by Keri Byrum | Apr 30, 2015 | Garden Visits |
The Eola Heights Private Garden Tour offered a rare glimpse into the hidden gems and private gardens of one of Orlando’s oldest neighborhoods. I am not sure how I managed, but Mike and I spent a couple of hours on Sunday afternoon visiting some of these special spaces. A few images to summarize the day: … Read Full Post
by Keri Byrum | Apr 19, 2015 | Plant Spotlight |
The idea for the this post came to me as I was walking our dogs the other day and came across this large patch of frog fruit plant growing in a nearby lawn. While some people would call this a lawn weed, it could also be considered a great flowering ground cover for Florida. With less resources and time spent on a traditional lawn, some of these flowering groundcovers could make a great addition to your home and garden. Read on to find out more about my top four flowering ground covers for Florida and the southeast US. Which flowering groundcover is right for me? Let’s start by thinking about your goals. Are you just trying to mow less? Do you want to attract butterflies?… Read Full Post
by Keri Byrum | Apr 13, 2015 | Around Our Yard, Edibles |
As I am sitting down to get this written I have to laugh at myself because, with the best intentions, I feel like I only got half of what I planned to do completed. Two weeks ago I said to Mike that we were going to try to make as many different loquat recipes as possible. Well, we only got two things completed and they both involved alcohol. Huh. Botanically, loquats are in the Pome family, along with roses, apples and pears. The scientific name for loquat is Eriobotryae japonica. Loquats are sometimes called Japanese Plums as well and in addition to producing these tasty little fruit they are a beautiful small tree for Florida. Loquat trees are one of my favorite elements to an edible landscape because the plant itself is quite attractive.… Read Full Post
by Keri Byrum | Apr 7, 2015 | Around Our Yard, Plant Spotlight |
I’ve loved (and wanted!) ‘Little John’ dwarf bottlebrush plant for several years. That’s saying a lot considering that most of the time I change my mind on my favorite plants and usually end up changing things out in a year or two. I’ve been waiting to find a place to plant this sun loving shrub in our mostly shady yard and the time has finally come! I bring this up because I think I deserve credit for not actually buying this plant that I’ve been lusting for without having a good place to plant it (quick confession: that is probably only due to the fact that these ‘Little Johns’ are not really cheap). My first experience with this variety of bottlebrush was about three years ago. … Read Full Post