A day at home and a little rain

In spite of the late night, and my best intentions, I was awake at 6:15 a.m. so I decided to get started on all that I wanted to do. I had the laundry going and almost finished and grocery shopping done (our refrigerator looked like a college students–no real food) by 10:30 a.m. when I finally made it outside. My husband advised against it since it was already hot and humid, but the sun got behind some clouds, and I really wasn’t bothered by it like the last time. I got weeds pulled, tomatoes tied up and peppers, eggplant and tomatoes harvested.  I pruned a bit, and deadheaded perennials and roses, then I fertilized everything in the yard.  I started the sprinkler going on the vegetables while I worked on planting the rest of the things I have been collecting.  I got all of the annuals and tropicals planted. 

I kept noticing a plant at the edge of the yard wilting and assumed it was not getting enough water, but it was a snapdragon, so I wasn’t overly concerned. I decided to pull it today and plant something else when I realized it wasn’t dry, but too wet.  Plants can wilt from too much water, just like not enough. Obviously the holes that we had drilled in the container have plugged up, so I got Clay to drill some on the side and water poured out.  I cleaned it out and replanted.  The yard is looking good, but I don’t want to see the water bill. 

The beautyberry or French Mulberry (Callicarpa) is blooming all over the yard. The tiny purple flowers will be followed by those glorious purple berries this fall.   I have been anxiously watching the many tropicals I bought for the tropical workshop waiting on the rare and unusual blooms, but haven’t seen any flower buds until today. I am excited to see some buds and can’t wait to see the flowers. I guess I am an impatient gardener.  I also was excited that the bougainvillea has rebounded and blooming again.   I had it in a hanging basket off the deck, and no one but me knew it was there. It was half dead when I returned from Texas. You can really see the tiny blooms in this shot. The showy part is actually a modified leaf called a bract, with the true flowers being the small pale pink things in the center.

After I got everything done in the yard that I was going to today, I went on the deck and finished potting up all the plants I have been trying to keep alive in small pots.     I don’t have a convenient hose on the deck so I water by pitchers. It is not a quick task. I got everything planted, fertilized and watered and then cleaned up. It was 2:30 and I was filthy and exhausted so I called it quits and got in the shower.  It wasn’t 10 minutes and we had a downpour – so the timing was great.  I got less than 1/10 of an inch of rain, but when I walked outside to take some pictures, my camera and glasses kept fogging up–the humidity was intense!  The moisture helps.  The caladiums I planted a week ago are coming up and the figs are loaded.  I can’t wait, but need to get bird netting to keep the birds from getting to them before me.

Tonight Katie and I experimented with some zucchini dishes. Her friend gave her a sack full and two are bigger than footballs.  We made the most delicious oven baked zucchini fries and a zucchini crust with a pizza topping. Both were quite tasty but only used up one zucchini for both dishes.  Glad we liked them, because we have a lot more to use! I had planned to go to the Sunday Farmer’s Market today but I was pooped, so stayed home.

Tomorrow I head to Garvan Gardens to tape TV. We are starting early to try to beat the heat.