Tag: Hummingbirds

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They’ll be here soon …

The butterflies and hummingbirds will be back in our area in droves soon. Is your garden up to the task of having enough nectar plants and host plants for them?

red shrimp plant
Red Shrimp Plant

These gorgeous flowers are part of a client’s order for her new butterfly and hummingbird attracting garden. I’m telling ya, not long after I set these in the holding area in my backyard the butterflies started coming around. This is only a small part of the plants she’s getting next week. Will share pics of of all of them then. Click on each pic to see the name of the plant.

Blue Porterweed
Blue Porterweed

I’m in the process of adding these to R&G’s Neighborhood Garden Boutique. In the meantime, here are the prices: Red Shrimp Plant, Tropical Milkweed, ‘Saucy Wine’ Salvia, and ‘Wendy’s Wish’ Salvia are $4.00/1-gallon size. The Red Porterweed and Blue Porterweed are $4.50/1-gallon size. The ‘Chater’s Double Mix’ Hollyhocks are $1.50/4″ container.

Opened flower on ‘Wendy’s Wish’ Salvia
‘Chater’s Double Mix’ Hollyhocks
Tropical Milkweed
‘Saucy Wine’ Salvia. This is a new perennial salvia from Southern Living Plants
New buds on ‘Wendy’s Wish’ Salvia
New buds on ‘Wendy’s Wish’ Salvia
Red Porterweed

If your garden is in need of more nectar and host plants, let me help! Call or text, 386-310-9969, or email, jeanni@rosesandgargoyles.com, and I’ll put together a list of plants perfect for your garden.

Happy digging in the dirt …

Jeanni, Gibbs, and Ziva

R&G … Your Online Neighborhood Garden Boutique 

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Coral Honeysuckle

Looking for a native vine that flowers and attracts butterflies and hummers? Look no further: Coral Honeysuckle is just what you need and it’s available for sale in R&G’s Neighborhood Garden Boutique at “Coral Honeysuckle.”

Coral Honeysuckle
Coral Honeysuckle (pic courtesy of the internet)

Botanical Name: Lonicera sempervirens

Common Name: Coral Honeysuckle

This is a beautiful Florida native honeysuckle vine that blooms tubular crimson-colored blooms starting in the Spring that the butterflies and hummingbirds love. Also is a host plant for the Spring Azure (Celastrina ladon) and Snowberry Clearwing (Hemaris diffinis) butterfly in its northern ranges. Birds, especially cardinals, love to eat the seeds. Evergreen and fast grower to 12-15′ tall x 3-9′ wide. Great for covering fences, growing up a trellis or arbor, or growing up trees. Loves sun to part shade. Zones 4 – 10 Native vine.

Happy digging in the dirt …

Jeanni, Gibbs, and Ziva

R&G … Your Neighborhood Garden Boutique

 

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Goodbye grass!

Do you look at your lawn and sigh at all the time and attention you have to give it for it to look even responsibly nice and green? Yeah, join the club, most of us have been there, done that. It’s been proven that maintaining a lawn, especially one using St Augustine grass, takes more water, mowing, fertilizing, and time to maintain than is needed to make garden beds looks nice. I know, I know … everyone and their dog has grass in the front. Well, my flower freaks, I do believe that time of “everyone” having grass in the front is changing. Personally, I have gotten rid of the grass in the front of my house, and I’m in the process of turning that area into a butterfly and hummingbird attracting garden complete with mulched pathways and a sitting area.

This article, The (un)importance of Lawn, talks about the importance of having biodiversity in your garden and how that can be achieved through lessening your lawn area. It makes good points, and is well worth the read.

Here are some examples of front yards with little to no grass. Aren’t they beautiful!

Pic courtesy of Roses and Gargoyles
Pic courtesy of Roses and Gargoyles
Pic courtesy of Roses and Gargoyles
Pic courtesy of Roses and Gargoyles
Pic courtesy of Pinterest
Pic courtesy of Roses and Gargoyles

When you’re ready to replace either all or some of your grass with garden beds, give me a call/text, 386-310-9969, or email, jeanni@rosesandgargoyles.com. If you want to do the work yourself we can set up a Gardenscape Walkabout, $75, in which I’ll give you ideas of how to implement the process. Or if you want me to do the work, we can set up a free consultation to go over what you’re looking for so I can give you a quote. And always remember that R&G’s online Neighborhood Garden Boutique sells awesome plants that would be perfect in your new front gardens!

Happy digging in the dirt …

Jeanni, Gibbs, and Ziva

R&G … Your Online Neighborhood Garden Boutique

 

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Got nectar?

Spent yesterday visiting my suppliers to pick up plants for my latest gardenscape installation. Look at all those beautiful butterfly and hummingbird attracting plants! There are tall pentas, porterweed, ‘Wendy’s Wish’ Salvia, angelonia, bush daisy, fennel, parsley, African iris, muhly grass, milkweed, and trailing white lantana all tucked in there ready to go to their new home. Now if I can get the weather to cooperate for a few days, that would be good. Definitely do not want to complain about all this wonderful rain we’re getting though cause we sure need it.

Butterfly and hummingbird plants!
Butterfly and hummingbird plants!

Will post before/after pics when I’m finished with the project.

You ready for your own butterfly garden? Well, give me a call/text, 386-310-9969, or email, jeanni@rosesandgargoyles.com, to set up your free consultation.

Happy digging in the dirt …

Jeanni, Gibbs, and Ziva

 

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Spring has sprung …

Spring is here, y’all! Time to plant new beautiful flowers, enjoy the ones starting to pop up from the earth and the ones leafing out again. It’s also time to do spring maintenance on the garden beds: new mulch, fertilizing, pruning, etc. I can do all that for you! Call/text, 386-310-9969, or email, jeanni@rosesandgargoyles.com, to set up your appointment.

spring

Happy digging in the dirt …

Jeanni, Gibbs, and Ziva

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Bird Bath Idea

How cute is this birdbath! It’s shallow enough the small birds can use it, it has running water so the mosquitoes won’t breed in it, and the birds will love washing off in the sprays of water from the pipe.

DIY bird bath tutorial

I think this is going to be the next project for my personal garden. I’ll let you know how it goes! Let me know if you want me to make one for your garden!

Here’s the link for the instructions:  “DIY Bird Bath.” 

Happy digging in the dirt …

Jeanni and Gibbs and Ziva
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“Old Blush” Rose

“Old Blush” rose. Isn’t that pretty! China/Bengale rose bred before 1793. Pink/dark pink, semi-double to double blooms. Moderate fragrance. Blooms in flushes throughout the year. 4-7′ tall and wide. Sun/part sun. Zones 6a – 10b. Low maintenance rose that rarely needs spraying. Own root. $20.00/3-gallon.

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Alachua County Farmers’ Market today till 1:00. See you soon.

Happy digging in the dirt …

Jeanni and Gibbs

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Firespike

Good Saturday morning. I’m at Alachua County Farmers Market till 1:00 today. It’s a beautiful morning for the market!

Featured plant today is “Firespike,” Odontonemia cuspidatum. How cool are those flowers. This is a tropical looking shrub that also attracts hummers and butterflies. What’s really cool is it blooms fall and winter when not many other nectar plants are blooming.

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It grows about 8′ tall x 4′ wide. Perfect for your part sun/part shade garden. Semi-evergreen perennial in zones 8 – 11. It’ll die back to the ground in a hard freeze but reliably comes back from its roots in spring. Can be pruned in mid-February to control the size.

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Florida friendly plant. $5.00/1-gallon

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Happy digging in the dirt …

Jeanni and Gibbs

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Dancing Girl Ginger

Dancing Girl Ginger, Globba winitii. Low maintenance, very easy to grow perennial for your shade/part shade garden. Great in containers or in the ground. Grows about 2′ tall and wide. Is one of the last plants to break dormancy in the spring, so be patient. Zones 8 – 11. These beautiful flowers repeat bloom late spring until frost.

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I’m at the Alachua County farmers market till 1:00 today. It may be raining, but we’re under cover so you’ll stay nice and dry.

Don’t forget about my seminar at 10:00 on how to attract butterflies and hummingbirds to your garden.

Happy digging in the dirt …

Jeanni and Gibbs

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Red Shrimp Plant

Red Shrimp Plant, Justicia brandegeeana. Pretty plant for the part shade garden. Semi-Evergreen, 3-4′ tall and wide, butterfly and hummingbird attractor, repeat blooms during the warm season. $2/4″ container.

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Alachua County Farmers Market today 8:30 – 1:00.

Happy digging in the dirt …

Jeanni and Gibbs