Another slideshow

Mid-April is a beautiful time in Florida, and this season, with its cooler temperatures and regular rainfall, has been particularly nice. We have yet to have a really hot day this season, so my dry-season blooms are really spectacular. Up north, delphiniums, foxgloves, snapdragons and freesia are summer blooms. Here we have to sneak them in between the last freeze and the first week of the wet season.

Click here for the slideshow.

Here are some highlights:

From lmid-april in the florida garden

This is a summer delphinium--I think it's Mediterranean Seas. I've grown it before--it lasts much longer than the more elaborate, larger-flowered delphs (like the one below).

From lmid-april in the florida garden

From lmid-april in the florida garden

These foxgloves start out as two-inch-tall seedlings that I get from DeBary Nursery in mid-winter. I fuss over them all winter, but they're worth it. I have only ever grown them in pots--I think being rootbound and well-drained makes them bloom better. They need to be carefully watered every day.

From lmid-april in the florida garden

A different delphinium.

From lmid-april in the florida garden

Hard to believe that I started these seeds only a month or so ago.

From lmid-april in the florida garden

Cucumbers, again, after only one month.