Hard Work and Good Karma!

Only a handful of months ago, Florida experienced a record cold winter, devestating tropical plants, wildlife and residents.  Afterall, more than 2 weeks of chilling temps is ridiculous...that's why we live down here. BUT (the big but!!) now we are getting hit by early, HOT, HUMID temperatures.  I mean, it's only June.  Oh well, finicky aren't we?!

This last weekend, during such a nasty hot spell, I decided it was time to complete a few gardening tasks that were suddenly screaming at me.  Of course, the atrocities that needed to be corrected were labor intensive, so I required additional muscle.  Let's just say that my husband wasn't too happy.  In his defense, we were tackling the pointy, overly defensive Agave plant as well as the clingy, strong-willed honeysuckle vine in seemingly 150 degree temperatures.   

The first task was to remove the YOUNG Agave plant that flowered at only 3 years old. I have no idea what happened, but this particular Agave did not live up to it's knickname, "Century Plant".  So, as my friends Noelle of Ramblings from a Desert Garden and Floridagirl of Peace in the Valley informed me, the Agave would slowly decline after blooming.  Indeed it was declining and needed to be removed.  In spite of the spear-like tips, serrated edges and poisonous sap that I'm highly allergic to, we were successful. 

 I also needed to do something with the Gaillardia starts that I'd left unplucked. The space looked weedy. 

I relocated the giant Kalanchoe to fill the empty space, and thinned out the unkempt White Bird of Paradise.  Here's the cleaned up version.

Next on the list was one of our strong-willed children - the honeysuckle.  I had planted the vine between two young crinum lilies in the Rear Side Garden to fill space while the crinums grew. 

This photo was taken almost a year ago.

Now mature, the crinums are large and the space was crowded so it was time for the honeysuckle to go.  Honey wanted no part of this and clung to the fence and soil defiantly.  We finally persuaded her, though.  I filled the space with some Pentas that I'd thinned from the same garden space. 

I continued on my correctional path alone as the hard labor portion was complete.  Oyster Plants and Vincas had become overgrown, choking heliconia, cannas, ground orchids, recuperating crotons.

 

 

Ahhh!  That's better!

This little plumeria can see the sun now!

There's the heliconia!

All this hard work in the middle of a nasty hot afternoon does not go unrewarded, though!  Take a look at what I've recently found...discarded ginger and bromelaids! 

Woo Hoo!

I found this bunch of bromelaids in the curbside garbage, divided them, and planted throughout my garden. 

I found a bunch of ginger stalks on another curbside. I consulted my friend John Goss who suggested they might be a Costus variety which produces those cool red pine cone features when in bloom!

Each stalk had a young shoot growing from the top.

I gently broke off each young shoot from the host.

The shoots already had roots forming.

I gave them a drink before planting, since I had no idea how long they'd been baking in the sun.

And one final prize, found at the end of yet another driveway.

Can you believe my good fortune?

Now, who says hard work doesn't pay off?! 

I believe that's good karma!