Sunny Florida

I cannot believe it has been over a year since I posted here. So much has happened.  I had my last meeting as President of the Saugus Garden Club last May and the last plant sale that I headed up.  Into the fall and my husband got laid off from his job in Nov. The new job was in Sunny Florida! He started in January and we bought ourselves a home in  the Orlando area {not near Disney, peeps.} I had to move household in between the twin blizzards. Brought some plants, gave away or disposed of others and some did not survive the trip on the truck down here. But I am established here now and beginning to build a new Florida garden in my little corner of the Sunshine State.

The start of my Florida Garden

I have potted up all the surviving succulents, planted some herbs, begun a true shade garden and put some gorgeous salmon colored geraniums in pots by the front door.  A good start I think.

I will try to get back sooner than a year to this with more pictures.

Hi, everyone!
The end of the summer work is done.  That is, the Garden Club yearbook has been composed, proofed, printed and distributed.  We put one out every year. Yours truly has done it the last three years because it has been on my computer. It drives me crazy, till I have the finished copy in my hot little hands. Then, peace returns. Until I realize that the Amateur Horticulture Schedule must be produced for MassHort at the Flower Show {Boston Flower and Garden Show}.  That is now done and up on the MassHort website.

In this, the 70th anniversary year of the Saugus Garden Club, I am now the Saugus Garden Club Historian pro tem.  I have been tracking down club tree plantings.  This one below was put on top of  Round Hill, more of a rocky knob really, in town for a beautification project in 1972.  The same hill is depicted on the Town of Saugus town seal and has been declared a Town historic site and the Historical Commission plans a small park at the base.  Toby and I risked our necks trying to climb this hill the other day and it made me wonder:  How did those Garden Club ladies in their hats, gloves and Sunday best get up that danged hill?  Also, there's no way they dug that hole, put in the tree and watered it in those outfits.  Not a speck of mud visible anywhere! Toby and I only made it half way up the hill and I slipped and landed on my butt and scraped my elbow.  They appear to be planting an oak tree on the bare top of the hill.  Today there are many youngish oak trees up there from what I could see which might be descendants of the Garden Club's mighty oak.

Members of the Saugus Garden Club planting a tree on Round Hill
in Saugus in 1972 and Round Hill today.

Of the other trees there are two at Town Hall, one on the front lawn and one in the little park at the back that are still there.  Couldn't find a trace of the tulip tree {Liriodendron tulipfera} that was planted at the Saugus Iron Works for the Bicentennial celebration in 1976. The Iron Works Naturalist Susannah was a great help.  Last year, the Garden Club planted two dwarf Alberta Spruces at the Blue Star Memorial Byway marker in Veterans Park in Saugus.  

Over the years, the Garden Club has made plantings in the rotaries in town which are long gone, advised on the upkeep of the shrubs there, planted the Butterfly Garden at the Breakheart Reservation and currently has a crop of vegetables growing in containers on the front lawn of the Saugus Public Library. This last is in conjunction with the Library's Plantastic Program for children. Another member and I kept them watered all summer. We expect a decent potato crop after harvesting orange cherry tomatoes all summer.

The weather has seriously cooled down and I am cleaning out the sunroom shelves and beginning to bring in my houseplants from their summer vacation spots outside. Lots of dirt to clean and spiders to chase away.  More on this effort anon.  

Happy Gardening folks!

Well, trashed more of the wild asters, evil wildflower that it is. Got out the oak seedlings, and a couple of maples. Put in some compost and planted some astilbe 'Fanal' and a burgundy leaved cranesbill.  Too hot to stay out there and paid for this work in blood to the mosquitoes. Oh, also staked the largest branch of my tree peony. Best part of this is that I worked next to my row of Stargazer lilies, which are in full bloom and scent.  They took a bit of Lily Leaf Beetle damage but all bloomed just fine.
The astilbe came from the markdown rack at Lowe's. Have some New Guinea Impatiens and lantana to plant out somewhere. May make the lantana a hanging basket.  
I separated a large bunch of miniature hosta 'Lakeside Elfin Fire' a couple of weeks ago and put it in a window box, but squirrels keep digging it up. Sigh.
Have to go over to the Library and water now and should check on  the plants at Breakheart tomorrow.
Matt gave his basil a haircut and we just made some pesto.

Back to the Window!

The orchid from my sunroom! First entry into the orchid classes at the Boston Flower Show.

Little Darling Begonia in the panda pot.  Judges didn't get it. 

Pelargonium Peppermint Twist from my sunroom.

Mother and Baby Aloe 'Christmas Carol' from my sunroom

Euphorbia milii  my Market Basket plant

Well, it's been a while.   There was the Flower Show in March.  The last couple of Garden Club meetings as President.  Lots of cold and rain, thunder and lightning and even a close call with a tornado warning.  I have been to the Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum, Newport Flower Show, The Mount, Tanglewood and Rhinebeck, NY. and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.  Tomorrow I will be attempting to make hypertufa pots with my friend Randy-Sue. I will be adding some pictures from my various adventures. In the meantime, here's my summer prize: my Bougainvillea,  which hadn't bloomed for a while has been wildly blooming all summer on the bench outside the kitchen door. Also, a couple of daylilies, currently blooming.

Bougainvillea

Two daylilies!

Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch...

Photos: M. Clouse

Here's what's happening in the sunroom!

My hibiscus

The latest bloom on the pelargonium

Vancouver Centennial with summer color

Phalaenopsis bloomed Friday.
The other one bloomed yesterday 

The only fern I have ever kept alive longer than 6 months. New growth on
Microsorum diversifolium which has been to the flower show several times
and has lived in my kitchen, now the sunroom for about 10 years. There is more fern than this!

Bloom Progress for the Aloe of Death

All Photos: M. Clouse

Aloe of Death 2/7/14

The flowering of the Aloe of Death is coming along!  This is from Feb. 7th.  The next photos I took yesterday, 2/15/14.

Flower stalk 2/15/14

Base of plant 2/15/14

The bloom is coming along.  I checked on it yesterday {Saturday} because Monday is a holiday and the Public Library will be closed on my normal volunteer day. I have got a couple of opinions as to which Aloe this is, but it doesn't seem to be my choice, because it looks like the flower is going to be all yellow and the one I like has red/yellow flowers.  I am currently reading an Aloe guidebook from the Salem State Library, but it is difficult because many of the pictures are not close-ups. I have another resource that I will be consulting, however. Bloom, baby, bloom!

The Aloe of Death and the Apostle Plant--The Saugus Public Library Plants. Photos: M. Clouse

IT'S ALIVE!!!!

The plant news today comes from the halls of the Saugus Public Library, where I am a volunteer.  Besides dealing with books and whatnot, I also care for the plant collection.  As you may remember from previous pages, I was away from the job while I was in Costa Rica and between not feeling well when I got back and MLK Day when the library was closed, I had not seen the plants for about 3 weeks until this afternoon. 

I knew that the Apostle plant, Neomarica caerulea, or Walking Iris was going into bloom when I left. It had one budded flower stalk.  Today, I counted 5 budded flower stalks.  And to my amazement, the giant Aloe, or as we lovingly refer to it, The Aloe of Death, had a flower stalk coming up.  I have been caring for the latter plant for many years and it has never bloomed, while the Apostle plant has bloomed a number of times. Of course, I took pictures.  I have included pictures of the Neomarica flowers when it flowered last as well.  I will be taking progressive pictures of the AOD so that we can track its progress.  Here they are as of today:

The Aloe of Death with new flower stalk.

Close up of the flower stalk.

Flower stalk of the Neomarica.
There are four more so far,
and it could get more.

Neomarica flower from the Library. This is one of last year's flowers.

I am glad to be here for these.  Plants I care for tend to like to bloom when I am gone, but these two have been quite gratifying.  Thanks to the Saugus Public Library staff for letting me take care of these. More pictures will follow.

Martha