My Spring Garden - Photo Essay - (Updated & Republished)

Living in Florida we are lucky to enjoy our garden most of the year, but even in Florida there is something special about spring. 

I love to garden, have garden parties or a Sunday afternoon BBQ. Sometimes I hang out with a friend sipping a glass of wine in our gazebo, right under the old oak tree. Other times I hide out with a book in our secret garden or we enjoy a weekend brunch in the privacy of our backyard.

See the colorful ribbon caught in the breeze hung up in the cherry bushes - like a May dance.

Everything looks happy to be in the shade of the old oak tree - it is the most wonderful shady spot in our garden all year around. Photo taken in early March.

I loved the combination of the hot tropical colors of the impatiens and the hot pink of the azalea.

This is our Surinam Cherry photographed in early March.

Surinam cherries are a bush and the orange/red cherries have a decidedly tart taste. 

Can you believe that these cherries are already ripening in May?

Don't they look good enough to eat? I took this picture just a couple of days ago.

Inspired by the signs of spring all around me, I started my annual re-potting back in March and I am just now finishing up with the last plantings. I made a lot of changes to the landscape this year.

The cypress wood loveseat rocker in this picture was last years big indulgence.

We had been admiring the handmade craftsmanship at a local plant festival for a good five years. Each year, we'd find the booth, sit down and then look at each other smiling and agree that this bench is really comfortable. 

We love it - it is beautifully made by a local craftsman, ergonomically correct - your back will thank you, no matter your size, it feels good. It is generously proportioned with arms wide enough for a drink and a plate. 

I plan to let it grey naturally-no work involved.

Here is another one of my favorite finds from two years ago, two large Italian terra cotta urns. 

Violets, Snapdragon and Mille Bells planted in March.

To my delight I found tri-color violets in the prettiest shades this year, but better yet they are scented. A lovely viola scent just like I remember from my childhood, I was so thrilled. 

I have been gardening for years, but I can tell you that Florida presents a special challenge. The seasons here are reversed and our summers are so hot that it isn't possible to do anything, except water whenever we are not under a total water restriction. I try my best to find a bit of shade for every potted plant and hope it makes it through our hot, humid summers. 

That is one reason why I like using moisture control soil, because it really helps the plants retain moisture, a worthwhile investment in our climate. During a plant fair someone recommended Osmocote as a fertilizer and I have used it ever since.

We do not use pesticides of any kind in the garden, except for fire ants since I am allergic to them and we have not found anything organic that is effective.

AZALEAS - one of my biggest garden plunders!

The plan was to have a hedge to screen off the gazebo area. I knew they were evergreen which made them a great choice, so I thought.

Mistake # 1: First of all, neither the plant book nor the nursery told me that azaleas are some of the slowest growing plants on the planet. It will take 10 to 15 years before they reach maturity.

Mistake #2: When they bloomed I saw that I had plain white azaleas instead of the creamy, slightly vanilla color I had envisioned. The pink I purchased turned out to be a hot pink that fought with the fire engine red geraniums and other plantings  in the same area.

Mistake #3: The two pink azaleas bloomed first and just when they were about finished the four white azaleas started opening. I had planned on simultaneous blooms, not consecutive flowering. 

My solution: I decided to dig up all the white azaleas except for one and plant them in contaimers instead.

Then I added pretty underplantings of colorful impatiens which loved the extra shade in the summer. 

So in the end everybody was happy - don't they look beautiful?

The double impatiens in the front are actually on a plant stand, but I thought they added to the composition of the picture.

Here is the only azalea left in the ground. I love that the blossoms have a pink tint, but they do open all white.

A couple of days later in full bloom. You can tell that this plant is actually smaller than the one in the pot.

The last two blooms on my azaleas taken at the end of April.

Jewelry for my garden. 

 Doesn't she look great against the backdrop of the grass iris?

The rainbow on her head occured over time due to exposure to the sun. 

Reminds me of Mother Earth somehow.

  

Best of all our garden is a place where the critters feel welcome too.

It was so exciting to catch a picture of the male Cardinal sitting on our oak tree above the gazebo. Maybe next time I will get lucky with a closer, better shot.

While I was hoping for another shot at the Cardinal another visitor arrived to drink at the fountain.

The Mockingbird is Florida's state bird and not as abundant as it used to be.

Art and sounds of water splashing are what brings a garden to life.

As you can see, the plantings (in March) underneath the fountain look a bit disheveled with wild shamrock, the last blooms of the Christmas poinsettias and spent white impatiens.

Our fountain is one of the focal points in our garden and I designed it so that I can change out the plantings surrounding the circle within a couple of hours.

It is an easy way to welcome each season and even when my time is limited I can pick up five new plants and a bag of mulch and voila - it sparkles anew.

In April I planted colorful geraniums to enjoy during the spring and summer season.

I love the splashing sound of the water in our fountain!

Now it is the beginning of May and already 85 degrees today, so my gardening is done other than weeding if I really have to and watering to keep the plants alive. The mini veggie garden is always an experiment and my herb garden requires little attention.

To give you a better perspective of this part of my garden - here is another view.

There are actually four different garden areas in this half of our property. Two are open and accessible, one small area is hidden from view - my Secret Garden (I wrote two articles on it, if you are interested) and another garden area is open, but was designed to always be either partially or fully hidden from view depending on where you are in the garden.

Since this is the party central area of the garden (I also wrote a separate article on Party Central, if you would like to see more) I thought I would end this updated version of my spring garden with a bit of party fun from our first garden party in April this year.

Party Ballon flying off the gazebo - Cheers, dahling:) 

I hope you have enjoyed your visit to my garden today - thank you for coming along. 

Until next time - have fun creating the garden of your dreams.

Oh, and Jimbo our resident garden kitty wanted to send purrs, but at the moment he is all tuckered out from following me around while I took garden pics.

All images were taken by Rose H. with an Olympus D-540 digital camera