Fall in My Central Florida Garden

Well, I've gone and done it again... not posting regularly as I promised myself that I would - since February! Yikes.

This time, it has to change. Why, you ask? Well, I've left my full-time day job, although I'm still teaching classes at the college in the evenings. But without the 8 - 5 (or 6 or 7-ish) grind, I am hoping to spend time on my real love of tending the "yarden."

Looking around the ol' Ponderosa, I see so many deferred projects that I can't imagine having time to do what I love which includes not only creating and growing, but then taking pics to share and writing about the experience, whether good or bad.

The kitchen court yard, once green and flowery, and herby, with occasional containerized tomatoes (nematodes, you know), is now mostly barren - it is almost November, after all.

But this year it was rather cute during the summer with zinnias, foxgloves (which never did really do well this year), pentas, annual dahlias, angelonia and torenia. Had some nice color for a while, but lots o' rain, then DRY, then RAIN, then dry, didn't do any of the plants any favors.

The cute whiskey barrel planters from, oh, I think 2006, have finally given up the ghost and rotted through, so I need to plan for replacements/reconfiguring those areas for next spring.

For now, I'm going to concentrate on the cool season and the opportunity for salad greens like arugula, mesclun, spinach, kale and various lettuces for the cooler season. Also got a tomato plant (yeah, I know, not from seed) to hopefully augment the salad bowl.

I still hold out hope that THIS year (like all the past) will be THE year that I finally am able to grow and play and LOVE My Central Florida Garden!