Update on the gardens 3/12/12

Times like this I am thankful to call Florida my home. I am sitting here with the windows open, listening to my various wind chimes, and feeling the cool night air drifting inside. Ahhhh this is the life!

I went outside to take stock of the gardens. My green beans are doing great. The pole beans are all the way up to the first section of the trellis I made! The bush beans are coming in a little slower, and I count about 4 places that I know I planted beans but nothing is sprouting. I will have to keep an eye on them. I have one zucchini/squash plant (not sure which one it is yet!) that survived the transplant, and it's leaves are huge! At least 5 inches across! I planted Thai Chachai watermelon a few days ago. It's an heirloom icebox variety, meaning it will not be gigantic,maybe only 7 pounds. Those have not sprouted yet. The tomatoes almost fill up the cages they are in. I remember when they were little lads, barely an inch tall (tear!) They are covered in little yellow flowers, which I think turn into tomatoes? My four California green bell pepper and four jalapeno pepper plants are doing well also. They have reached their maximum height (about a foot off the ground) and many are sprouting tiny peppers already! How exciting! The pumpkins have each sprouted some leaves and are looking happy. The oregano is getting bigger, but the basil is looking a little pale. My basil got huge last year, not sure what is different this year?

Now off to the front yard. All the herbs are doing well! The rosemary and lavender smell so nice, I wonder if they will get flowers this year. They did not last year. The peony and pansies are holding up, but the longer days and hotter sun are starting to wilt them a little. The bougainvillea is looking a little sad :(  the flowers all fell off and it looks like sticks, but I am hoping they come back. The holly tree is getting a little taller, it's maybe a foot tall now. The apple tree is blooming all over the place for such a small tree! The tiny apple is still growing too :)  The orange tree is half dead, but the alive half has the best smelling blossoms. Oh my how I love citrus blossoms! The gardenias are still hurting. They seem to be dying off, and I cannot see any bugs on them. I tested the soil and it's pretty neutral so we added some vinegar and peat moss to acidify it, but alas! I hope they make it, they are my husband's favorite. And the one myrtle that survived is doing well!

Speaking of those myrtles, I told Chris that when we go to the Greenfest at UT in two weeks I want to buy more myrtles (they are supposed to act as a natural barrier) and at first he agreed. Then he said "You know what, get a couple of Meyer's lemon trees and put them over there." SWEET! Those trees have some of the most wonderful smelling blossoms, the leaves are interesting, and the fruit is awesome. Whew-hoo! I can hardly wait :)

So, how does your garden look?