Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows,
Quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine,
With sweet musk-roses and with eglantine.
~ from A Midsummer Night's Dream
Though it is February, I live in Florida, and this time of year, I garden.
Here in the Sunshine State, Feb. thru April is prime time in the bloom department. By the time May and June gets here, it's just too hot to spend too much time outside, and flowers definitely take a beating under the summer sun.
The picture above is of my azaleas, who have been fooled by a false early Spring into blooming early.
To the right is a white rose from a bush given to me on Valentine's Day one year by my husband. The rose variety is called "Love". (Can I get an "Awww!")? I counted over 30 blooms on it yesterday. I have several varieties of roses, and find them very easy to grow as long as I water them often, and trim them ruthlessly.
These are snapdragons, who seem to have gone crazy all of a sudden. They're among my favorite flowers, and these are big and pink, with a deep yellow throat.
I also love impatiens, which come in so many different colors and really need a shady spot to thrive down here in Florida - the sun will do them in. These are a dark "lipstick" pink, and getting bigger every day. I'll trim these soon, and stick the snipped pieces into a vase full of water, where they will quickly root. Voila, more impatiens!
New Guinea impatiens, on the other hand, love the sun, but require plenty of water to withstand it. These on the left are bright orange. (In the same photo, you can see a rabbit's foot fern, a hoya, a large pot of ivy, and the trumpet vine that covers my fence. All sun-loving.)
There's a lot more to see, and I would show you more, but my little friend Pan is calling... he hides in a shady spot to play his flute among the flowers of my garden, probably hoping to lure Titania, Queen of the Fairies. She could be out there now, drinking nectar from my passion flowers.
One never knows!
