Garden Photo of the Day

Brandy’s Florida Garden

A favorite hobby

basket full of various colored beets

Today we’re visiting Brandy’s garden.

I garden in Zone 9b in the sunny state of Florida. Gardening is my favorite hobby. If I am not in my garden I’m visiting gardens, watching garden television, or teaching others how to garden.

This has been the most challenging and fun year, as I am currently changing all my beds out. We gained a lot of shade in the last ten years. I’m quickly learning what will work and what will not. I’m mostly planting perennials and shrubs that provide interest at different times of the year. My favorite plants are the ones that slowly multiply, because they help me fill in my garden’s nooks and crannies.

white yarrow flowers Yarrow (Achillea millefolium, Zones 3–9) has to be one of the most adaptable plants out there, thriving in the coldest of gardens and all the way down in Florida. The clusters of flowers are favorites of a wide range of pollinators as well.

white cosmos in front of tomato plantsWhite cosmos (Cosmos bipinnatus, annual) is welcome in any garden. Here it is mingling with tomato foliage.

bottlebrush plant in a containerIn a container, the unusual blooms of a bottlebrush plant (Callistemon, Zones 9–11) make a beautiful centerpiece.

basket full of various colored beetsBrandy is a great vegetable grower, as evidenced by this colorful harvest of beets.

osteospermumI love the way this white osteospermum (Osteospermum hybrid, usually grown as an annual) echoes the white variegation on the shrub behind it.

yellow daises blooming in front of pink flowersPink roses and hydrangeas bloom behind a cloud of yellow daisies.

Bigleaf hydrangeas with light pink flowersBigleaf hydrangeas (Hydrangea macrophylla, Zones 5–11) are popular in gardens in many different climates and are always beautiful.

Shrimp plantShrimp plant (Justica brandegeeana, Zones 9–11) makes showy clusters of reddish bracts for an unusual and long-lasting display. More-northern gardeners may know this as a houseplant.

large philodendron in a gardenAnd speaking of things I’m used to seeing grown as houseplants, check out this enormous philodendron! I think it is the split-leaf philodendron, Philodendron bipinnatifidum.

If you want to see more of Brandy’s garden, check out her Instagram: @easylivinggardens

 

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Comments

  1. nwphilagardener 07/23/2021

    I'd love to identify the strappy leaved plant (with blades having white margins) in the final photo of the series. Is it a Yucca, an Iris or something else?

  2. User avater
    treasuresmom 07/23/2021

    Lovely.

  3. btucker9675 07/23/2021

    So pretty - I love that you'd created a different garden than the typical Florida garden. A really nice mix of plants, colors, shapes and textures. Lovely!

  4. User avater
    simplesue 07/23/2021

    I love that photo of the vegetables in the wicker basket- so picturesque.
    It really shows how much you love gardening by the looks of the beauty you've created on your property!

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