One thing I miss living on the coast is the profusion of flowers that are able to be grown away from the salty sea air. We have very few species that can withstand the salt and wind that is part of living by the water. We have tried to cultivate some standard flowering plants with little luck. This time of year, the flowers are few and far between. Later in the summer and through the winter we can look forward to the Birds of Paradise and others. I thought I would give you an idea of what we have right now and I think you’ll agree it is pretty slim pickings.
The hibiscus always does well and this year seems to be doing better than ever. I think several feet of rain has done wonders for them.
The lowly Oleander (we call them highway trees) takes on an unusual importance when it becomes one of the few flowering trees able to make it in the harsh environment.
Tha Natal Plums have little white star-like blooms.
And, of course, we can try to keep a plant sheltered from the elements and hope for the best.
This is the second year for the Portulaca and since it sits on the west side of the house (away from the water) it does well. Other plants in the same location have met an untimely end.
Here is another plant on the West side. It is an Ice plant and usually has a chance.
On the Eastern side we are going to try a Moss Rose. I can almost hear the eulogy now.
This little Jatropha has been with us for three years and lives on the east side. She faces the Gulf but has a lot of friends around her to keep the salt spray from causing harm. She is just beginning to bloom so I thought I would give her an honorable mention.
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Very colorful. So what kind of plants tend to do best in the salt and wind?
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Mostly palms and succulents.
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Always been edgy around palms since I worked at a Home Depot. Some of those have nasty spikes.
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You can say that again. I get nasty gouges when I trim them. It really doesn’t matter how careful I am either.
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I hated when I was asked to move them onto pallets and truck beds. They always seem to find skin to poke at.
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Talk about blood. A palm poke is like no other,
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Not to mention the risk of getting an infection.
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Giggled so hard over the Ice Plant. When she passes there is no one better suited to write the eulogy. Oleander, she’s a tough cookie and so pretty. Pretty flowers, John.
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Thanks. I always try to throw a giggle moment in each post.
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I found todays. Yay!
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Lots of nice things to look at John.
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I remember the springs in Connecticut. dogwoods, redbuds, forsythia, crocus, daffodils and then the rhododendrons everywhere.
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Our rhododendrons just bloomed this past week. They are beautiful. Our dogwood and lilacs are in full bloom. It almost makes you forget what winter looked like John!
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Yup.
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I love your garden! We live up in the mountains near Athens and the weather can be quite tough in winter (snow, cold etc) and relatively hot in summer.
My wife misses planting geraniums, jasmines, hibiscus and other plants which simply do not withstand a winter in our place. So, we have settled for less flowery plants but ones that survive. We do have oleanders (they are awesome!) and the ice plant which, however, does not survive winter and needs to get replanted every spring.
Enjoy your garden!
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Here without salt air the ice plants would survive the winter. I love ice plants as they are very fast growing.
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It looks so warm there. I am freezing today!
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86 here today
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55 here!
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Whoa !
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I know!
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Up State NY?
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Yes, sir. Brrrrrr.
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Went to Buffolo once and was snowed in for a week.
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Yikes!
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I admire you for trying, John. My wife and I have whatever the opposite of green thumbs is, so we read our eulogies as we plant and get them over with. Gonna be tough this year with water cutbacks…
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Dish water works well on plants. (oh no, you still running that dishwasher?)
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Hell, I am the dishwasher.
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Cool. Throw the old water on the plants
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I love all your plants, John. I can grow the flowers, it’s the vegetables that do not do well here. Between the bugs and birds, I am at a loss! Thanks for sharing. ❤
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I have a stand of Basil and that’s it. All else in the veggy department are too weak
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I have switched over to flowers this year. I have a few things in pots, but they are not doing well. It got really hot here early and it looks like it is going to stay.
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Mist them in the am. Helps.
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Thanks John. We do. 😢
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You still have a decent and varied selection, John. All is not lost. You have color and some loyal plants. 😀
Spring and summer are all about flowering shrubs, trees and plants. Flowers always brighten my day.
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Me too.
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Sometimes I think of the folk living in places like Middle East deserts and I wonder how they live without green and flowers. You have a very well planned selection here. Good luck with them all. 🙂
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Thanks. I also wonder about the desert folks.
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I’ll think of you tomorrow, John, when I go to my local coffee shop and see the hibiscus blooming outside the door. 🙂
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Wonderful
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John, these are gorgeous, and they really take me back to living in Texas. We, too, had good luck with Portulaca and Moss Roses, as well as Crepe Myrtle. Of course, North Texas didn’t get the salty air or rainfall that y’all do (at least, not when I was there!!), so maybe that’s the secret. I don’t recall seeing Natal Plums, but I might have and was clueless! Thanks for sharing your scenery — just goes to show we all have our challenges, huh?!
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Yes natal plums do well in the salty air. They have deep green follage and are trimmed to keep them shrub like.
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Nice flowers, John. We recently planted some around the backyard along with some succulents. I don’t think we’ll get anything to bloom this year, but hopefully next. Enjoy your weekend!
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That’s the beauty of plants. Eventuality the wok pays off.
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