The Tool I Can't Live Without, and General Ruminations on Rain

There is one tool no Florida-Friendly gardener should be without -- a rain gauge.


The lack of rain at my Central Tampa home lately has me thinking about the value of this handy little device. It rules my world in a way no other tool does, especially in the dry months of the year. If I am not home when it rains, all I have to do is check my rain gauge to see how much water I've received. If it's a half-inch or more, I'm in high cotton! My plants are good to go for up to a week -- or longer, for the beds in deep shade.


This is a BIG DEAL for us as we have no irrigation system at all. Our landscape relies solely on rainfall, or hand-watering. Sure, we planted mostly drought-tolerant plants, but even they need some water.

An in-ground rain gauge

A rain gauge mounted on our fence

Standing in the heat after a long day at work and hand-watering (with a shut-off nozzle, please!) is not my idea of fun. Nor is lugging water from our three rain barrels. In fact, we actually have a micro-irrigation starter kit we have yet to install, but that is on our to-do list to help get us through these dry months before the rainy season begins. (I promise we'll install it, Virginia!)


Rain gauges are even more important for people with irrigation systems and turfgrass. If you know it has rained a half-inch or more the day or two before your official lawn-watering day, turn off the automatic timer and save yourself some money and all of us some water for our future.


Last Friday, it rained. Or so I thought. As soon as I pulled into my driveway, I went to check the rain gauge. It showed a paltry one-tenth of an inch. I checked my other rain gauge, hoping that  there was a leak in the first one. No difference. Rain gauges are just not like those mirrors in the department stores that make you look much thinner in that cute pair of jeans on sale. They don't lie.


So, we watch and wait, and hope for dark clouds and thunder any day now. 

FOOTNOTES: 

• Even if your rain gauges are bone dry, let your garden tell you when it needs water. This is true whether you have grass or groundcovers. Our landscape is proving to be a lot tougher than even we hoped. I babied everything last year because it was new, but now I am making myself resist the urge to water until I see plants wilting. Then they perk right back up. 

• Turfgrass needs water when the blades fold, or when you can see your footprints in the grass. 

• I water selectively. Beds in full sun, such as my butterfly garden, need to be watered more often than those in deep shade. 

Oakleaf hydrangea and caladiums in deep shade are very water-thrifty

• New plants always need to be watered frequently for the first few weeks, until they get a toehold in their new home. This is true even for our native and Florida-Friendly plants. New trees need LOTS of water. They are major investments; treat them with love.

• When you do water, water deeply at the root zone. Don't just give the foliage a quick spray and think you're done. Water less frequently, but apply more water when you do. This encourages roots to grow deep and strong so they require less water over time. This is true for grass and ornamentals. If you have an irrigation system, find out how to do a "catch-can test" here to determine how long your zones need to run.

• Finally, plant the Right Plant in the Right Place and save yourself some trouble from the start. Impatiens in sunny spots need water every day in the summer.My African iris and bulbine, on the other hand, never seem to need supplemental watering, and they bask in brutal sun all day.

Our front yard has a mix of full shade, part shade and full sun.
Plants are grouped according to their sun and water needs.

Swappin' and Sweatin' in Seminole Heights

Last weekend my neighbor Virginia and I hosted our first Plant Swap. What a fun morning!


Virginia invited a few of her fellow Hillsborough County Master Gardeners and I invited a few friends and colleagues I have come to know through both Seminole Heights neighborhood activities and my work for the Tampa Bay Estuary Program. Each person was asked to bring 10 plants to the swap -- pots, divisions, cuttings, seeds, whatever they chose. All told we had a nice, manageable group of 11 swappers. 

Surveying the treasures

At least, we thought it was manageable. But get a group of women together on any sort of  "shopping spree" and you can only imagine what could happen! (At this point, I must say that there were two men at the swap too, and they held their own).


To keep utter chaos at bay, we decided to assign each person a number and then go one by one in choosing plants. We started with the number 1 for the first round, and then the number 11 for the second round, so everybody had a fair shot at grabbing the plants they most coveted.

Virginia describing her plant swap contributions

Before we got to the swapping, though, each of us took a couple of minutes to describe the plants we brought and their preferred growing conditions. This was a good thing, because we had so many plants, and this gave us a chance to plan our "shopping" strategy to prioritize what we wanted most.


To speed things up -- and keep us from passing out in the heat - we encouraged people to take two plants at a time. Even with this, it took a while to get all the plants parcelled out, but nearly everything found a new home.


The diversity of the plants on display was impressive -- from uncommon natives like Elliot's lovegrass and Elephant's Foot, a lovely wildflower -- to purple firespike, red salvia, African iris and blackberry lilies. Amazingly, there were few duplicates -- everybody brought a different assortment, thought we certainly didn't coordinate plant selections ahead of time.

Lots of lovely plants

I really tried hard not to let my impulsive nature take over, with only partial success. I focused primarily on small shade plants, since I have so much shade, and container plants, since my landscape is pretty much fully planted at this point. But I did somehow end up with an entire bin of native canna lilies -- which I think will work out fine if I plant them near my Ocala anise bushes, since both require more water than anything else in my garden. Because I live close to the Hillsborough River, I am blessed with the rich, fertile soil that cannas prefer.

My new cannas waiting to be planted

Plant Swaps are a wonderful way to add diversity to your landscape at no cost, and what gardener doesn't love a bargain? They also are a fun way to connect with other gardening fanatics and share ideas and knowledge. Virginia and I agreed we would definitely host another Swap, in the Fall when it is cooler. Some of the Swappers also suggested having themed Swaps -- all seeds, for example, or edibles, or Florida natives. The possibilities are endless. After all, there's always room for one more plant, isn't there?

Several beautiful little peacock gingers found a home under my oak tree

Invasion of the Arachnid Army

In the past three weeks, my garden has been invaded by an entire battalion of itsy bitsy spiders! I am not exaggerating when I say that almost ALL my shrubs and trees, and even many of my container plants, are now decorated with elaborate spider webs inhabited by anywhere from one to several of these pint-sized arachnids.

A Web search (pun intended) reveals that these are basilica spiders, so named because their webs purportedly resemble arching cathedral domes, although I fail to see a strong resemblance. I've had these spiders in my garden before, but this Spring they have taken over!

The spiders are only about an inch long, including legs, with a lovely green, white and yellow filigree design on their abdomens. Apparently the females have the green stripe, while the males have more yellow on their abdomens. I read that this design is intended to mimic an open mouth with tongue and fangs, presumably to ward off predators.

Unlike other spiders, the webs of basilicas are three-dimensional in shape, and they form an absolute maze of threads and anchor lines all going in different directions. The references say they often are found in groups in contiguous webs, and I can attest to that. My larger plants, such as a gorgeous bird's nest anthurium, are draped in a multi-level basilica condominium complex. I counted 15 basilicas in the anthurium alone!

Maze of webs in anthurium

My husband and friends know that I have severe arachnophobia. I once jumped out of a moving car to get away from a spider (Very Large! Very Scary!) on the inside window frame. Fortunately the car was not moving all that fast.

But I have found that when I have a camera in front of my face, I lose my fear of spiders. With my little macro lens, I will even get right in THEIR face. Which is a good thing, because spiders really are cool creatures.

Basilica spider duet

They are also very beneficial, eating all sorts of bad insects like gnats, flies and mosquitoes. So, I have left my basilicas in peace, hoping that eventually the population will find some sort of equilibrium before the military takeover of my yard is complete.

Has anyone else experienced the Invasion of the Arachnid Army in their garden?

Is Your Yard An Award Winner?

Last year Rick and I were thrilled to be named the Community Water-Wise Award winners for Tampa for our grass-free Bay-Friendly Landscape. The lovely stepping stone we received in recognition is proudly displayed right by our front door.

The program, sponsored by Tampa Bay Water, is now accepting nominations for the 2011 awards. I know many readers of this blog have landscapes that are worthy of consideration for this award, and I urge you to nominate your yard at http://tampabaywaterwise.org.  Entries are coordinated and judged by local water conservation coordinators as well as experts in eco-friendly landscaping with the county extension offices. Residents of Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties, and the cities of Tampa, St. Petersburg and New Port Richey receive awards. Judges actually conduct a site visit to your home to view your landscaping and water-saving features.

There were few entries last year. I told my husband we may have won the award because we were the only people who bothered to enter!

I know there is a huge and growing (pun intended) interest in Florida-Friendly gardening, so it doesn't make sense that so few enter this competition. The application itself is simple, and there is no embrassment if you don't win. In fact, you'll receive a helpful letter detailing how you could improve your landscape to make it a stronger contender next time around. And, like us, you may even win! We actually were invited to accept our award at a Tampa City Council meeting -- what fun!

We're still riding the coattails of our brief flirtation with gardening fame. The city's water conservation staff recently visited our yard again to film a promotion for this year's Water-Wise Awards. It gave me another chance to talk about our water-saving landscape and the difference it has made in our quality of life. That segment is now airing throughout May on the City's TV channel (Verizon Channel 15 or Bright House Channel 615) during a program called "Spotlight Tampa." The city folks were kind enough to send me the video clip, and I have posted it here.

Don't be shy! If you've created an attractive, water-conserving urban oasis, please enter the awards program. More entries lend credibility to the sustainable, low-impact gardening principles we follow, and show others that we're not just a bunch of weirdo bug- and bunny-huggers, but thoughtful, informed and dedicated gardeners who prefer an alternative to the cookie-cutter view of suburban landscapes that clever marketing by the lawn care industry tells us we should have -- a sterile vista dominated by heavily manicured, chemically treated and excessively irrigated grass.

Spring Keeps Coming!

My garden is looking more beautiful each day, with showy blossoms making a steady appearance as Spring's glory continues to reveal daily surprises.

Gaillardia, or blanket flower, is one of my favorites. It just looks happy to be alive. It is a great favorite of our bees as well.

Blanket flower seems to be one of those troopers that just keeps on blooming, no matter how hot or dry it gets. It also makes beautiful cut flowers for a vase.

At the very top of the preference list for bees again this year are our little East Palatka holly trees. Last year Rick and I were greatly amused by the swarms of bees that descended on the hollies when their tiny, almost inconspicuous white blossoms appeared. Would it happen again this year? You bet! For two weeks, the hollies were humming with bees from sunrise to sunset. We were sad to see the blossoms fade and fall.

I spent one Sunday morning with my face buried in the trees, camera shoved as close I could get to the bees, trying to take their picture, but this is the best I could do.

I did, however, find a more sedentary insect to photograph on my Shoal Creek chaste tree. Can anyone tell me what this is? I thought it was a stinkbug but at first, but that's not right. Perhaps a member of the praying mantis family? It has a lovely red proboscis, as you can see, and matching red-tinged legs. Quite fetching, I think, though I am not sure if this is a "good" bug or a "bad" bug. That workshop is coming up NEXT month at my library!

I continue to be pleasantly surprised at how low-maintenance our grass-free landscape is. We don't even seem to have the weed problem we had last year when we first planted everything. Our chores now consist of blowing leaves off our pathways occasionally (back into the mulched beds, of course!) and watering when needed. I enjoy strolling around with pruners in hand giving everything a touch-up too.

Of course, I am adding greatly to my gardening workload by refusing to let well enough alone. Now that I have discovered I can actually grow things, I can't seem to stop! So, I am continuing to add plants where the yard seems sparse, and to embark on any number of new projects. Does this sound familiar?

One of my new projects is nearly complete -- my bathtub herb garden. The clawfoot tub was a a Christmas gift from my husband, purchased for a song through Craigslist. We sanded it, then Rick drilled additional drain holes in the bottom (that was not easy!) and I painted it a soothing seafoam green. Because hot weather was rapidly approaching, I went ahead and planted my herbs in it, after learning from the Master Gardeners that most herbs need a bit of time to establish before Florida's steamy summer sets in. But I still intend to stencil dragonflies on the tub, once my artistic muse returns from wherever it has temporaily fled.

Now I have my favorite fresh herbs for cooking, all in one convenient place. I planted two cilantro plants, because I use cilantro more than any other herb. I also have mint, which is wonderful in iced tea or in salads; parsley; basil; sage; thyme; chives; and in a corner by itself because it likes more heat and less water than the others, rosemary. So far, so good, though past experience tells me summer will take a toll on some of the daintier varieties.

I have one more gardening project in the works, and will talk about that one in another blog post.

What new or ongoing gardening projects are on your Spring to-do list?

The Plant Party Continues

First, let me say this about the USF Botanical Gardens Spring Plant Fair: I showed remarkable restraint.


In fact, I kept thinking after I returned home on Saturday that I really hadn't bought very much and should certainly go back.


The Native Plant Society area is always packed --
 lots of interest in our tough and tenacious native plants.



I am proud to say (and my husband was relieved to hear) that I actually came in UNDER the $100 allotment I allocated myself. In fact, I only spent $80. So, that means I am surely entitled to spent that extra $20 on some other garden-related item in the future, right?


Is there anything more beautiful than an orchid?



I prepared a list of what I needed, and I stuck to that list. Almost. There was that one epidendrum orchid (only $8 -- how could I resist?) and the adorable miniature succulents for my dish gardens. And one vendor had flax lily for sale at such a low price, just $2 a plant, that I grabbed three just to fill in my flax lily bed.

A sampling of adorable cacti and succulents,
 perfect for dish gardens.

But otherwise, I stuck to the list. I bought two more muhly grasses from the native plant vendors, but couldn't find rouge plant or royal or cinnamon ferns, natives also on my list for my shady areas. I found two more of the Neoregilia "Orange Crush" bromeliads, so I now have a nice small bed of five. And I purchased a gorgeous big cast-iron plant -- another great addition to my shade beds. Also purchased some chenille plants, also on my list, which I use as a groundcover in the back yard. A few narrow-leaved sunflowers for the wildflower garden I have started (which also features ironweed, milkweed and blue-eyed grass), and my day was done.



Heck, I should get a booth next year and sell salvias.
They come up like weeds in my garden!



Then I had to plant them all, PLUS the 50 caladium bulbs that I ordered after reading Meems' Hoe and Shovel blog about her visit to the Caladium Nursery! Good thing our grass-free landscape really is proving to be low maintenance, because I don't have time for maintenance with all this planting I'm doing!

I thought there were even more vendors at this year's USF Sale than last year, and more buyers too! My friend Sue and I had to wait in a very long line on Saturday morning just to get in, but it was so worth it. We had fun in line talking to the other garden enthusiasts, most of us equipped with our handy-dandy rolling garden carts with which to haul around our booty. The sale itself was a plant lover's paradise, with everything from herbs to plumerias to exotic fruit trees. This is absolutely one of my favorite events of the year and, if you haven't ever been, put it on your April 2012 calendar now.

Now, I've got to get back to planting...

A Heckuva Plant Party

I took a day off work Friday to drive down to Sarasota to attend my first Tropiflora Spring Plant Festival. Tropiflora is the independent nursery from which I've been mail ordering miniature plants for dish gardens and a few tillandsias (air plants).



Orchid lover's paradise!

 OMG! This festival was to a plant lover what being locked in a Godiva chocolate shop overnight would be to a chocoholic. Tropiflora sells exotics and tropicals from all over the world. I had no idea how big the nursery is, or the tremendous variety of plants they offer. Plus, an additional two dozen or so vendors were there selling plants as well as garden art, garden supplies and even garden furniture.


The "Bargain Tents," where I picked up some
plants for my dish gardens for as little as $1


Orchids, ferns, bromeliads, succulents. It was fascinating just to browse the incredible assortment of plants.


Racks of bromeliads



This is a huge sale and very well-known in the Sarasota area, apparently, but it was all new and wonderful to me. 

I knew I was in trouble when a nice lady leaving the sale gave me the large garden cart she had been using to haul her treasures to her car.

Actually, I managed to restrain myself. I am really trying to utilize more natives in my yard, so I kept the plant buying to a minimum because I am saving my money for the USF Plant Fair this weekend. 



The angel wing begonia in its new home



But I couldn't resist a huge, gorgeous potted angel wing begonia with delicate white flowers, and a trio of eyecatching compact bromeliads called Neoregilia 'Orange Crush" -- with striking green striped foliage with a vivid flame-red center. Red is the primary color in my front yard landscape, and I knew these would provide a nice splash of color underneath my very shady oak tree. I checked with the bromeliad experts (Tropiflora had very knowledgeable staff and volunteers stationed in each plant tent ) and sure enough, this brom is supposed to hold its color in shade and stay fairly compact with minimal spreading. That is important to me because Rick and I removed about 100 bromeliads from our yard during the Great Landscape Makeover last year to reduce pockets of standing water that could harbor mosquito larvae. Those 100 bromeliads came from just two plants I put in the yard about 12 years ago! Naturally, my husband reminded me of this when I returned home with the three adorable little Orange Crush broms.



Who could resist these showy little bromeliads?



I also bought a few miniature plants for my dish garden, and some new tillandsias to replace the ones the squirrels ate after Rick and I created an elaborate framework of fishing line and eye hooks to artistically place them along the trunk of our majestic oak tree in the front yard. The very next day the tillandsias were gone. Not scattered on the ground around the tree, but gone! disappeared! and the fishing line severed. A wildlife biologist friend told me placing those tillandsias on that oak was like giving those tree rats a meal at a 4-star French bistro.

I've learned my lesson. My new tiilandsias are going to be anchored to driftwood and suspended from the side of our detached shed, where the squirrels can't get them. Theoretically.

Even though I really don't need many more plants in my landscape, the Tropiflora excursion reminded me of how inspiring and just plan fun it can be to spend a day with beautiful plants and like-minded plant lovers. I'm already getting excited about the USF Plant Sale -- my wish list is ready!

Who else is going to the USF Fest?