In this link on the History of Mona Lavender from Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens in South Africa you will see all the effort that went into developing this spectacular hybrid. Technically speaking, it is the result of a difficult crossing and selecting from thousands of plants. It was a long and arduous process of hand pollinating, germinating, growing and then selecting the best performers with the best looking plant and flowers. The tricky part was they were using a species that bloomed in the short days of the year – a winter bloomer - and crossing it with a species that bloomed in the long days of the year – a summer bloomer. Well it wasn’t that simple because Roger Jaques made crosses and back crosses many times and others have not been able to duplicate this combining of incompatible species. Florida gardeners are the main beneficiary of all this effort. Turns out Mona Lavender blooms year round here when protected from frost. It acts as a tropical perennial when the top is frosted as it quickly resprouts from the roots when the weather warms.
For this reason it is an ideal candidate the Pot-in-Pot garden. 
It was a joy to have them blooming in my garden all winter. Pot-in-Pot Updated link. On the many nights when we had freezing temperatures I was able to lift the pots and put them in my garage. Mona Lavender is the perfect plant to use in rotations in your Pot-in-Pot in a container gardening since it flushes with flowers so many times throughout the year. Rotate it with another bloomer that fits your scheme when it has too many spent flowers. Pull the pot and pinch it back and in 2-4 weeks you can put it back in your container garden. Look for Mona Lavender in the VIGORO perennial pots at these Florida Home Depot garden centers.
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In a December post, Remembering a Great Horticulturalist, I wrote about the loss of a friend, Tom VanWingerden, who inspired me, very early in my career. Before his recent accident he had just returned from one of his monthly visits to his families' project in Haiti, Double Harvest. I had requested you consider a donation for their efforts then in Tom’s memory for all he had done. Now, more than ever, Haiti needs your dollars and Double Harvest is there on the ground. Listen to John VanWingerden in this interview and you will learn more about what is really happening in Haiti and how it is different from what the TV news is showing to drive their ratings.
Give now to:
Double Harvest – Haiti
55 South Main Street
Oberlin, OH 44074
www.DoubleHarvest.org
440-714-1694
Pansies are ready to plant and in many parts of the country you will find VanWingerden Greenhouse grown pansy plants like these at major retailers. This is the “Generator” John talks about in the interview. I hope you get a real perspective of Haiti from his words.
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1. Hardy Perennials – Gardeners are asking what plants thrive both frost and hot summer temperatures. These plants tolerate frost quickly recover after cold weather. These popular plants are what customers will have the most success with and will remove some fear of planting. Plant success!
Sedum Florida Friendly Gold
Blue Eyed Grass
Bulbine – Jelly Burn Plant
Dianthus Firewitch
2. Drought Tolerant Grass and Accent Plants – Gardeners looking for long lived, easy care plants that will survive the typically dry spring and fall growing seasons will be successful with these plants. For the Top 20 Drought Tolerant Florida Perennials go to http://floridafriendlyplants.com/
Purple Showers Purple Queen
Variegated Flax Lily
3. Butterfly Plants – For success in attracting butterflies to your garden you can use both the nectar host plants and the larval host plants. Plant them in a sunny site them in the landscape. Refer to the Home Depot tag information for suitable planting conditions.
Lantana Pentas Milkweed
For the Top 20 Drought Tolerant Perennials and the Top 20 Florida Butterfly Plants go to http://floridafriendlyplants.com/
SausEdgeTM is an innovative way to save money and time and get instant results in your garden. Several popular varieties make an instant border in your garden.
http://floridafriendlyplants.com/Sausedge.asp
See the video at http://www.youtube.com/profile?edit=1#p/u/5/E1MObn0HqQc
or search Sausedge on Youtube
Cuban Gold Duranta from SausEdgeTM
Lantana from SausEdgeTM
Classic Selections are an economical way to plant perennials and use less plastic.
Classic Creations give instant results for combinations in your own containers.
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The weather outside is frightful… By Florida standards anyway. At the nursery, we cover acres of plant with Frost Cloth every time a freeze threatens. This works very well except when the wind blows the cloth off your plants. At home I use a different method I developed called Pot-in-Pot Landscaping.
I use an empty pot as a sleeve. It is the same size pot as the pot of the plant I am installing
and I drop it in for a finished job. When the frost threatens, I lift the plants and park them in my garage for the evening.
The method has many reason for you to consider using it in Florida. Follow this link to 21 reasons for Pot-in-Pot Gardening. This works also well for larger containers and combinations too.
Using this method in combination with a drip irrigation system save water and improves plant quality and longevity. Pot-in-Pot is also ideal for using tender plants within large containers as shown here.
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Temple Terrace, located on the East Side of Tampa, is designated by the Arbor Day Foundation as a Tree City USA. Some of our Florida Native Trees are the best choice for longevity and structure.
Trees make gardening in Florida much more enjoyable. I can’t imagine gardening without the partial shade of trees. Plants growing in the full sun all day require so much more water to look their tropical best.
Trees create a micro climate as we see on days like today after a freezing night like last night. Trees prevent some radiation heat loss. As you look around your neighborhood this week you will see how much better plants growing under the trees survived this extreme cold snap of 2010.
The Temple Terrace Garden Club, the city of Temple Terrace and Tampa Electric Co. have produced a full-color Temple Terrace Tree Guide That is available with in formation on how to select the right tree for the right spot.
The guides are at the Temple Terrace Public Library, 202 Bullard Park way, and Temple Terrace City Hall, 11250 N. 56th St. Similar information can be found on the web at:
Tampa Electrics Florida Tree Planting Guide
TECO also has information about tree trimming. Learn much more about all the Florida Trees at this University of Florida Extension Service site.
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Gardening in Florida is seasonal dependant just like in other areas of the country. Just because we don't have freezing weather you can't succeed by planting anytime you get the urge. NOW is the time to get an urge and do some preparation. I know it is hot and rain is predicted but if you drive to the farming areas the farmers have already plowed the fields and are preparing to plant cool season vegetables, fall tomatoes, peppers, corn, onions and strawberries. Check out the newly updated Florida vegetable Guide from these links. Successful Vegetable gardening can involve composting and rainbarrels and timing that avoids major pests. Learn about this from the Cooperative Extension Service for free.
This video is well done and illustrates a progression that gives you an idea of how much work you are going to have to do to get started. You sure want to do it at the right time if you plan to eat from your back yard. You also may want to get involved in a Community Garden to learn by doing before you start digging.
This Lawn is Your Lawn from roger doiron on Vimeo.
Older varieties would not bloom in our cool season when the days are short and they had no heat tolerance. When Floridians visit parts of California and the west coast which have cool summer nights and moderate day temperatures they are amazed at the Lobelia. Plant Breeders have been working hard to make this popular annual more Florida Friendly. Recent introductions of Lobelia varieties like 'Techno Heat Upright Blue' have changed our cool season plant pallet to include these cool colors which bloom in the short days of winter. The new introductions are much more heat tolerant as their name implies. You will usually find them at your Florida Home Depot Garden Center from November through April in gallon containers. Use them as FILLERS in combination planter to complement bright yellows. Step them up into a large container and enjoy them as they fill out and stay completely covered in blue.
