I am joining the SOS gang once again this Saturday. My morning discoveries on my garden tour are mostly green. No vegetables, although the tomatoes I grew from seed are ready to be transplanted. Follow this link gardenruminations.co.uk to visit Jim and connect with more gardeners worldwide in the comments zone.

South Florida’s gardening season is the flip side of most of the Northern Hemisphere. We grow summer vegetables in winter and many summer perennials thrive here during the cooler weather that would wilt in the heat during their “normal” flowering season. I am thrilled to find my first Dahlia tuber emerging from the ground. Nine tubers were planted in the garden, three in pots, I know one was eaten, so the rest???? I bought the tubers at an end of season sale, then wrapped and refrigerated them until October, planting time here. All Dahlias were red, for what reason I have no clue.

It is strange to me that Rudbeckias are difficult to grow here. The summer humidity molds them, quite literally. These are Goldstrum Rudbeckias taking hold in the garden.

Another garden stalwart further north, Moonbeam Coreopsis, is bravely making a stand.

The ultimate experiment, a mass of Ice Plants (Delospermum cooperii). I am fairly certain these will melt next summer, though I have run across gardeners who have success with them in South Florida.

Another experiment, seemingly successful. I decided to try the Chelsea chop on Tropical Red Salvia (Salvia coccinea) – a reseeding annual. It seems to have worked.

I have not tried any of these plants in winter previously. In the great words of Tom Petty “the waiting is the hardest part”

Will they flower??? Time will tell.

A more typical green from me. The greys are Aechmea fasciata Bromeliads, the dark one is ‘Luca’ Neoregelia. Smaller red broms are ‘Fireball’ Neoregelia. Bromeliad moving and propagating season runs November through March. There is usually movement in the garden this time of year.

Happy Gardening!