Plant of the Day!

I thinking about trying something new. Plant of the Day!

So today's plant of the day is, Carolina RedRoot.

This neat little reed/iris/garlic looking plant decided to spring up in my yard. It has begun blooming and from what I see the insects seem to adore it.

It seems essentially care free because I never once bothered to care for it.

I did some research and found out that it a native to florida, even though name says Carolina.

Requires Full Sun to grow, and loves moisture. I attached an image, not the one in my own yard but from google. Will add more photos later.

At my old house growing up these used to grow all around our lake. The bumblebees and Butterflies seem to love them. I'm told Hummingbirds do as well but have not seen it myself. They really make a statement when there is a field of them. I do not know of any nurseries or websites that sell them which is sad.

New Blog

So as you can imagine i'm in love with the Tesla Model S. Eco friendly. Beautiful.

In my mind it is the greatest car ever made. I am trying everything I can to get my hands on it. From looking into starting my own business, to trying crowdfunding on websites like Indiegogo.com

If you want to check out what im trying to do, go to the following links.
Click here for the business I have in mind: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/dolphin-gear/x/7426150

Click here for my Tesla Dreams:https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/i-need-a-tesla/x/7426150

and this is my other blog:http://tesladreamer.blogspot.com/

New house, New plans.

So I left off a while back at a new house. Well, I moved again. I left all my plants behind at the old home. The butterfly bushes, blueberry bushes, sweet almond bush, pampas grass, tickseed, milkweed, passion flower, orange bird of paradise, buttercups, tomato, hyssop, lollipop verbena, carnation, lavender, lavendula, and strawberry plants.
The neighbor took them and planted them quite nicely in his front yard, so at least they are being taken care of. I went back to snag up my pampas grass and blueberry bushes but I was too late. Someone else had already taken them. Hopefully whoever it was knows what they took.

Out new home is coming along nicely. It was a fixer upper on the outside but after some back breaking work laying down new grass, we have a green yard once more. I have begun planting impatients, marigolds, pincussions, begonias, firebush, butterfly bush, anise hyssop, and sunflowers.
Much more needs to be done but all in due time. Im enjoying all the butterflies already with my pot of milkweed, and porter  weed. The bees seem to be enjoying the African Blue Basil.

Pictures coming soon

What I've been up to.

    Havent blogged for quite some time, I have been so busy with working on my back yard. With it already being spring here in florida I have been as busy as a carpenter bee.


My bare back yard has transformed in a butterfly/ bee/ bird garden. I have planted pampas grass as an accent plant and a place for frogs to hide. 2 Mexican Sage for the Hummingbirds to sip on, Yellow milkweed for the monarchs and bees to feed on. Carnations because well the smell good, Fern leaf lavender, and normal lavender for the honey bees, Blueberry bushes for myself and the birds, Lollipop verbena for butterflies and many many more.

Today my hard work is paying off! I have mocking birds and cardinals hopping around my plants, Butterflies on my butterfly bush, carpenter bees everywhere, honey bees like nobodys business, and tree frogs are starting to show up!

OH! Since I live in florida how could I not buy a Passion Flower vine for our state butterfly? So I managed to snag one of those at Lowes.

If you live in central florida I highly suggest heading over to Duncheons nursery, its right there at 54/41 near the post office. Everyone is so nice, the plant selection is great and the prices are reasonable.

This is a butterfly bush I bought from them, you can see its doing its job. I have drainage problems in my yard so I mounded dirt so it will drain properly.

Attract Florida Zebra Wing Butterfly

      These are one of my personal favorites when it comes to butterflies, a Native of Florida and the state butterfly. These are pretty simple to attract to your yard, all you need are the right plants and you will have them in no time!

Here is a list of plants that will attract the Zebra Wing Butterfly:


Porter Weed- Florida friendly perennial with little purple flowers on stalks. Plant in Full sun.

Fire Spike- A tropical plant with broad leaves that blooms in late summer, It will bring butterflies in                         drones. Especially humingbirds. Dies back at frost but quickly recovers. Plant in Full Sun
                  Also does well in Filtered sun. I had this growing under the shade of oak trees as well.

Butterfly Bush-  This wonderfully fragrant bush is sure to bring in butterflies, thus the name. It smells                               something fantastic and is so beautiful when it blooms, coming a variety of colors to                               choose from. Plant in Full sun.

Fire Bush- A florida native, this bush is very drought tolerant and makes a beautiful hedge. Becoming                     covered in tiny red tube flowers, this bush attracts hummingbirds as well. Growing                                 moderately fast it will fill in any spaces where you need some privacy. Berries also attract                       birds. Plant this in full sun.

Passion Flower vine- Choose the native variety. It looks nicer, and is the host plant for the Zebra                                           Wing caterpillars. If you dont have a host plant in your yard you wont be able to                                      enjoy the constant flutter. Instead you get only fleeting moments of them. Passion                                    flower vine is very resilient to the munching of caterpillars and I barely noticed it                                    when they were on mine. This fast growing vine makes a perfect addition to any                                    garden. Plant in full sun and don't over water.

This is not the native variety of passion flower but they use this as well.

Help the Monarch Butterfly

No garden is complete until you have constant flutter of some Monarch Butterflies. Sadly these beautiful insects are in a decline due to a number of factors ranging from habitat loss, to herbicides and pesticides.
You can easily help out these fluttering friends! They are honestly very easy to attract, all you will need is the following:

1. Garden space/ or Patio.

2. Milkweed.

That's it! If you go for the bare essentials. Milkweed is the host plant for the butterflies caterpillars and also its nectar source when its older.

Milkweed is easily grown in a container or in the ground. Simply give it full sun and water and it will thrive. Whatever you do, do not use fertilizers or pesticides. It sort of ruins the point of gardening for them if you use harmful chemicals.

Plant varieties of milkweed if possible, along with other nectar sources for best results and a beautiful garden. Plant tall shrubs to give the caterpillars a place to make chrysalis. The best part about milkweed is that it will readily re-seed and you can collect the seeds to plant indoors for next spring depending on your region.

Ornamental Grass

Ornamental Grasses For Florida.

With more and more people looking to rid their property of turf grass and replace is with ornamental grasses, the question comes up as to which ones to plant.

Well lucky for you I have some answers! 

If you are looking for something to line the back property to hide neighbors or something unsightly then I recommend some Pampas Grass. Now you may think i'm crazy because some people tend to not like this grass. When planted correctly in the right area it can be a blessing. Growing up to 6 feet, then when it makes its beautiful puffs of "flowers" its about 9 feet tall. Plant it in full sun, and very good drought specimen.  I had these at my old house to give me some privacy and I loved them. So hardy and heat loving. I didnt give it any love and it couldnt care less. Just kept on growing strong! Blooming late summer and putting on a good show. When I would go look at it closely I saw it harboring lots of native tree frogs, I assume the saw like blades protect them from predators. I wish I had the room to put it in my new home. I strongly suggest this plant if you have the space. Even planting it as a single specimen is wonderful, or placed a bit back from a bench or pond. Also comes in a dwarf variety. 

If you are looking for something a bit smaller than I suggest a Native grass, Fakahatchee grass. It's one of my favorites. Perfectly green and graceful in the wind. I love planting this grass behind ponds, it really ads that "meadow" affect. It gets about 4-5 feet tall, likes rich soil, full sun, grows very fast, and can tolerate periods of drought. Most plant this under cypress trees, and around ponds. You can plant this with palmetto and pine trees to give a natural look. They are perfect for stabilizing erosion areas, they have deep dense roots that works really well and holding the soil together. Also comes in a dwarf variety.

Here is a picture in the link http://www.selandscapefl.com/images/fakahatchee_large.jpg

Fountain grass is also really beautiful and one of the easiest grasses to grow, it looks perfect along sidewalks and in mass plantings. Plant with caution and ask friends and neighbors if they have some. In the right environment it can be pretty invasive and obnoxious to get rid of. California for example is over run with it. I did not have this issue when I had it, but i have read and heard some stories. Anyways it is a great drought plant, will do fine with too much water as well. Full sun is a must, Looks great with flowers and around water features like bird baths and ponds. Gets about 3-4 feet tall.  Here's a picture I took while in California. Also comes in a Dwarf variety.