Me and Kate, Garden, Roscoe

 

Bottlebrush tree, Garden, Roscoe

 

Bokeh test 3, Garden

 

Bokeh test 2, Garden

 

Bokeh test, Garden

 

Datura, Garden, Roscoe

 

Trellis and agave, Garden, Roscoe

 

Spanish moss, Garden, Roscoe

 

Garden, Roscoe

 

Garden Roscoe

 

Lee's tree redux

Those of you who follow my photography know that I have spent a lot of time photographing Lee's tree. Lee is my wife's oldest and best childhood friend, and an avid gardener. When we moved here to Florida, Lee, who lives in NC, brought me this tree, as a sapling. I planted it near the IntraCoastal Waterway. It grew, over 23 years, to be a beautiful tall, graceful tree. I believe she told me it was a flowering almond. Anyway, it appears to be a member of the Eucalyptus family. Every Spring it would exfoliate it's bark, going from a rough slightly magenta to a lovely Provencale green, fading to gray. Last Autumn we were visited by Hurricane Matthew, who very quickly snapped the tree into the water. I wrote it off as a sad loss. But, come Spring this year there were buds, so, when the tree men were here clearing storm damaged trees, I had them cut Lee's tree back to below the split. Now there is a bounty of new growth and hope for a full recovery.

African Iris, Garden, Roscoe

Such balance

Potting bench, garden, Roscoe

This is dead center in my backyard garden. All tools migrate here. My daughter's last two Vermont plates and one of my Florida are on the front.

Azaleas, home

We had a very early flowering of the azaleas all over our lot this year, lucky, because we had a near frost last night.

Azaleas, Roscoe

It has been an odd winter. Like most of the country, we have had a very mild winter. I planted my tomatoes two weeks early, in February, and they are thriving. Usually when we have early warmth, the azaleas come out, little by little, and never reach their full glory. Then a heavy rain ruins them. This year they have slowly come out and gradually filled the yard. Two downpours haven't bothered them and they have lasted far longer than I remember. Very nice.

Collards in my garden.

My nominee for the flower that makes the most scent from the least real estate.

This is the flower of a tea olive. As you can see, it is tiny. When it is in bloom, you can smell it thirty feet away. It is a lovely heady scent. Sniffing one will make you believe in aroma therapy, you always feel better for it.

Knock out roses, garden.

They are in their last hurrah before two months of winter dormancy.

Monstera deliciosa, garden, Roscoe

We are blessed, with our climate here in North Florida, to be able to grow, in our gardens, plants that most people have to bring indoors up north. This is one of the largest members of the philodendron family, and I have two huge ones near the water. This one is six feet (two meters) tall and twice as big around.

Garden chair, Roscoe

I've had this chair for twenty years. It has aged in a most interesting way.