SalvagedJoy

What an incredibly magical time to be exploring! I have only ever traveled around the holidays once for a couple of days. On this trip, however, I am away for 3 weeks! We actually landed in Barcelona on Thanksgiving (we had our Thanksgiving a few days before). It was so amazing!

Just to get away after the turmoil of the past four years was so wonderful. I will have a few pics here for now as a placeholder but most likely I will come back and make a more thorough post here once I recover from the trip and holidays! Meanwhile, enjoy these few pics! May you and yours totally enjoy your holidays whatever you do and wherever you do it! Many blessings for a most spectacular 2024 in every way!

@letitbeegarden

It Can be so easy to lose sight of what’s important, especially this time of year. Taking time to stop, look around and appreciate the beauty can help. It isn’t about the presence, it’s about OUR PRESENCE! I’m so grateful for all the wonderful blessings in my life, especially the people in my life. Take time to be present this year, it’s the BEST GIFT we can give! #letitbeegarden #gratitude #happyholidays #christmaswishes #merrychristmas #floridagardener #christmasinbarcelona #barcelonaspain #travelinggardener

♬ Sparkling Magic – Christy Carew

Oh my goodness, well, I can hardly contain myself any longer, I have been keeping a secret. For many months I have not only been working on re-building my garden but also planning an adventure! At the end of the month I am taking off to find garden inspiration across the pond! I will be starting on a three-week adventure that will begin in London, England and end back in Miami, Florida! I haven’t had an actual vacation in nearly 6 years and I can hardly wait!

I will be setting off on my European/Caribbean adventure with my lovely mum and we are going to explore all we can! This is going to be quite the adventure. After London we fly to Barcelona where we will spend 5 days and then head back to the states via a transatlantic cruise! On the cruise we will visit Cadiz, Spain, Funchal, Portugal, the Canary Islands, St. Maarten, and finally Puerto Rico!

I can’t wait to share what I find and how I am going to incorporate some elements of the adventure into my 2024 planning process! It really is going to be quite spectacular! So, stay tuned, as I will be sharing things here and on TikTok from the trip and much more when I return. Thank you so much for joining me on my journey! Meanwhile Happy Gardening (or garden planning) and HAPPY HOLIDAYS to you and yours!

Jennifer

(photos added after we returned)

“A flower does not think of competing with the flower next to it. It just blooms.”– Zen Shin

Sure, I CAN buy myself flowers. However, I really prefer to just GROW them! In my previous garden, I grew a few flowers. Mostly Marigolds, Sunflowers, and Zinnias. I absolutely loved them. I also grew many veggies that flower. However, in my new garden, I am placing a much stronger emphasis on flowers. More than I have ever brought into any garden that I’ve had. Why? Well, there are numerous reasons.

Primarily, honestly, for me, flowers are divinely beautiful and offer me so much joy just in their presence. The way they look, the way they smell—so much bliss. Coming in at even more importance is for the pollinators. I want my bees and my butterflies to bee as happy as they can bee! Of course, I am at least tripling the number of veggies that I am going to be growing as well…but those gorgeous flowers will no doubt aid in the production!

Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.

@letitbeegarden

HAPPY EASTER!! I can go to the store and buy myself flowers, this is true. However, I greatly prefer to grow them! They will ensure that all the Pollinators will be here for the veggies! FLOWER POWER! Here are some of the flowers that are currently in bloom here in my Florida 10a garden. I have NEVER had this many flowers growing in my garden, in any state I have gardened in! I am SO LOVING it! So are the bees, butterflies, moths, dragonflies, and birds! This is just the beginning! Also, I also have a geranium, and getting ready to bloom are two kinds of sunflowers, borage, snail vine, purple passionflower vine, and milkweed (but milkweed may never have a chance to flower again since they get eaten). Of course, there’s also a bunch that I will be planting in the next couple of days. SO MUCH MORE TO COME!!! Happy Easter & Happy Spring! Follow along to see how it continues! How is your garden?? Are you just getting started?  #letitbeegarden #flowers #zone10aflorida #englewoodstrong #progressnotperfection #gettingthere #zone10a #englewoodflorida #gardenzone10a #gardentherapy #growingmyflowers #icanbuymyownflowers #icangrowmyownflowers #horticulturaltherapy #fypシ #gardenjoy #pleaseplantmilkweed  #milkweed #howdoesyourgardengrow #happyeaster2023

♬ Flowers – Miley Cyrus

While I am placing a strong emphasis on native flowers, including wildflowers in my garden, I will also be using a few “Florida Friendly” varieties. Due to this fact, this will be an ever-evolving post. Additionally, you may find the occasional non-native, or even invasive, surely with a good reason.

Hey, no one is perfect and I’m the first to admit it! Regardless, I want to keep adding to this post as I add flowers to my garden. Some of the flowers are not strictly flowers but may, in fact, be flowers that are present as part of a vine, tree, shrub, or vegetable, but I have chosen to include them here anyway.

Flowers lend so very much to our gardens. They bring smiles to our lips, light to our eyes, and tremendous joy to our souls. Not to mention that they bring the pollinators to help bring more life (and food!) to our gardens.

So here is a bit about the flowers that I am growing in my garden. I will continue to add more as I go on and will probably end up alphabetizing it to make it easier for you to find what you are looking for. I will include links that you can learn more from for each flower as well as links to where you might be able to get your own seeds, tubers, bulbs, etc. I will continue to add more photos and information as things develop.

Alyssum

Sweet Alyssum is a wonderful addition to any flower for a number of reasons. This adorable, tiny little flower packs a punch for what it can do! In addition to all its helpful benefits, it smells like sweet honey. I will never be without it again! I purchased some from my favorite nursery in Englewood, Honey Bee Nursery. However, I also purchased this packet of 5,000 seeds so that I could put them all over the place. They are just so adorable and helpful! Right now I am growing the white and purple varieties.

Bird of Paradise

I have wanted Bird of Paradise as part of my landscaping for as long as I can remember. So, when I visited the nursery that gave me the start of all my Monarchs, Hazeltine Nurseries, and saw this one, I had to bring it home.

Bougainvillea

This Bougainvillea actually came with my home. There have been times I have thought of removing/replacing it (just because of the thorns. However, It may very well stay where it is since it weathered the storm and actually came back when I never thought it could. I have had to cut it back so much since the storm. I will continue to do what I can to bring it to its former condition, meanwhile, it still makes me smile and the pollinators–including my Monarchs, love it.

Borage

There are so many incredible benefits to borage. I would have loved to find an established plant for this but so far I have only found seed. So I planted it and this is where it is at the time of writing this post. However, I have included a picture of what it looks like for reference.

Gaillardia (aka blanket flower)

Gaillardia is a divinely gorgeous Florida native (there is currently a debate on this) flower. I want this to be a great deal of my ground cover in my garden as well as in my front yard (which will become a garden throughout this year as well) everywhere possible! It is so delightful and the pollinators love it too! I purchased just two 4″ pots of this happy little flower. Now they are growing incredibly well. I gather all of the seeds that I can from it and am regrowing as much of it as I can. To me, this flower is a way to have Autumn as I remember it in my garden. I love it even more! The autumn I used to know came with profound beauty, but it was death. A death that led to the most miserable part of life in Upstate New York, (for me) winter. The colors were so amazing though. Now, I have the colors of autumn bursting throughout my garden for many months of the year! What a blessing!

Geranium

My grandmother had many geraniums all around her property. I have never had the best luck with them but I keep trying, to keep them around in her memory. One that made it through the storm struggled and was ultimately lost. However, I got a new one, on clearance for $2 and it is absolutely gorgeous. I am going to propagate the heck out of it.

Hibiscus

They have such gorgeous, large red blooms! I purchased two of these gorgeous hibiscuses from Home Depot. They bloomed fabulously when I first got them. However, something in my garden found great delight in devouring nearly the entire thing. After that, I ensure that it is protected every night to prevent that from happening again. Eh, it just gave it a hard prune. Thankfully it keeps growing and blooming gorgeously. I then found a gorgeous pink one and that one is quite beautiful as well. I opted to show a picture after the flower blooms when it closes up. I think they are gorgeous and look like roses at this point.

African Iris

These beautiful Irises are so delicate and beautiful when they bloom!

Marigolds

In my opinion, if you have no other flowers in your garden, marigolds are a must! They are beyond easy to grow, hearty, wonderful to cut and display and super easy to reseed, and fabulous for pest control! What more could you want in a flower–oh, and you can eat them too!

Mexican Sunflowers

I love these little sunflowers. They are a lovely addition that the pollinators thoroughly enjoy. While not native, they have a happy place in my garden.

Milkweed

One of the most important flowers I grow is Milkweed. I have several varieties of milkweed that I will be focusing on in its own post coming up. It is such an integral flower for the pollinators in the garden. Most specifically, Monarch Butterflies. It is the only thing that monarch caterpillars eat. This makes it critical for them. Please plant milkweed in your garden!

Passionfruit Vine

At first, this vine didn’t seem to grow, at all. Then all of a sudden it took off and is doing fabulously! It is the host plant for the Gulf Fritillary Butterfly Caterpillar. Plus it produces one of the most incredible flowers I have ever seen and it provides fruit! The reality is that it is certainly playing host to a bunch of Gulf Fritillary caterpillars right now. Someone must have let everyone know that Let it Bee Garden happily welcomes butterflies of all kinds! It’s true. I cannot deny this. The first one came from a Florida Native Nursery. I then got more from Baker Creek. I am so happy with these vines and totally looking forward to when they bloom so I can add more pictures here! (the bloom below is an edited stock photo…I will make a post on mine when they bloom)

Pentas

These Pentas are Florida Natives and they attract butterflies. This variety is a brilliant crimson red that I adore. I also have another variety that is a gorgeous pink.

Porterweed

This flower is one that the butterflies and bees love. It is also a Florida Native. It is beautiful in its simplicity and will always have a place in my garden.

Sunflowers

Currently, I am growing three varieties of Sunflowers. Lemon Queen, Autumn Beauty, and the Mexican Sunflower. I appreciate the sunflower in all its beauty. I am happy to have it here for the pollinators and beauty of course, but also I want to look into harvesting and saving the seeds this year.

Zinnias

I have several varieties of Zinnias this year. Mazurkia looks like they will be my favorite with their giant bright pink blooms that look as if they were dipped in cream. I also have Yellow Zinnias, Polar Bear, Cherry Red, and another Orange Variety.

“I’m empathetic to a fault. I really do – embarrassingly enough – tear up when someone squishes a bug in front of me.” ~Kristen Bell

The quote at the beginning of this post is how I am, or at least how I was before gardening! I am still very much empathetic to a fault. Mind you, I still do not like most “pests” to be harmed. I totally prefer to live and let live as much as possible. That is why I try to do all that I can for prevention where the pests are concerned in my garden. I mess up sometimes in not using things quickly enough because I try so hard not to use things to reduce potential harm to beneficial insects. I will most likely continue to do that, just because of my level of letting it bee!

However, I do like to actually eat and share what I grow, so I use different methods, as described below to keep the methods that “unalive” insects from my garden. However, there are just some things that no matter how much you prepare, will eat your garden to nothing if you let them go. So, I do resort to the occasional application of organically accepted pest control.

Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.

Hydration & Nutrition

Everything good in the garden starts with hydration and nutrition. It is quite similar to our own systems really. As long as we keep properly hydrated and get proper nutrition, we have less pest pressure on our own systems. So, from the onset, giving our gardens the best possible watering and nutrients will keep the pests at a lower level. This means less food to lose and fewer bugs to unalive! Ultimately, the best for this is drip irrigation, which I do not yet have. I am still debating this, as I do not have a well and it will be very costly on the water bill. Using a moisture meter can be helpful to ensure that the soil is at the right moisture level.

So for now, I resort to a combination of hose watering, ollas, and as much rainwater as possible. This has worked well for me for over three and a half years. I do notice if I don’t get the watering right, plants struggle, and then the pests move in. So, I do all I can to avoid that. This year, I will be using more ollas than ever–due to the biggest garden, I’ve had here. So far I have only one in use, and I will be making a bunch more to put in all my beds.

As for nutrition, starting off with good fertilizers and maintaining proper levels of nutrition will also reduce pest pressure. I predominantly use my own fertilizers and commercially available ones as well. My own comes predominantly from compost tea that I make along with my own and (when not available) worm castings. I also use this fish fertilizer and bone meal as well. As I also learned from Brian at Next Level Gardening, aspirin helps a great deal in keeping a natural defense in place for tomatoes. I have also been making my own worm castings from worms that I ordered from Uncle Jim’s Worms. I have a great deal of worms and my own worm castings now thanks to those worms! More on the worms here.

Planting for Your Climate

Planting the right things for your zone. Also, planting things that are known for reducing pest pressure is also very beneficial. If you are not sure what to plant when in your climate, you are not alone! No matter how long we garden we can always learn. One of the best places to get an idea about what to plant is at almanac.com. By planting the right things at the right times the plants will struggle less. Often, pest pressure can be avoided by simply planting on time.

Trap Crops

I like to use other crops, known as trap crops to help keep the pest pressure as low as possible as well. This is a good part of companion planting. The most common flower that I plant throughout the garden is marigolds, they help a great deal in this reduction of pests. I know that there are some who say that they do not help, but I have found a difference in areas where I don’t use them. Plus I like the way they look and smell, so for the time being, for me and my garden, they stay. Every area is different though, so you may just need to experiment. Also, planting rosemary, and using green onions (or other alliums) is said to deter them.

Additionally, Alyssum is very good. Planting things in the garden that attract beneficial insects is SUPER helpful! By having crops that attract insects that eat harmful insects, the need for using other methods is greatly reduced.

Barriers

Another way to keep pests out is by using Tulle and Organza bags as a barrier between the pest and the produce. I use tulle on a lot of things, both in the garden and around seedlings, etc. If the crop does not need pollination, you could essentially use it as they do with large crops and cover them all. If they do need pollinating, you can always resort to hand pollinating.

The organza bags are super helpful at keeping all pests from the fruit-whether it’s little tomatoes, passionfruit, or other small fruits they ensure you get the fruit, not the pests! If you need the larger bags, these are great! I absolutely reuse these bags. I just wash them in a solution of water and peroxide after each use, rinse them thoroughly, and hang them to dry. I love them!

Organic Pesticides

When all else fails (or preferably before) I do resort to organic pest control. I really do like to get ahead of that and preventatively start with Neem Oil regularly. With all of these treatments that I mentioned, it is very important to follow the directions and always test to make sure that they are okay for your specific crops/location, etc. When I first see any sign of caterpillar damage, then I will go in with the BT. It is pretty effective for cabbage moth caterpillars (actually white butterfly larvae).

Spinosad

However, if it is Pickle Worms, Army Worms, or anything of that level of destruction, I go right for the Spinosad. With any of these things, it is imperative to treat either early morning or late evening–when the pollinators are not out. Otherwise, you could inadvertently harm them. Either way, it is important to avoid spraying on flowers as much as humanly possible. I typically spray the leaves, top and bottom. I use this sprayer. You can get a one or two-gallon sprayer, I use the one-gallon pump sprayer. This one has lasted me several years so far and still works like a charm.

Neem Oil

I like Neem Oil, I typically try to use it every week, and it seems to do a pretty good job at keeping most things at bay. It is super important to get the right kind! It is super important to have the one with aziradactin in it, not the other ones. There are plenty of others that do not have the aziradactin in it, but I have tried a couple and found them to be far less effective. I use this one specifically, so I can only attest to that. It is best kept at warmer temperatures so it doesn’t solidify as much. I tend to keep mine either inside or in my lanai. The premixed ones are more “convenient”, meaning you do not have to mix them. However, the concentrate lasts so, so, so much longer and it is far more effective.

BT

This is one of the more common treatments for caterpillars. I find it not as strong for certain ones and that’s when I resort to Spinosad.

I could probably get away with just using Spinosad on everything. However, I don’t really want to resort to this level of unaliving more than I have to. It is very effective and has, on many occasions saved my crops! I cannot say enough good about it. I use this particular one and swear by it.

So, that is for the most part how I keep pests at bay in my garden. Even with all these efforts, there can be issues. The best thing to do is remember patience in the garden. Some times are better than others but I have found more often than not, there is more than enough.

Happy Gardening,

Jennifer

“Do what we can, summer will have its flies”. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

It sure has had its flies, beetles, caterpillars (not only the good ones), leaf-footed bugs, and MORE! Oh my goodness! The heat and insects are like none I have experienced since moving to Florida nearly 14 years ago! Combine all that with my broken elbow, and I just can’t get caught up, forget getting ahead! Anyway, I’m still keeping on. I am hoping that by fall I can make some headway. For now, I am just appreciating all that I can get out of the garden. This may be the most challenging that my garden has been, but it is also the biggest and I have grown more here this year than I ever have in Florida. For that, I am thankful! I really can hardly believe the incredible abundance that is going on in this garden this time of year, despite all of the challenges! It is SO beautiful!

My zone experiment worked! I’m so excited! Since my tree made it through, I wanted to make it a point to put it to good use. So I went ahead and started to create a separate area under the tree where I would try to make it more a 9a/b as opposed to 10a. I had no idea if it would work or not but I set out to try anyway. I set up beds for sweet potatoes, swiss chard (which normally loves heat anyway…just not quite so much), and even Brussels sprouts and cabbage…in summer! Brassicas in summer in Florida?! YES, it worked! I don’t know how but it DID! So I finally had my first cabbage and Brussels Sprouts! I’m so grateful and will definitely grow them in my new zone again next year!

The sweet potato beds are doing fantastic! I am very much looking forward to seeing how they turn out…it won’t be long now! I had to really protect these beds because the first time with the vines I lost the tops off from them. Despite the fact that I had “fencing” put around them, something came over the top and chomped the greens off. I was still able to rescue the bottoms and bring them back. So, I just got more and doubled the amount. This is good because I have no idea how many I would get from six plants anyway, so now I have 12. So, what I did was put netting over the top of the “fencing” that I created with screens and skewers. It has worked fabulously to keep everything out! (The one below was the first one, after I replaced the ones that were eaten. I later built the second one, when the other six regrew. Can’t wait to see how they grow!)

Oh, while I haven’t been raising the monarchs for several months I was able to save one. I saw it in the garden so I decided to take it in and ensure that it would make it to a monarch. It did and he was quite beautiful, as seen here.

@letitbeegarden

I was finally successful at growing cabbage in Florida! This was a Test and it Passed with Flying Colors! Every other year for one reason or another (usually something eats it 🐇) it doesn’t make it. This year, however, I learned I can absolutely grow it here! SO this Fall I’ll be growing so much more! I am so incredibly grateful. it was even the WRONG TIME (a little late)! I created a whole new zone in my garden! I’m excited to see what else I can grow there! letitbeegarden zone10aflorida zone10a floridagardening englewoodstrong pushingthezone cabbage growingcabbage grateful gratitudeinthegarden gardengratitude gratitude

♬ Showin’ Off – Danger Twins

So much is going on in the garden right now, it is quite impressive to me! Over the past seven months, I have spent so many hours building all of the structures of the garden, planting, and taking care of the new garden. I am hoping to get to a point where I can just be planting, managing, and harvesting. Oh, and producing content of course! For now, I am just happy with the progress.

Unfortunately, I broke my elbow last month. This has really made it horribly difficult to keep up with everything that I had planned. Typically, this is not the time of year to really be doing too much in my garden here in Southwest Florida, zone 10a. Regardless, I did have quite a bit planned for not only now but for the fall. Depending on how things go, I may not get to do much of it. Still, I am grateful for what I can still do.

One of the most impressive things in the garden is the luffa! I am always so in awe of how, with just a couple of seeds, it can totally take over! This is just the start of it and it is really taking off already. Completely climbing all over the 14′ wide double arch that I put up. It’s so beautiful, in fact, it’s GOURD-JUS!

@letitbeegarden

This incredible luffa is not just a GORGEOUS gourd! When left to mature on the Vine it turns into a fabulous luffa sponge, Of course. But did you know that you can also eat luffa?? I love to pick them when they’re on the smaller side and I sautee them up like I would zucchini or mic them in things in place of zucchini. I’m going to try a few other methods this year as well. I will be planting more luffa for the rest of the year. But so far I’m very happy with what I was able to get from 2 seeds. Typically lufa is extremely heat tolerant and has very low pest pressure. *However this year in my garden I did have quite a few pest issues with it, Including a Giant iguana who decided it wanted to climb to the top of this trellis daily to eat many of the leaves as it was growing. I scared it off a few times but I don’t know I think he’s been back. I’m pretty sure there would have been a lot more growth if he weren’t around. I did have to treat the leaves with spinosad because there were quite a few pickle worms, leaf footed bugs, and a few other pests that don’t normally bother it. Despite all of its challenges…including excessive, excessive heat, humidity and much less rain than normal… I think it turned out quite well! there are a number of other ways to use luffa as well and I will be sharing here… want to know more? Are you growing luffa in your garden?? #letitbeegarden #zone10aflorida #garden2023 #floridagardener #englewoodflorida #luffa #luffatok #gardentok #gourdjus #loofa #loofah #loofahsponge #luffa #floridasummergarden #somelikeithot #fypシ #gardenjoy #englewoodstrong

♬ Gorgeous – Taylor Swift

The okra is doing quite well also. So are the peppers, eggplants, sunflowers, and passionfruit! Despite the incredible heat, these things are, thankfully–unstoppable! This is not to say that there aren’t challenges, however. Next post, I will address all of the insane pest pressure that I am encountering in my garden, and how I am keeping them (for the most part) at bay.

For now, I’m just grateful that everything is doing as well as it has been. I haven’t been able to spend quite as much time lately on the maintenance due to my arm. This has definitely caused some problems. Despite the fact that I have been less attentive than I would like, so much is doing so well! Including my sweet potatoes! At least the vines are doing super well. This is my first year growing them…I cannot wait to see how they turn out! Additionally, I have been creating a new “zone” in the garden and it is really turning out to be quite amazing! More to come! Happy Gardening!

Jennifer

@letitbeegarden

It can be super challenging to grow in the heat when you live in a subtropical climate such as I do here in zone 10a in Southwestern Florida. Since rebuilding the garden I have definitely planted a lot more things than normal. Sure I had to pull some things out and get rid of things and the past pressure has been absolutely insane, So I’ve had to treat more than normal. Regardless there are quite a few things that have so far been unstoppable and I am very grateful for that! Are you in zone 9 or higher? If so what are you growing in your garden?? #letitbeegarden #zone10aflorida #garden2023 #floridagardener #englewoodflorida #okra #luffa #peppers #tomatoes #luffatok #gardentok #gourdjus #loofa #loofah #loofahsponge #luffa #floridasummergarden #somelikeithot #fypシ

♬ Unstoppable (I put my armor on, show you how strong I am) – Sia

I got lost in my garden today! My garden now fully encompasses the backyard of my property, which is less than a quarter of an acre mind you. I was waking up my garden as I do every morning and I just got completely swept away. I was watering, admiring growth, and taking note of what I needed to do, and it happened. I went to grab a fallen blossom from my orchid bush to put in the birdbath and bam, I was gone! Perhaps I was caught up in the heady fragrance the blossoms kiss off into the air. Perhaps it was the sun shining against the crisp, cerulean sky while the wispy clouds slowly drifted by. Or, seeing all of the dragonflies, butterflies, and bees flitting about. I think it was the overwhelm produced by the supremely fabulous combination that swept me away.

Suddenly I found myself leaving my hose behind on the ground to go sit and watch the glory at the back of the garden, where my fence once stood. The fence that I am dearly missing, has, in its destruction, given me so much more. I have always wanted to put a gate through the back fence so I could partake of the nature that the area behind my home offers.

Time and expense have always kept me from putting the gate in. It did for nine years anyway. Now, it is gone, entirely. Well, not entirely, I still have much to do to get it completely gone. For now, it serves as a placeholder and somewhat of a boundary until I can get it all figured out. At the very least, I am absolutely certain that there will never be a complete barrier to the back as long as I own this property. I have replaced my west side fence with a temporary option. It will do for now. The back, however, will be lined with garden beds, a compost bin, and possibly a shed and a few other things.

Anyway, back to my few moments of zen. I allowed myself to just sit there for a few precious moments to take in all the beauty that surrounded me. I watched the gold, red, green, and blue dragonflies dart around the waking wildflowers. I watched as delicate peacock butterflies danced around as well. Then, of course, several gorgeous monarchs joined in the dance, while birds zipped by. Suddenly, a beautiful Gulf Fritillary made its own appearance and then re-entered my garden so I had to follow. The spell was broken for the moment. Still, I appreciated the feeling of getting lost in the beauty of it all.

I know that my passionflower vine is full of Gulf Fritillary Caterpillars but I have only caught a glimpse here or there of the GF Butterfly. Today, I was afforded the grace and beauty of this delightful butterfly. I took a few moments to capture some of her purposeful flight. Do you ever get lost in your garden? If you haven’t yet, you just might want to try it. It is a delicious feeling to be sure.

Happy Gardening,

Jennifer

“No flowers, no bees; No bees, no flowers. Blooming and buzzing, Buzzing and blooming; Married and still in Love.” ~  Mike Garofalo  

Happy May! As my vines are attempting to grow back in some areas where parts of the fence remain, I wanted to take a moment to mention it. This post is in honor of my beautiful “bee wall” that once graced my property. Before its destruction on September 28th, it was something that surrounded my entire backyard for most of the year, every year. Basically, it was greenery that included flowers from several different vining plants that grew around my property long before I purchased it. While some of it was probably considered “invasive” by others, it was a very welcome addition to my property. I greatly appreciated the beauty and happily welcomed the incredible amount of bees that the flowers brought to my yard. It was one of the factors that helped me believe that starting a garden in my yard could actually work. That it could “bee” successful!

Prior to finally starting my garden here in 2019, I didn’t spend a great deal of time in the yard during the day, other than when I had to mow the lawn. Regardless, I absolutely adored the amount of color and privacy that it gave me. When I started my garden my appreciation for that wall grew exponentially, along with the wall itself. While the wall really was more spotty prior to building the garden, once I built the garden enclosure it filled in so beautifully. So many, many more, and different varieties started showing up. Also, while the wall previously consisted of only a type of bitter melon vine, it then added Virginia Creeper and muscadine grapes! This really seemed to make my garden even happier.

Once I completed my garden enclosure I started making the garden. It really was quite wonderful, small but mighty. Over the past three years, I grew many vegetables, herbs, and flowers within that enclosure, along that bee wall. All the while the bees were incredibly happy with that wall. Every day that I went outside to tend to the garden, I enjoyed watching the bees tend to the wall and to my vegetables. I am so grateful for that wall and what it offered to me, my family, and my garden.

Mind you, this “wall” consisted of a chain link fence that was covered on one side with fence cover. On the surface, without the vines, to anyone else, it was nothing spectacular but it did give me privacy. My backyard was my escape from the outside world-yet it offered me countless opportunities to interact with all sorts of flora and fauna on my own terms. It was my own little world back there. Sure, I imagine whenever my neighbors may have overheard me converse with the bees, the birds, snakes, or whatever other critter happened to listen, they must have thought I was nuts. That’s okay. It was precisely this interaction-especially over the past three years’ events of the world, that helped me from going nuts.

Now, since Ian, I am left without the wall. Without my fence. Without my privacy to be the weirdo that I am. Well, I am still the weirdo, I just cannot express it as freely as I could before. Unfortunately, I cannot immediately have the entirety of the fence restored. However, I am getting it done. Meanwhile, I am building garden bed “walls”, if you will, to help me to not only rebuild my garden but to serve as my privacy and give me back my place for expressing myself and interacting with the wildlife that is within my property.

The enclosure that I built previously is honored in another post here. This enclosure was completely destroyed. It’s okay. I built the entire enclosure with mostly pallets and other salvaged items. Although, it was done well regardless (see more about that here). The picture below was before the fence was covered in the “bee wall” vining. Now, however, there will be no enclosure going forward. I will still have fencing at some point. The back is actually going to remain at least partially open. It doesn’t matter anyway, because, despite my best efforts, plenty of critters got inside. So, might just as well forget those walls and focus on the proper walls necessary to build a new, improved bee wall! I will also, hopefully, bee able to utilize some of the chain link that was destroyed, as trellising. Not sure, but I am going to attempt it anyway.

Oh, so meanwhile, I decided to leave something in my yard to help the bees. Here in gorgeous Southwest Florida, we have what we lovingly refer to as “Florida Snow”. This is a beautiful ground cover that normally doesn’t have the chance to flourish in most of our yards. I am guilty of mowing it down beefore. This was before I knew better. When it appeared this year, after the storm, I left it. I have left it–at least in my backyard, for most of the time since the storm. Since the vegetables are not there to pollinate and the bee wall is gone, the bees need these flowers.

However, I really needed to be able to navigate around my yard better to be able to continue clearing debris and rebuilding my garden. So, grudgingly I started mowing it down. I was literally crying while doing it because I wanted to leave it for the bees. Then suddenly it hit me! Duh, this is MY yard! I would not bee hurting anyone at all by leaving as much of it as I want. So, I left most of it there. I only mowed a bit of a path for me and my garden cart to navigate around. Then I decided that I would leave those spots and then continue to grow Florida native flowers in them when the “snow” disappears. Totally love the idea. I already know the bees do too! I’ll even get rocks to put around the areas to make it look a little more intentional.

This Bee Wall was the inspiration for Let it Bee Garden. So many have tried to tell me to remove the vines. I even gave in to it on one occasion and participated in days of removing the vines and burning them. I absolutely did not want to do it. After that, I vowed to never again go against my own feelings, especially on my own property. I vowed, when I really appreciate something, to just Let it Bee…no matter what anyone else thinks of it. If it is of no harm to another then why not?

“April is the kindest month. April gets you out of your head and out working in the garden.” ~Marty Rubin

HAPPY SPRING!!! So much has been happening here at Let it Bee Garden! I am so grateful for the opportunity to share everything here! While the fencing issue isn’t permanently resolved it is good enough for now that I can work with it. It is quite different from the little garden it once was! SO MUCH more life is in this garden than ever before, and it’s just the beginning! Most of my structures are in place and I am very, very pleased with how it looks and how everything is growing.

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I did spend a week away at the end of March but thankfully my fabulous daughter was here to keep things going strong! I am also SO EXCITED that she has been so inspired by the new garden that she is building her own gardens at her home! I cannot tell you how thrilled I am about that! So, I am sure as we go along we will share a bit about that here and there.

While I am not planting as many seeds for April, I do have transplants that will be going out into the garden and I will be direct sowing a bunch as well. Not all of the seeds that I planted in February and March made it. I have already had some pest pressure both in the form of insects and critters that got to things. That’s okay though, I have been able to pivot and protect things better. I will be sharing more about that in an upcoming post. This is the first time I have had big, on-the-ground raised beds, and I am learning about more challenges and how to get around them.

March Recap

While not all of my seedlings did super well through all the weather changes, etc. from February and March, enough of them did well that they will be transplanted out in the garden over the next week and many already have been. I will also be purchasing some transplants of things that either didn’t make it or that I don’t have and want. I have to keep reminding myself that this is essentially a brand-new garden. Despite the fact that I have had a garden ongoing here for over 3 and a half years now, that garden was taken by Ian. All that remains is a couple of pepper plants. I chose to go bigger and that has its challenges and rewards!!

There were other Monarch happenings in March as well. I knew that I would be away for a week, and would be very busy with the garden and other things in March/April. This meant I couldn’t fully help the Monarchs in the second half of March. However, I did raise and release 30 more gorgeous Monarchs at the beginning of March! It will be a bit of time before I raise more.

As for the second half, I did, of course, provide plenty of milkweed for the latest generation. I just couldn’t protect them all. There were a lot of eggs laid and many caterpillars hatched. However, I am not entirely sure what happened to most of them. This is why I wanted to help them in the first place. I know that there were probably more than thirty-however, that number went to nine and that is only because I built a different enclosure on the lanai and took several of the caterpillars that were in the fifth instar (just before chrysalis) and put them inside it. One did not do well, but the other eight went on their merry way as beautiful butterflies.

So, What am I Planting in April?

In April, I will be planting and/or transplanting

Fruit, Veg & Herbs: I have added Sweet Potatoes (re-planting as they were devoured-better protection in place now), beans, Sugar Baby Watermelon (probably closer to the end of the month), Dwarf Cavendish Bananas, Numerous Peppers (upon building and installing my 2 Pepper Place beds), Dwarf Moringa, Lemon Balm, Catnip, more Purple Passionfruit vine, Ginger, Yellow Turmeric AND BLUE TURMERIC! (I will be making a special post about the Turmeric happenings)

Flowers: I added more Nasturtiums (re-planting they didn’t make it either), more marigolds, a new Pink Hibiscus, at least 4 more types of Zinnias, more Sunflowers, Snail Vine, Echinacea, (the first ones of both didn’t take), more Borage, Jasmine, and White Bird of Paradise.

One big thing that I also have to keep reminding myself of is that direct sowing works so much better here for me. Every time I try to take the time to start seeds for many things, they just don’t do as well for me. When I direct sow them, there is a much greater success rate. My garden so wants to grow! It just doesn’t do as well with separate seed starting.

I finally got my Medallion installed in my main garden bed! I am SO beyond thrilled about that! I absolutely love this feature of the garden. It adds a whole different feel to it. I just love the whole thing. I feel it is really turning into something incredibly beautiful. It was, of course, beautiful before, just in a far more utilitarian manner. (as a side note, I will be making a change to it but still happy it’s out for now)

So much more is happening at LIBG! The worms are all doing super well. I will soon be putting some of them in some of the beds. I am also working on the east side of the garden planting a few shade crops and flowers. I am pretty excited about that since the only thing that has ever grown over there (since I’ve lived here) has been a volunteer beautyberry-that I think is coming back! Like most of my property, it was pretty ravaged in the storm but I have hope. I a beyond excited to have so many, many flowers! I just LOVE IT!

What are you growing in your spring garden?? Please feel free to share here or on my Facebook page!

Happy Gardening,

Jennifer