Licorice Kiss

A recent addition to My Florida Backyard is blooming wonderfully this week. Agastache rupestris, sometimes called licorice mint, has delicately colored blooms in shades of pink, lavender, and apricot.

A. rupestris is native to hot dry regions like Arizona, so it's best suited to sunny, well-drained locations here in Florida. It may struggle in the wettest parts of summer if the soil remains too moist. It's incredibly drought-tolerant once established, so it's especially suited for Florida's spring and fall months where the temperatures are warm and the rains infrequent.

The foliage of this plant, as you might have guessed from the common name, has a licorice scent when crushed. You may notice a resemblance to some types of salvia; in fact, both of these plants are part of the mint family (Lamiaceae). The blooms of A. rupestris are attractive to both butterflies and hummingbirds - in fact, I came around the corner earlier this week to find a monarch nectaring at the blossoms.

Any plant that draws butterflies is A-OK with us, and the added bonus of these beautiful pastel blooms makes Agastache a welcome addition to My Florida Backyard.

Fuzzy Fuzzy Cute Cute

It's baby duck season again! There are proud and protective mama ducks everywhere, with little lines of babies following behind.

It's a sure sign of spring in My Florida Backyard!

Wish You Well

On a recent drive back from the other side of the state, we stopped at a nursery in Orlando known for its wide selection of butterfly-friendly flowers. There, we discovered a new salvia hybrid known as "Wendy's Wish", and fell in love immediately.

Wendy's Wish is an "accidental" hybrid. According to Sharon Cohoon, "'Wendy's Wish' was discovered in the garden of Wendy Smith, a Salvia hobbyist, in Victoria, Australia in 2005.  Its exact parentage is unknown but Salvia buchananii, Salvia chiapensis, and Salvia `Purple Majesty' were all in the neighborhood so are likely suspects."

We have a bit of a salvia passion in My Florida Backyard. With very few exceptions, they are wonderful for attracting both butterflies and hummingbirds. They are easy to care for, and many of them reseed readily. It seems there are always new varieties to discover, and while they don't all do well in Central Florida, Wendy's Wish should be well suited to thrive here. It's cold hardy to about 25 degrees, and has a long flowering season. Growing experts note that those in hot climates may want to give it a little shade in the hottest part of the day, so we planted ours where it can get some afternoon shade in the summer.

We look forward to seeing how this newly-available species does in our yard. We'll watch it to be sure it doesn't become invasive, and if it can stand the summer heat and humidity. For now, it's obvious that Wendy's Wish loves spring in Central Florida just as much as we do!

Anticipation

The Confederate Jasmine on the north side of our house is entirely covered in buds right now, and we know in a few days the whole neighborhood will be full of their scent. In fact, My Florida Backyard is full of buds right now, little packages of promise of the colors and fragrance to come.

Confederate Jasmine:

Zinnia:

Gaura lindheimeri:

Salvia farinacea:

Tropical Milkweed:

Yarrow:

Hibiscus:

While the buds may not be as flashy as the blooms, they give such a delicious sense of anticipation that we enjoy them nearly as much as the flowers that will follow.

Sweet Painted Lady

Having spent most of yesterday getting the gardens in shape for spring, including sprucing up the butterfly garden, it was satisfying to catch a glimpse of this American Painted Lady (Vanessa virginiensis) butterfly stopping by to sip from the lantana today.

"I love spring anywhere, but if I could choose I would always greet it in a garden."  ~Ruth Stout

Well said, Ms. Stout. Well said indeed.

Spiderwebs

A foggy morning left everything covered in a layer of dewdrops, including these spiderwebs that are for some reason all over our young cypress tree.

Once again, it's difficult for man to top the beauty nature creates so effortlessly.

One, Two, Three

Just in time for St. Patrick's Day, the latest crop of monarch caterpillars in My Florida Backyard have wriggled their way into shimmering green chrysalises, after eating every single leaf of milkweed available. (Seriously, the plants are completely stripped!) They've chosen all kinds of odd places, including three of them on this fennel plant. Can you spot them all?

Nature creates the most ridiculously beautiful things, don't you think?

Happy St. Patrick's Day - don't forget to follow the monarchs' example of the Wearing of the Green!