I have
finally decided to get out in the yard and play in the garden.
When it’s cold, I will make up any excuse I can think of to stay
inside. Those plants will have to learn to get by on their own.
Tom doesn’t seem to mind the cold so I let him go outside by
himself if he wants, and he has, thank goodness.
At our
house, in the past week, though, we’ve been doing lots of pruning
and dumping of some potted plants that we don’t want to wait to
see if they ‘might’ return. We were hit by all those freezing
temperatures this winter just as you were also. So we’ll be
visiting a few garden centers to redo and renew our landscape.
We’ll probably see you there.
There will be a full moon March 30th. It’s called the Full Worm
moon because as the ground begins to soften after a northern
winter earthworm casts reappear inviting the return of robins. The
robins migration passed through Florida on their way North during
the last 2 weeks of February.
The Sap Moon is another name
because that’s when the sap begins to flow in the northern maple
trees. The trees are then tapped and the resulting liquid is
boiled down to make maple sugar and maple syrup.
Central
Florida
Average High - 79º - Average Low - 56º
Expected rainfall is 3.54"
In 1994 the record high was 92º
In 1980 the record low was 20º
Tallahassee
Average High - 74º - Average Low - 48º
Expected rainfall is 6.47"
In 2006 the record high was 91º
In 1986 the record low was 20º
Jacksonville
Average High - 70º - Average Low 53º
Expected rainfall is 3.92"
In 1964 the record high was 94º
In 1980 the record low was 24º
Melbourne
Average High - 77º - Average Low - 55º
Expected rainfall is 2.92"
In 1994 the record high was 93º
In 1980 the record low was 25º
Florida Wildlife Adventures for
March
Red Fox
-Carolina wrens are in their
nesting time.
-There will be quite a few birds
migrating from Central and South America.
-Mangrove
cuckoos are returning to the Keys
-Summer
tanagers and great-crested flycatchers have arrived and
are in their breeding cycle.
-Swallow
tailed kites return to south Florida wetlands.
-The
chuck-will’s-widows have just returned. Listen for them
after sunset.
-Wild turkey and quail begin their
breeding cycle in central and north Florida.
-Quail are now
in their breeding phase throughout Florida.
-Red foxes are
now emerging from remote beaches.
-Manatee
populations have been greater than expected this year.
This month will probably be your last chance to see
them this year
-Striped skunks are now in their
mating phase.....fighting often occurs. So be very
careful if you are out walking in the woods.
-Male frogs
and toads move to ponds, streams and ditches to breed
during rainy nights.
(click to enlarge)
Hints:
This plant is a relative to the Spanish Bayonet, dracaena and ti
plants. It is a succulent. The plant itself can grow to about 6 ft.
with flowers that grow on top of stalks that are very tall! If you
see this plant....be a little careful. Don’t lean against it or you
will be very sorry. It’s not a good addition to your landscape if
you have children or pets.
So enjoy it at a botanical garden
or garden center. It’s probably not the best plant to have in your
backyard.
Do you know...... ? ? Whatizzzit ? ?
Hate all the pruning of those winter-damaged
plants? Try these plant suggestions.
By now you’ve probably
done all the pruning you needed or wanted to do and your
landscape is no longer a vista of 40 shades of beige, brown
and black. If you’re trying to decide on some replacements
that won’t cause you all that grief and pruning work next
spring, I have some suggestions that may help you.
Right now there are a few shrubs and trees that are flowering
that didn’t seem to mind the cold at all. Best of all they
will provide a nice background for winter damaged annuals,
perennials and sensitive shrubs in the future or ones that you
may not have had time to prune back yet this winter.
But.....next year, if you plant any of the following when and
if the cold hits us again there will still be a little color
left in your landscape.
The Loropetalum is still in
full bloom and has been since the beginning of January. It has
delicate deep pink flowers and dark green foliage. Loropetalum
is an evergreen shrub and will make a good background plant,
hedge or a stand alone specimen. Our Loropetalum is about 15
ft. tall and wide. There is a dwarf version also so make sure
you read the label carefully so you won’t be disappointed. Our
full grown Loropetalum is planted near and overhangs a rounded
walkway and it has provided a canopy of flowers in the winter
and in summer a shaded walkway.
The Pink Tabebuia is
now in full bloom with soft pink flowers and on warm days it
will fill the air with a light vanilla scent. This is a medium
sized shade tree which grows about 25 ft. tall and as wide. It
makes a nice tree to shade an outside patio or eating area. It
is deciduous so it will lose it’s leaves in early winter. Ours
did get burned back a little but is blooming nicely now.
The Loquat tree is now in full bloom. It is a very tough
evergreen shade tree. Ivory colored flower clusters are softly
scented and Loquat the benefit you get
here is....it will give you very nice, deliciously, sweet
fruit later in the spring. Flowering time is off and on fall
through March.
And as the whole world probably knows by
now.....my favorite shrub, the tea olive or osmanthus is in
full bloom. Right now both of ours are totally covered with
tiny white flowers that smell like ripe apricots that gently
scent the air. It’s an evergreen shrub that grows about 10 ft.
tall and 4-5ft. wide. When mature they will bloom 3 or 4 times
a year.
The viburnum suspensum is also in bloom with
clusters of white flowers. It’s a small evergreen shrub that
only grows about 4 -5 ft. tall and as wide. A very tough and
carefree plant. There are other types of viburnum some that
grow very tall.....so if you want the small variety.....it’s
viburnum suspensum. It makes a great hedge plant as it won’t
require very much pruning.
Other plants that are
blooming right and were hardly touched by the cold weather at
all were:
Pansies and violas. These annuals will add
lots of color to your Pansy garden. They do not
like hot weather at all and when it comes they will die.
Bulbine did well and so did the Petunias and chenille
plant. Some petunia flowers burned back but didn’t kill the
plant and are now in full bloom. We use the Chenille plant as
a ground cover and it had a few leave slightly burned but the
plant stayed in bloom. Bulbine
The Amazon
Lily made it through all our cold weather with only the
slightest damage but that never stopped it from blooming. They
may be found in stores right now in the bulb section. Another
nice thing about this lily is that grows in dense shade and
the blooms look very much like a narcissus.
And
mentioning narcissus Tom grew some from bulbs and planted Narcissus them outside and
they have been in bloom for a month or so through all this
cold weather. Our neighbor planted some in his garden last
spring. They survived the summer and bloomed beautifully for
him this winter. Narcissus are always a reminder of springtime
for us transplanted Northerners.
Even though the
citrus trees aren’t in flower right now, they soon will be.
Lots of citrus can be harvested throughout the winter. We have
totally enjoyed ours this winter. It’s nice to know our fresh
orange juice came from our backyard and we didn’t have to
purchase one drop all winter long. That’s quite money
saver!
Finally, it’s also a good idea to check with
your friends and neighbors to see what plants survived the
winter chills and did well.....and ones that didn’t. This is a
good way to make future decisions on what to plant in your
yard.
