My Pandemic Garden 2. Summer and Fall

 With summer heat and humidity, only the most rugged flowers, fruits, and vegetables will thrive.

June. Summer officially arrives and the more feint at heart blossoms of spring give way to the tropicals.

Summer brings tropical members of the Lily
Family, like these Gloriosa rothschildiana from 
Africa.

The yellow blooms of Gloriosa greenei are not as common
as their red cousins.

The flower spikes of Curcuma zeodaria, a relative of the turmeric plant, emerge
before the leaves in early summer.

Okra blossoms will be followed quickly by their
goo-filled fruits.

Blue flowers are uncommon in the Amaryllis
Family, but are standard in the Lily-of-the-Nile

July: Tropical blossoms and fruits continue.

The flowers of the passion fruit, Passiflora edulis, appear in succession during
the warm weather, each resulting in a fruit about a month later.

The nodding flowers of Agapanthus inapertus major.
a relative of the Lily of the Nile, appear in  July.

Heydichium gardnerianum, a member of the
Ginger Family, produces its cylindrical masses
of golden-yellow flowers in July.

August: The heat and rain continue, ripening guavas, passion fruits, and okra, with some Hibiscus and Cannas for color. 

This pendant, red, double variety of Hibiscus is one of the few that continues
to bloom in hot weather.

September: Shortening days bring out some new blossoms.

Billbergia pyramidalis, a member of the Pineapple Family,
produces small blue flowers nestled inconspicuously amidst
bright red bracts.

My favorite cattleya, which has endured heat, 
near-freezing temperatures and neglect for 40
years, produces its flowers also with the 
decreasing daylength of September.

October:

Banana flowers appeared in October this past 
year, and the fruit ripened in April.

November: Some flowers oblivious to seasonality continue, along with ripening fruits.

Sweet potato vines, with their edible young
shoots, have grown rampantly all summer. 
Occasionally a flower will appear, reminding
us that the sweet potato is a member of the
Morning Glory Family.

Cannas have been with us all year, and will 
continue to bloom if the weather remains mild.

Fresh Goji berries, Lycium barbarum,  appear in the Fall or sometimes in the Spring, avoiding both cold and hot weather. They are a member of the Tomato Family.

December: Of course, what would December be without Poinsettias?

A commercial Poinsettia farm in Florida readies its products for market in late November and early
December.

Planted out at home, Poinsettia can become a permanent shrub or small tree, until it freezes anyway~
The microscopic flowers are embedded in green-yellow cups amidst brightly colored leaves, or bracts,
creating the illusion of a giant flower.

My Pandemic Garden 1. Winter and Spring

Red Anthuriums are tolerant of cool weather,
and if the temperatures stay above 32 F, they
add a welcome bit of color in January. 

I usually write about wild flowers and wild places here, but for the past year I have been on an extended expedition to my backyard! So what you will see in this post are descendants of wildflowers that are well adapted for central Florida gardens. The first installment covers winter through spring, the only part that most of our visitors from up north ever see. As long as it doesn't actually freeze during the this time,  the display of colorful flowers never ends.  

Pelargoniums are native to South Africa, where
rain falls and flowers bloom during the cool
winter and spring,  so they are
quite at home here in central Florida.

January: In a mild year, many tropical plants continue to bloom this month, including Anthuriums and Hibiscus, along with plants that prefer cooler climates anyway. It is the season for leafy green vegetables like mustard greens, bok choi, green onions, and lettuce.

This yellow Hibiscus is one of my favorites, and kept blooming through the month.

February: Winter continues, but it is springtime for Azaleas and Camellias

The Himalayan Azalea is the most spectacular blooming shrub
of central Florida's winter.

Camellias are popular winter bloomers 
throughout the milder parts of the southeast.

March: Florida's spring is in full swing, and for us, amaryllis blooms replaces the tulips and daffodils of the north.

Amaryllis (genus Hippeastrum) come in many shades of red, pink, orange and white.

This yellow Laelia can bloom just about anytime, but had
a spectacular display this year during March.

For the second year in a row, my blue bearded
iris has bloomed. Only the "reblooming"
varieties do well in Florida. Others require more
winter cold to set flower buds.

Mulberries begin as catkin-like clusters of tiny flowers. The ovaries then swell, first turning red,
then black,  superficially resemble blackberries.

April: Amaryllis continues to bloom, and the harvest of mulberries lasts until the middle of the month, and we have some new additions:

Alstroemeria bloom in April and May.

Blossoms of the guava tree begin appearing in April, harbingers
of fruit to come in the summer.

Gardenias make their presence know by
their fragrant scent as much as by their dazzling
 white flowers.

Daylilies start in April with one bloom per stalk, and run into May.

May:  Though summer weather is here, spring continues with more slowly emerging flowers.

Easter lilies cast aside after the holy week in years past, continue to multiply and bloom year after
year, but typically about a month after Easter.

I got seeds of this mystery variety of hollyhock from a friend. Most
traditional varieties won't do well down here. Have to start these in the
fall to get blooms in the spring, for they will wither away in hot weather.

Most standard varieties of morning glory, like this "Heavenly Blue,"
have to be planted from seed early in the spring for blooms in May.