A Date

My Husband decides to treat me to an outing looking at plants.  He took me to a few local Native nurseries then off to The Florida Botanical Gardens.

The Gardens

Passion Flower (Passiflora Incarnata)

It looks like a snake head.

Texas Olive Tree (Cordia Boissieri)

Blanket Flower (Gaillardia)

I Don't know

Plumeria (not sure what species)

I would love to visit again.

Baby trees

I joined the Arbor Day Foundation.  Anyone can join for just $10.00 and you receive ten free trees or you can donate your trees to a national forest.  I picked ten flowering trees.  Three Eastern Redbuds, four White Dogwoods, and three Goldenrain Trees showed up on my door step.  

Of course there isn't the space for ten little trees that will grow to around thirty-five feet tall.  One Redbud and one Dogwood found homes in the front yard.  The rest found homes with friends.  I was surprised how excited everyone had become about the trees.

The whole planting process took a very short amount of time.  Between digging, planting, and mulching, it took maybe 30 minutes.  I did forget to soak the trees for three hours like the directions said...that is what I get for planting before coffee and breakfast.  I really hope they do okay.  I have checked them twice a day looking for signs of life out of them.

Amending the soil

Now that we have the answers from our little experiment on soil testing, what do we do with the information?  Well, we need to prep the ground for planting; add what is missing.  Nitrogen needs to be added, blood meal is a nice organic answer.  I won't tell you what it is made from, but I bet you can guess.  It also will keep the wild chickens away (remember old farmland, now city).  We also need to till the ground to break up the compacted sand/clay soil.

The yard is covered in an unidentified grass that has been growing since the house was built.  It's never been watered either, thanks to my father.  He was a pioneer, and probably didn't even know it.  He said, "If it is meant to grow, it will grow.  Whether we water or not".  After looking into making a Florida friendly yard, that is exactly how it should be done.  The point is, the grass that is growing now is so tough, it has withstood months of very little rain.  To even get to the soil, you have to take a shovel and cut into the roots of the grass because it is so matted together and tightly bound to the earth.  So, my soil is going to get some sweat into it also.  It should be good for it.

There are many methods to amending the soil.  I really don't know if one is better than another.  They all create the same effect.  We chose our method because we are limited on resources, but have plenty of sweat to add.

All of our yard is pretty well flat and devoid of rocks and shrubs.  We didn't need to remove any of that.  We have some compost/manure bags on hand.  So, we dig out the area that the new garden is going to go into, to a depth of six to eight inches.  We add what amendment are needed.  In our case, organic matter and nitrogen.  Most Florida gardens would need nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.  The fertilizer grade that is most recommended is 6-6-6.  That is 6% of each element to add.

Visit http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/vh025 Fertilizing the Garden, for more information.

Now that amendments are added, we replace the soil we removed and cover the ground with weed tarp or heavy plastic.  The weed tarp/heavy plastic will kill off the grass that was disturbed and let the fertilizer settle into the soil.  We are going to give this two months.  Waiting this time period is good for two reasons:

     1. It is the start of summer, and boy does it get hot here!
     2. It is the start of rainy season, and what good would adding nutrients to the soil be if they just run off with the rain?

Drip drop

It's raining it's pouring...I wish I had a rain barrel...

A walk in the garden

What can we see what grows wild in a Florida yard.  I am the one who usually mows the grass I find it a nice activity (I know I 'm weird).  I let the yard grow for a while to see what we really had but not to long the neighbors got worried we had run away.

Really don't know what this is

This is a  type of Sida plant. Common Wireweed

Scarlet Spiderling (Boerhavia)

Creeping indigo (indigofera spicata)

Horseherb (Calyptocarpus vialis)

Turkey tangle fogfruit (Phyla nodiflora)

Mexican clover/Florida pusley (richardia scabra)

Phlox?

 Kiss me quick (Portulaca)

Beggar weed (desmodium) I really love this tiny plant

Phlox (phlox drummondii)

(phlox drummondii)

(phlox drummondii)

A few of the wilder plants growing.  I didn't add the Spanish needle that pops up all over.  Also Lantana that is growing wild but is not the Florida species.

Enjoy!

Soil testing

First math, next chemistry.  This is getting good!  I picked up a soil test kit from a garden center and played mad scientist.  The kids found it great fun watching the vials change colors.  I expected a real mess with soil and water, but it wasn't.

After testing, we discovered the soil is pH 7, right at neutral. The pH tests with soil and water mixed. Testing the nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium was a little different.  The test has you place a special tablet into the soil and water mix and you test from that water.

Our nitrogen is just about non-existent, so we will have to add some of that.  This is normal for Florida soil; along with phosphorus and potassium.  What surprised me, was our phosphorus and potassium is at the highest level!  I am not sure if I did the test wrong, or if we really do have good soil.  The old story about this area says it was farm land.  Perhaps that is why the soil tested so nicely.

I decided to go back and check a different spot in the yard just to check.  I took a picture of the out comes this time.  The results where a little different.  The second spot was only about 20 ft. away.  The pH is up by one point, and the phosphorus is a little lower.  Just goes to show that the yard is not created equal.

The University of Florida IFAS will test your soil pH.  The test is $3.00, and $7.00 for pH and macro nutrient test.  I think I may go ahead and pay for the analysis just to see what it is all about.

http://soilslab.ifas.ufl.edu/ESTL%20Tests.asp.  This web page may help you with some extra information.

Size... Does it really matter?

To create a great garden, I need to find out about the space available.  It is very small.  I have been reading up on a lot of home garden blogs trying to get ideas and information.  Man, some of those yards are AMAZING!  I have a back yard measuring 16 ft. by 56 ft., or 896 sq. ft.  Not so amazing.  Plus, we want to create a small patio that will be about 140 sq. ft. in some way, shape, or form. We have to finish that little piece of design planning.  The downfall to having two creative minds and one of them being indecisive (me).

What is the recommended size for a butterfly garden?  Well I, asked my good friend Google and this is what he found; http://www.ehow.com/facts_7717652_recommended-size-butterfly-garden.html.  10 ft. by 12 ft is what they say, but any size will do.  You can even create a butterfly garden with container plants.  That brought to mind the apartment my Mother-in-Law had a while back.  She had a second story place with a balcony.  Every inch was filled with potted plants, her own personal jungle.  I remember a visit with her one summer.  Early in the morning I was sitting on the couch with the baby (why do they always wake up so early) and we watched a hummingbird exploring her flowers on the balcony!  Yes, a great garden can even happen on a balcony.

So my little "not-so-amazing" yard really can turn into something amazing.  The square footage doesn't matter.  What matters is that we have a plan to create a flowering work of art.  My daughter and I know what plants we like.  We are researching what plants are native to our area so they will survive and produce well.  Our little space will turn into a safe haven for fairies... I mean butterflies... and bring us joy all year.   I am so excited!