By Master Gardener Volunteer Lesley Arrandale
mail@floridanewsline.com
Spring seemed to come early. Just as our clocks changed, we had a little more rain and cooler weather. But as I write, we have a frost warning, which is consistent with our last average frost date.
The Extension Service bimonthly newsletter, A New Leaf – Yard and Garden, is always worth checking for timely tips: https://tinyurl.com/42rc3axu. Another good resource, The Neighborhood Gardener, https://tinyurl.com/yc7bdh4d, also gives access to our educational webinars. They cover a variety of topics which you may find interesting.
In my backyard, there is a large patch of pink shrimp plant (Justicia brandegeeana) near a firebush top-killed by the freezes, where I regularly see a male ruby-throated hummingbird either feeding on the shrimp flowers or perching on a slender twig. He might be waiting for a potential mate. If a likely female appears, there is a chance that he will begin his mating “dance.” Swooping up and down again repeatedly, in a pattern specific to the species, he’ll finish by darting back and forth in front of her in short arcs. I’d love to see him in action!
With the early heat and a little rain, some plants are already looking very lush. My dwarf Simpson’s stoppers (Myrcianthes fragrans) have lots of flower buds on new growth, which should be beautiful, if the cold weather doesn’t damage them. The crossvine (Bignonia capreolata), which clambers through a couple of large old beautyberry shrubs, has almost finished its flush of trumpet flowers. Every spring the bees take advantage of its early blooms. Some larger species cannot squeeze into the tubular flowers, and pierce them at the base, robbing the nectar within. It’s the smaller bees and other pollinators which are doing the work.
My native Darrow’s blueberries (Vaccinium darrowii) have seen plenty of bee action. Hopefully it will mean a good supply of fruit for the birds, but it also looks like some of their flowers have been robbed.
Also a native, the trumpet honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens), is proving to be happy where I planted it last year, climbing an obelisk. I’ll probably need to prune it quite heavily to prevent it becoming too heavy for its support, but I like the look so far.
I have some wild phlox (Phlox drummondii) blooming too. If you drive out of town at this time of year, you’ve probably seen great swathes of pink and yellow along the roadsides, courtesy of the FDOT. That’s what my husband asked me to try to achieve at the front of our very modest yard! This year just a few phlox are flowering near a clump of lanceleaf coreopsis (Coreopsis lanceolata) and some Virginia spiderwort (Tradescantia ohiensis). And blanket flowers (Gaillardia sp.) are also blooming. Small triumphs, but I do need to establish more plants to make a real show.
As the year unfolds there are always things in the yard to grab my attention and remind me that a garden is not static. I check on my wildflowers and shrubs almost every morning, watching their progress. They produce their buds, flowers, fruits, and seeds, and each stage is a delight. The insects they attract can be “good” or “bad,” but they are all part of the natural world and if there is a semblance of balance I am grateful. I hope you enjoy your labors, wherever your gardening journey takes you.
Photo courtesy Lesley Arrandale
Lanceleaf coreopsis
