Just thinking about all you guys going through gardening/green withdrawl. It warmed up into the low 70s here today and it was a beautiful day. Plenty of birds flitting about, singing their spring time songs. A few butterflies fluttering about the back yard. Although my yard is in NO SHAPE for pictures (and besides, the sun is at the wrong angle for me to get any pictures of the yard, mu ha ha ha), I thought I'd walk around the block and take a few pictures to share with you.
<a href="http://www.rossandkaren.org/nh1.jpg">Picture 1</a>
This is a picture of a silk floss tree (I think that's the type of tree, it has thorns all over the bark). Anyway, when I am out walking, I love to stand under this tree and look up at the sky. You can't see the detail in this picture, but the leaves look so soft and feathery against the blue background. Very lovely tree!
<a href="http://www.rossandkaren.org/nh2.jpg">Picture 2</a>
Ok, I've walked half way around the block now. These are some banna trees growing at the end of my neighbor's driveway. Fortunately they didn't get zapped by our recent freezing temperatures.
<a href="http://www.rossandkaren.org/nh3.jpg">Picture 3</a>
Here is a close up of the banana flower and some baby bananas. I planted a banana tree over a year ago and it hasn't grown much. I think I need to transplant it to a sunnier location. I really want it to bear fruit, and it's just not growing tall enough for me!
<a href="http://www.rossandkaren.org/nh4.jpg">Picture 4</a>
This is in the same neighbor's yard. Our neighborhood is very eclectic (sp?) - a mix of very old and new houses. It's not the cookie cutter, perfect lawn, professional landscape type of place that is typical in Florida these days. We have plenty of mature trees and interesting landscape designs... Anyway, I just think it's cool that this palm has grown so tall! I like how it pokes out above the other trees. In a few weeks, those other trees will be covered in orange flowers. It looks great, especially at sunset. We can see the canopy of orange from our patio and it looks like the tops of the trees are burning a special fire. Very pretty!
<a href="http://www.rossandkaren.org/nh5.jpg">Picture 5</a>
A different neighbor's yard. The shrubs in the front are some overgrown viburnum. These banana trees didn't fare so well during the big chill and they got a bit yellow.
However, I still saw many fruits on the trees and they will bounce back. One year they really got zapped by the cold and died way back, but grew so fast they were taller than ever by the end of the summer.
<a href="http://www.rossandkaren.org/nh6.jpg">Picture 6</a>
Here is a water view. This area was very dry and dusty last winter. We had no idea that the water would even come up this high. This is part of frozen banana tree guys yard. Fortunately we got plenty of rain last year and the water level has remained high during the winter. We enjoy watching egrets and herons feed here.
<a href="http://www.rossandkaren.org/nh7.jpg">Picture 7</a>
More of the water view. While this picture makes it look very grassy, there is really plenty of water there! In the fall there were loads of purple flowers blooming from some broad leafed water plant (I have no idea what it is, but someone else on the board posted a picture of something that looked very similar in their water garden). We were amazed at the amount of water plants that had somehow survived the long drought, because they were blooming and growing like crazy when the area started to fill with water again. Ross is secretly hoping some ducks will find there way over here soon. He just loves ducks!
<a href="http://www.rossandkaren.org/nh8.jpg">Picture 8</a>
I think this is called a pom-pom tree. It has to be related to a mimosa tree (well, it looks like it to me!) The things that bloom in December/January here! We are lucky to have color all year round. I have seen other shrubby things similar to this with pure white flowers.
<a href="http://www.rossandkaren.org/nh9.jpg">Picture 9</a>
This is a really cruddy picture of my Christmas cactus. I think I waited to long to take a picture of it, the blooms are on their way out. I need to feed it soon because the leaf thingies are too red! Sorry if my version of latin plant names/descriptions is throwing you off. 
<a href="http://www.rossandkaren.org/nh10.jpg">Picture 10</a>
Here is one of my pineapples (I have two planted). I just cut the tops off two pineapples that I had gotten from the produce department at the grocery store. I forgot about the tops for a few weeks, then remembered to stick them in the ground. I literally just shoved aside some mulch and stuck them on top of the soil and mounded the mulch around them. That was some time last April or May, and they have really taken off! I am hoping some time this year they will decide to produce a pineapple each. Interestingly, my sister didn't realize they grew like this. I guess she thought they grew on the pineapple tree! She is just too cute!! The plants with the brown seed heads on them are crossandras (I know I spelled that wrong!) They are peachy/orange colored. I had them planted with bright pink impatiens but the impatiens died last year. I really need to get out there and weed too!
<a href="http://www.rossandkaren.org/nh11.jpg">Picture 11</a>
This is the really wild part of our yard. I go back and forth between letting it stay wild and trying to tame it. There are two horrible vines that grow all over everything. One is called the air potato vine (really, I thought it was kudzu but I read about it in the local paper!!!) The other vine is a muscadine grape vine, I think. Anyway, they are very well rooted back there and we can't even walk in this part of the yard during the summer (snakes!) The elephant ears were chopped down and gone last winter, but I didn't dig the tubers up and they came back. While I want the birds and other animals to have a natural place to live, it's kind of an eyesore (my whole yard is at the moment!) What to do, what to do...
<a href="http://www.rossandkaren.org/nh12.jpg">Picture 12</a>
If you lie (lay?) in the hammock, this is what you'll see. Those are some live oaks in my neighbor's back yard, dripping with Spanish moss. I think they are live oaks anyway! One of them had to be cut back last year as it was brushing up against the telephone wires and catching on fire! 
It's already started to grow back from where it was cut, so in a few years it will be growing into the wires again. They are really beautiful trees!
Well, that's it. I promise I will get out and weed and mow the lawn soon and take some pictures of my yard to share with you. I want to show you what the Polynesian garden looks like, but I haven't tended to it AT ALL and it's very weedy and gross looking now. All the hibiscus that I transplanted lived except for one, but I really mangled the roots on it when I dug it up! D'oh!
Thanks for humoring me and looking at the pictures! Everyone have a wonderful day! Oh, and one of these days I will go to the computer help board and read the instructions for shrinking pictures so I can include them in the post. Sorry for using the links for now! I am SOOOOOO lazy!!!!
<a href="http://www.rossandkaren.org/nh1.jpg">Picture 1</a>
This is a picture of a silk floss tree (I think that's the type of tree, it has thorns all over the bark). Anyway, when I am out walking, I love to stand under this tree and look up at the sky. You can't see the detail in this picture, but the leaves look so soft and feathery against the blue background. Very lovely tree!
<a href="http://www.rossandkaren.org/nh2.jpg">Picture 2</a>
Ok, I've walked half way around the block now. These are some banna trees growing at the end of my neighbor's driveway. Fortunately they didn't get zapped by our recent freezing temperatures.
<a href="http://www.rossandkaren.org/nh3.jpg">Picture 3</a>
Here is a close up of the banana flower and some baby bananas. I planted a banana tree over a year ago and it hasn't grown much. I think I need to transplant it to a sunnier location. I really want it to bear fruit, and it's just not growing tall enough for me!
<a href="http://www.rossandkaren.org/nh4.jpg">Picture 4</a>
This is in the same neighbor's yard. Our neighborhood is very eclectic (sp?) - a mix of very old and new houses. It's not the cookie cutter, perfect lawn, professional landscape type of place that is typical in Florida these days. We have plenty of mature trees and interesting landscape designs...
Anyway, I just think it's cool that this palm has grown so tall! I like how it pokes out above the other trees. In a few weeks, those other trees will be covered in orange flowers. It looks great, especially at sunset. We can see the canopy of orange from our patio and it looks like the tops of the trees are burning a special fire. Very pretty!<a href="http://www.rossandkaren.org/nh5.jpg">Picture 5</a>
A different neighbor's yard. The shrubs in the front are some overgrown viburnum. These banana trees didn't fare so well during the big chill and they got a bit yellow.
However, I still saw many fruits on the trees and they will bounce back. One year they really got zapped by the cold and died way back, but grew so fast they were taller than ever by the end of the summer. <a href="http://www.rossandkaren.org/nh6.jpg">Picture 6</a>
Here is a water view. This area was very dry and dusty last winter. We had no idea that the water would even come up this high. This is part of frozen banana tree guys yard. Fortunately we got plenty of rain last year and the water level has remained high during the winter. We enjoy watching egrets and herons feed here.
<a href="http://www.rossandkaren.org/nh7.jpg">Picture 7</a>
More of the water view. While this picture makes it look very grassy, there is really plenty of water there! In the fall there were loads of purple flowers blooming from some broad leafed water plant (I have no idea what it is, but someone else on the board posted a picture of something that looked very similar in their water garden). We were amazed at the amount of water plants that had somehow survived the long drought, because they were blooming and growing like crazy when the area started to fill with water again. Ross is secretly hoping some ducks will find there way over here soon. He just loves ducks!
<a href="http://www.rossandkaren.org/nh8.jpg">Picture 8</a>
I think this is called a pom-pom tree. It has to be related to a mimosa tree (well, it looks like it to me!) The things that bloom in December/January here! We are lucky to have color all year round. I have seen other shrubby things similar to this with pure white flowers.
<a href="http://www.rossandkaren.org/nh9.jpg">Picture 9</a>
This is a really cruddy picture of my Christmas cactus. I think I waited to long to take a picture of it, the blooms are on their way out. I need to feed it soon because the leaf thingies are too red!
Sorry if my version of latin plant names/descriptions is throwing you off. <a href="http://www.rossandkaren.org/nh10.jpg">Picture 10</a>
Here is one of my pineapples (I have two planted). I just cut the tops off two pineapples that I had gotten from the produce department at the grocery store. I forgot about the tops for a few weeks, then remembered to stick them in the ground. I literally just shoved aside some mulch and stuck them on top of the soil and mounded the mulch around them. That was some time last April or May, and they have really taken off! I am hoping some time this year they will decide to produce a pineapple each. Interestingly, my sister didn't realize they grew like this. I guess she thought they grew on the pineapple tree!
She is just too cute!! The plants with the brown seed heads on them are crossandras (I know I spelled that wrong!) They are peachy/orange colored. I had them planted with bright pink impatiens but the impatiens died last year. I really need to get out there and weed too! <a href="http://www.rossandkaren.org/nh11.jpg">Picture 11</a>
This is the really wild part of our yard. I go back and forth between letting it stay wild and trying to tame it. There are two horrible vines that grow all over everything. One is called the air potato vine (really, I thought it was kudzu but I read about it in the local paper!!!) The other vine is a muscadine grape vine, I think. Anyway, they are very well rooted back there and we can't even walk in this part of the yard during the summer (snakes!) The elephant ears were chopped down and gone last winter, but I didn't dig the tubers up and they came back. While I want the birds and other animals to have a natural place to live, it's kind of an eyesore (my whole yard is at the moment!)
What to do, what to do...<a href="http://www.rossandkaren.org/nh12.jpg">Picture 12</a>
If you lie (lay?) in the hammock, this is what you'll see. Those are some live oaks in my neighbor's back yard, dripping with Spanish moss. I think they are live oaks anyway!
One of them had to be cut back last year as it was brushing up against the telephone wires and catching on fire! It's already started to grow back from where it was cut, so in a few years it will be growing into the wires again. They are really beautiful trees!Well, that's it. I promise I will get out and weed and mow the lawn soon and take some pictures of my yard to share with you. I want to show you what the Polynesian garden looks like, but I haven't tended to it AT ALL and it's very weedy and gross looking now. All the hibiscus that I transplanted lived except for one, but I really mangled the roots on it when I dug it up! D'oh!
Thanks for humoring me and looking at the pictures! Everyone have a wonderful day! Oh, and one of these days I will go to the computer help board and read the instructions for shrinking pictures so I can include them in the post. Sorry for using the links for now! I am SOOOOOO lazy!!!!
The pineapple plant sends up a shoot from the middle and the pineapple fruit grows at the end of the stalk. 
