Unexpected Clematis Surprise!

OK, so THE FINALS ARE OVER ! :) ... Yesterday, I came to my parent's house in zone 11 (tropical) where the temperatures rarely go below the 60's. When I arrived I saw some white flowers and I didn't believe it. I went to the garden and there it was! A Sweet Autumn Clematis blooming in the tropic! in full sun!


I planted this plant last year. I bought a root from an Ebay seller. I was not expecting flowers because I thought that it was going to need cold temperatures but it was so cheap and I couldn't resist. When I first saw it growing I fell in love with the beautiful dark green foliage.


The beautiful white flowers have a sweet fragrance but I haven't had time to go to the garden and smell them because of the rains... and the weather is cool and wet. ( High 60's and low 70's)

Salvia Leucantha

Mexican Bush Sage (Salvia leucantha) has become one of my favorite plants. I bought it on Ebay a couple of months ago. It came in a very small pot almost without soil. I planted it  and it grew at a tremendous speed.  I planted some black-eyed susans  around it because I didn’t know it was going to grow so fast. Within 2-3 months it covered some of the black-eyed susans and they died. One month later it covered all of the black-eyed susans so I had to move them….but OMG it was worth it!!! Mexican Bush Sage is one of the most beautiful plant’s I’ve ever seen in my garden! It is covered with beautiful long flowering stalks. 

My mom says she like to touch it because it is so soft and fuzzy. It also smells nice.

The flowers last a long long long time when use as cut flowers.

I love this plant a lot so I decided to take some cuttings. I hope they root soon because I already know where they are going. :)

Salvia leucantha is an easy to care plant. I fertilize it with liquid 20-20-20 sometimes and liquid kelp seaweed as foliar fertilizer once a week or every other week. 

Photos - February - May. The first two photos up there ^ are from May.

My Garden Today, part 3

Dahlia. Evening Primroses. Dahlia. Dahlia. Coreopsis, Heliotrope and Coleus. Dahlia and Coleus. ETC. ETC. Coreopsis, Heliotrope, Coleus and Agapanthus foliage. Zinnia “Profusion White”, Dahlia. Zinnia “Profusion White”, Rain lilies, Amaryllis foliage. Dwarf Sunflower. 

My Garden Today, part 2

Heliotrope. Oxalis. Dahlia and Moss Verbena. Sweet Alyssum. Dahlia. Sweet Alyssum. Dahlia. Salvia Leucantha. Zinnia and Moss Verbena. Miniature Rose and Sweet Alyssum. Zinnia “Profusion White”.

My Garden Today, part 1

Evening Primrose and Heliotrope. Heliotrope, Coreopsis and Coleus. Dahlia. Salvia Farinacea “Victoria Blue”. Zinnia “Profusion White”. Salvia Leucantha. Baby’s Breath and Moss Verbena. Zinnia and Dahlia.

Daylily Rust

Last season was a dream… I had not a single problem. No bugs, no fungus….. But I haven’t been so lucky this season. All of my evening primroses had a fly beetle infestation and then fly beetle caterpillars … But that was very easy. When the organic insecticide soap didn’t work I just grabbed a bucket and pruned almost  all of my evening primroses to the ground…. and problem solved. The organic insecticide soap worked very well on my crape myrtle though. 

But now … daylily rust! Awful thing. I was hoping for the best.. Well, a couple of days ago I saw the orange “dust” on the leaves and I instantly knew it was daylily rust…. A couple of days later it was a serious problem. Yesterday, I had to do this to all of my daylilies… So sad, but that’s the only option as far as I know. I didn’t apply fungicide because I didn’t have any. I will do that soon, probably tomorrow. 

They will regrow very fast. 

My Cat... And His Friend

Photos of my cat and a female pregnant cat he brought to our house.