considering Butler’s Juniper issues. It was, in fact, a Cypress.

I suppose I should mention Butler was inevitably so intent on marking everything he often ran out of pee. Which was very frustrating for him, but really comical to watch. He would stand there back leg raised looking down to see nothing coming out and then try again. My husband always found this particularly amusing. Sort of a man thing, I guess.

So, I put the Hinoki Cypress in a place of honor. By the gate into the back garden. Probably a locational error on my part. However, it looked great shimmering dark green in the sun and already 3 feet tall with ferny chartreuse new growth. First time the dog went by, pssst. Second time and most anytime he wasn’t emptied by having been on a long walk. Sigh. Eventually the Cypress began to turn rust instead of green.

The Hinoki was only rust colored on one side, I had hopes for its survival. Then the voles came. I am not really sure I ever saw one. But, boy Butler could smell them and they were under the $150.00 Cypress. Crap. Maybe on some level voles are offensive to dogs; perhaps the male voles are marking?? At this point digging under the Cypress became necessary and the top of the plant began to turn rust…

Bridal Bouquet Plumeria – Plumeria pudica

 

Bridal Bouquet ready for a lei

Bridal Bouquet ready for a lei

A near requirement for living in South Florida, especially as a year round resident, is a Plumeria or a Frangipani in the yard. This is not a good ‘Snowbird’ plant as most Plumeria is naked in the winter and reasonably unattractive.  Summer is a different story, the Plumeria have just burst forth with flowers here on the Treasure Coast and the fragrance and color make it worth having a deciduous tree in the garden.

This is the tree that provides flowers for leis in Hawaii. I was always under the impression the Plumerias were native to the South Pacific. Research tells me the variety Plumeria alba, which is the more common, fragrant, and deciduous Plumeria come from Central and South America.  Sources seem to agree that Plumeria pudica is from Central America. To add to the confusion there is a type of Plumeria called ‘Singapore’ that is native to Columbia. I will leave it to someone else to explain the Hawaiian lei concept.

Enter the Bridal Bouquet Plumeria, I discovered this plant in Stuart, Florida never having seen one before and was told it was evergreen. This particular variety of Plumeria has a columnar habit and I was looking for a plant to place between two windows in an unirrigated planter in front of my house. It is a perfect selection thus far it is about six feet tall and maybe 2 feet wide. There is some disagreement amongst the experts as to the evergreeness of this plant; apparently if it gets cold enough it will drop its foliage.  I can believe it even if Wikipedia doesn’t.

So far the Bridal Bouquet has performed admirably remaining evergreen and blooming profusely. The extension service states it blooms six months out of the year, mine is not quite there. The only complaint I have is the plant is a bit crunchy and high winds tend to blow parts off. It must be noted that the trade off for evergreen foliage is no fragrance. My husband is not a plant guy and he was in the front planter sniffing the plant to no avail. I decided the solution to the crunchies is to root the bits and plant them in front of my neighbors ugly decaying wood fence. Perfect recycle.

There are many, many varieties of Plumeria, and even a society devoted to the plant, inauspiciously called the PSA. I am hopeful this acronym was coined prior to the medical test.

Cat Training

I have a fluffy white cat, she is long haired; an heirloom cat. The cat is heirloom because I inherited her. This cat originally belonged to my parents and then to my older brother, all have passed on – yet the cat is still around. My parents got the cat the year before my father passed on and kitty was my mother’s best friend until she died; then my brother adopted the cat and he passed on. A friend suggested maybe I did not want this cat due to her track record with owners. Me being me, I just couldn’t give her away; she was a good friend to half of my family. I have two additional siblings; both have cats and refused to take her. I was very hopeful when I picked her up that my greyhounds wouldn’t eat her, as she bears a strong resemblance to a rabbit (they haven’t)

The cat had the unlikely moniker, Sweetie Pie. I can still hear my mother with her Southern accent  in a high pitched voice exclaiming “she’s my little Sweetie Pie”. My husband decided having a cat named Sweetie Pie would not enhance his masculine reputation and we began to call her Miss Kitty, which was fine with the cat as long as she was provided with ample treats.

The poor cat, after surviving the loss of two humans and a terrible case of fleas came to our house, half bald and weighing six pounds, and was presented with two very large dogs. I took her to the vet first thing and she was fine, but I wasn’t – she had put her claw through a tendon in my hand as I was (foolishly) trying to comb the dead fleas out and my hand was getting infected. So, I took the cat home and took myself to the human doctor. I was given antibiotics and told to immobilize my hand for three days. Of course it was my right hand and I use that one most.

Coincidentally, I had been wearing an Ace bandage on my foot for an ankle problem and I ended up with one on my hand as well. I saw the vet later and he said I looked like I had been to Afghanistan. No, I had not been to the Middle East. It was a minor skirmish in the kitty wars.

The cat took one look at the dogs and went under the nearest bed. The dogs didn’t seem to bear her any ill will – they just wanted to smell her to see what she was. I think. I was concerned because one of the dogs had tried to eat a couple of small animals (no house pets were ever harmed-a snake had an unfortunate demise being trampled to death by 70 plus pounds of Greyhounds at full speed). Eventually all was well and the dogs figured out it was OK and they shouldn’t bother the cat. The cat stayed under the bed for about six months until we went out of town for a couple of days.

We came back, opened the front door and the cat was there to greet us, yowling. She turns out to be quite vocal to the point I had to put a set of steps up to the bed so she could sleep by my head. She was waking me up 5 times a night yowling so I would put her on the bed. My husband sleeps right through it. I have actually trained the cat to use a step stool so she can come and go as she pleases without disturbing me. Or did Sweetie Pie (Miss Kitty) train me? Hmmm…

Here’s the kitty now, she is flea free and weighs over 9 pounds. The weight may just be the fur.

Image

 

10 Reasons why I am a Bad Southern Belle

A properly arranged bridal shower tea

A properly arranged bridal shower tea

I was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, attended and graduated from Tucker High School followed by the University of Georgia and lived in Georgia for 50 years. I have a great deal of experience in being Southern.

That said, I am not a good Southern Belle.

For those of you who are uninformed about Southern ladies; there are a lot of rules. Things that must be remembered and feared, lest you provide fodder for gossip.

My mother was a Greatest Generation Southern Belle raised in South Georgia who believed in and followed the rules. She did her best to imbue me with the knowledge of how to be a proper Southern Belle. It worked better on my sister.

While many people have been impressed with my memory; these rules did not stay with me.

Here are the ten reasons I am not a good Southern Belle:

1. I like dark meat chicken salad.  Go figure, an old friend of mine (a gay man) from extreme southwestern Georgia told me the women in his hometown gossiped about ladies who use dark meat in chicken salad. I can believe it.

2. I have limited variety in my shoe wardrobe and I hate white shoes. To be properly southern you must follow shoe color restrictions during certain seasons. It is considered very bad form to wear white shoes or certain articles of white clothing before Memorial Day or after Labor Day. Winter white is an exception, but there are additional rules for that. Patent leather shoes are another big deal. In my opinion, if you are in high school you are too old for patent leather shoes.

3.  I detest Euphemisms: no Southern lady ever farted, pooped or sweated. They “make smells”, “have a BM”, and “glow”. I find Midwesterners very refreshing in this regard. They call it like they smell it, hear it or see it. I married one.

4.  I like wearing black to weddings, black is slimming. If you are truly a Belle there is no wearing of black to weddings,  with the exception of shoes and accessories, that is OK.  The inference (supposedly) is mourning of bride or groom’s mistake. Really, the little black dress should go everywhere.

5.  Vulgarity in many cases is amusing. Southern ladies say “Don’t be vulgar”…why not? It’s fun.

6.  I enjoyed swimming as a teenager, but was told “Women of your breeding don’t go to the swimming pool”  I was always flummoxed  by this; especially since there was no air conditioning?

7.  I believe health problems should be recognized for what they are. We have no alcoholics or addicts; there is “hardening of the liver” or “a little problem” I have heard someone say “his liver is like a hockey puck” Colon cancer is not considered a topic for polite conversation.

8.  I am pretty certain all women go through menopause. Southern ladies just don’t admit it. I can remember seeing my mother sweating profusely in the middle of winter and asking her about it. “Nothing was wrong, Daddy had the thermostat set too high”, she said.  Then she told me it only took her one day to go through menopause and it was no problem. I am still choking on that one.

9. Not freezing at Easter; I think this is a good idea. A proper Belle breaks out and wears their spring clothes at Easter regardless of the weather. You would think this is where winter white would be a good idea. I think you have to stop wearing winter white before Easter. But I really never got the whole winter white thing.

10.  The best reason is the last. My father was from Connecticut. My mother explained Southerners should always marry Yankees to assure the viability  of the gene pool. It gave me a good reason to wear white in October and go to the swimming pool. My Yankee genes must be dominant.