It's official.... TIME TO PLANT FALL/WINTER ANNUALS

Yes it's that time again...

Summer has given up and Fall is here. We have already prepared for the color burst that is about to happen. We have contract grown our favorite New Guinea impatiens and begonias in anticipation for a COLOR EXPLOSION!  Our choices were many but with the advice of our growers we decided that this Fall we were going to go back to the red (or bronze) leaf begonia with red flowers as a staple and of course for our clients who just can't get enough color we are planting New Guinea impatiens in five colors; magenta, red, white, salmon and hot pink.   

Planting in the next 45 days will guarantee the full impact throughout the season that these flowers can provide. Our designers are expert on helping you decide what plant and color palette to use. If you decide to plant the flowers on your own please remember to use a 90 day time release fertilizer specifically engineered to provide all the micro-nutrients in your soil mix to provide the necessary fertilizer these hungry annuals need.

Please feel free to contact our office with any concerns you may have or current questions you may have on the latest Downy Mildew infestations and the annuals that are effected.

Enjoy this beautiful weather we are having and start enjoying your landscape or garden....

Summer is almost over.... well at least it doesn't feel as muggy.

September brings the thoughts of finally getting some relief from this steamy summer we have had. Dodging storms and mosquito squads...

It's time to start planning your FALL GARDEN. It is a time in South Florida that we get to introduce more color and fun accent plantings to our garden. 

You can redo those tired worn out beds of annual color or just  experiment with container gardening.

There are so many choices to choose from... 

Start by taking an inventory of your garden and look for key areas to introduce BRILLIANT COLOR!

Don't stop by just adding flowers get texture from unusual ornamental plants and grasses.... Look for soft flowing textures and the colorful foliage...
 

Let one of our designers help you pick the area and plantings for you... We do this FREE of charge!

Using fun decorative plantings and typical fall ornamentation can provide the FUN look or the ELEMENT OF SURPRISE!

Whatever you do have fun and get back outside and enjoy our South Florida weather!

   

Summer color in the South Florida garden

 

It already feels like Summer.... officially it wont be here until June 20th, but it is time to spruce up the old yard and get out and have some summer fun! This summer you might be like thousands of others and are planning to stay home this year, rising gas prices and the cost involved in traveling, seem to make it a more inviting and relaxed vacation.
I'm sure by now you have torn out those thirsty winter annuals and now it is time to plant carefree summer color. Flowers are not the only way to brighten up your garden. In the summer we have great choices of tropical foliage as well as annual flowers to give us the color we need to make our landscape POP!
Here is a list of tried and true easy care tropical and hardy plants you can use to brighten up that summer space. Don't forget Memorial Day and Fourth of July are right around the corner....


Of course, sun conditions and water conditions play a key role in choosing which plant. 

 The choices are endless and so are the color varieties. Let one of our Landscape Designers help you choose which plant will be best for your location and soil conditions.

Coleus

Pentas Butterfly mix

 

                                                                      Caladium

 

Crossandra

 

Red Salvia and Dusty Miller

 

Russian Salvia

Time to plant.... The summer is here and so are the summer plants...

South Florida Herb Gardens

Want to be different? Plant Herbs in your Florida Garden… and enjoy the fresh flavors in your cooking. ¹

Herbs are woody herbaceous ornamental plants and not vegetables. They are grown for their scent, ornamentation and flavor and used in cooking and homeopathic treatments. Think how nice it would be to walk out into your garden and clip your own herbs to add to that special dish you are preparing or to add as a garnish to your favorite meal to dress it up. It’s really quite simple to start and maintain your herb garden…

We are lucky here in South Florida and can grow many of the common herbs year round. Our moderate weather is ideal for growing edibles in south Florida; the garden size that you allocate can be small even using containers in an ornamental fashion is fun and simple to do. We like to plant edibles right in the landscape and blend in the plants into the landscape. But many like to actually set aside a nice sunny well drained area for their edible garden. Some herbs actually keep pest out of your garden and off your other plants due to their pungent aroma, which some insects dislike.

Picking the right place to plant your garden...

Space and time… Space can be as simple as a sunny out of the way area, a prominent spot to show off your garden, finding spots in your existing landscape to place a few important herbs or the right containers to make colorful plantings. Time is a consideration. The larger the garden the more time you will need to maintain it. The good news is that herbs by their very nature grow as easily as weeds…     Most herbs will grow easily and can take different conditions of sunlight and soil, and with similar needs as vegetables. Plants can be started from seed or purchased as small “baby” plants and transplanted in the garden.  

Impatiens Downy Mildew Report:

Over the past several weeks a disease known as Downy Mildew (Plasmopara obducens) that affects Impatiens (walleriana species -seed types primarily) has become widespread throughout the South Florida Landscape environment. Prior to this outbreak this disease has rarely been found in Florida, or elsewhere in the US, though it has been seen widespread in Europe for years resulting in devastation of Impatiens plantings.


Once the plants are infected there is no known cure, though plants have been able to to be protected prior to infection, by following a stringent fungicide protocol. Proper identification of the disease symptoms is  critical for diagnosis, Ppease see link below to identify Downy Mildew. If you suspect that you have Downy Mildew in your landscape, it is probably too late to save them. They will need to be removed  as soon as possible following strict disposal methods to prevent further spread  of the disease in your landscape.

If you have a symptom free  crop in your landscape you must be willing to follow the instructions to maintain a fungus free environment. This is also a time consuming and expensive task. Your professional landscape maintenance personnel should be trained in this application and can be relied upon for combating this aggressive fungus.

The good news is that our crops are fungus free and no Downy Mildew has been identified in our nurseries because of our strict fungus preventative treatments. Further is appears that the the Downy Mildew does not affect any other soft or woody ornamental plants.  Also on a good note, it appears that New Guinea impatiens have been spared as the these hardy hybrids seem to be very resistant to the disease, New Guinea impatiens have become the favorite of Landscapers and Gardeners alike.

We will keep you posted as to any developments in the ongoing efforts being made by the Florida Department of Agriculture in combating this fungus. 


check out the link below for preventative treatments:
http://palmbeachcountyextension.wordpress.com/2012/01/26/downy-mildew-on-impatiens/

THE SENATOR CYPRESS TREE BURNS TO THE GROUND!

Did you know that central Florida was the home of a cypress tree that is over 3,500 years old.

Seminole County, Florida

In Longwood between Sanford and Orlando where two huge ancient cypress trees grow. The elder of the two ("The Senator Cypress") has been on this site for over 3,500 years. It is almost unimaginable that we can be talking about a living thing.  The other cypress ("Lady Liberty") If you were able to visit these trees you probably reached out and touched it... Trying to imagine the world as it was when the Senator first sprouted...  

Longwood, Fla. -- A fire destroyed one of the world's oldest cypress trees Monday, a landmark that sprouted about 3,500 years ago.
The Senator was named for the man who donated what is now Big Tree Park to Seminole County, Moses Oscar Overstreet, a state senator from 1920 to 1925.
An investigator with the state Division of Forestry listed the cause of the fire as "undetermined," but ruled out arson, said Cliff Frazier, a spokesman for the agency. The investigation is continuing.
Firefighters had to string more than 800 feet of hose through the woods to reach the fire. Just after dawn, a 20-foot section of the top of the tree fell off, Fire Rescue spokesman Steve Wright said. Minutes later, more of the tree collapsed, and then it burned for hours from the inside out - almost like a chimney.
"It's a nightmare," Wright said.
The tree was estimated to be 165 feet tall before a hurricane took off the top in 1925, according to county historians.
The American Forestry Association bored a small hole in the Senator in 1946 for a core sample that gave the tree an estimated age of 3,500 years.
Considered the largest tree of any species east of the Mississippi River, the Senator was one of central Florida's leading attractions before the arrival of the region's theme parks.

This article appeared on page A - 6 of the San Francisco Chronicle