Behind the scenes......It's a Jungle out there

     It's summer in Florida! I have been watching the weather around the country...and I know we don't have it as hard as most....so I am thankful for the beautiful sunshine and plentiful rain...but as it pertains to gardening...well things just get a little out of hand around here when the heat and the tropical rains start. You can go away for a long weekend and find yourself literally in a jungle when you return home. Plants grow inches during the night, and vines like Passion Flower seem to grow feet and find themselves all over places they are not suppose to be! 

The Passion Vine scrambling over the Crape Myrtle

      We always take such pretty pictures of the nice areas of the garden...Today I wanted to share the behind the scenes looks...The things I see "EVERYTIME" I enter the garden. 

A pile of overgrown Vines that need to be cleaned up

 Look at the pile of Oak limbs that have been stacked in the fire pit!
What a mess!

And would you look at all these pavers.....will we ever get them out of there
so I can turn this area into a potting shed?
Not to mention the old truck back there:(

      These are all the flaws, that make the garden...just never close to done and ALWAYS in need of work. These areas just remind me to keep at it.  One small area at a time.....

     After all...with many small areas to maintain....one day a beautiful garden will present itself!

The main thing I want to share today is this......a garden is hard work ...and just because yours may not "appear" to look as great and inviting as some of those around the internet or the gardening magazines...rest assured...all things are not always as they appear......don't get discouraged.....every gardener sees her own garden, not through rose colored glasses but with a magnifying glass,.... it's true you can walk around the garden and take some beautiful photo shots of groupings that will encourage and inspire...but as the lazy gardener I am...at this time of the year...with the rains, the heat and humidity, along with the weeds, the children, and the desire to just play....things in the garden do get away from me, I admit it.....and my naturalistic garden becomes literally a jungle mid summer! 

This is the Pond filter area...still awaiting a deck over the barrels

      There are some areas of this garden at this very moment that even I get a bit nervous walking through....(that one included) I know we entice the wildlife in...and though I love how prolific this garden can be....sometimes the quick scurry of a snake will scare the dickens out of me!  

 This time of year is magical though....it seems everything is having babies! Enjoy a few pics of all the babies.... of late 

The Koi population has Doubled in the past two months.....

The Molly pond is at an over abundance!

My Two Grey Baby Cockatiels......another Mama is sitting on a clutch now!
These two have just recently fledged!

Even the hibiscus acetosella  is having babies

Unfortunately I missed the Red-Bellied Woodpeckers fledge...but I watched the tireless parents for a month as they kept up with the never ending feedings....Maybe I'll get a pic of one on a visit to the feeders...

So that is how summer goes in my garden...It's a mess and beautiful...all at the same time....It is frustrating and inspiring....but most of all it's mine...and I just love sitting out there with all that life going on!  So please...if it's not too hot...get out there and sow some seed!

Genesis 1:28

Then God blessed them and said, "Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground."

The Koi Pond turned Green!

Oh my....the fight to keep the new pond clear! Well I can honestly say I am losing this battle, but very intrigued by what I am learning in the process! Let's begin with a little lesson in pond ecology :) To start with your  pond needs two kinds of filtration, the first is mechanical, that would be the removal of large and small solids from the water column, the second and most important in terms of a healthy pond is Bio filtration, which is a set up that allows the nitrification process to take hold and thrive creating a happy and SAFE home for our most beloved koi or goldfish friends...well any fish for that matter really,  from the aquarium in our home to the most vast of lakes in nature...a nitrification process is in use if the body of water is the home of life and is healthy!  The nitrification process is the natural biological cycle of breaking down waste in the water, such as plant debris and fish poo! It begins as soon as you add fish to your pond. The fish will eat and then they will poo ALOT! The waste from the fish quickly will start the rise of ammonia in your pond....Which is toxic to our fish! The Aerobic, nitrifying bacteria called Nitromonas will start the first half of the process of your bio-filter by converting the ammonia to Nitrites, which by the way: "ALSO TOXIC" to our fish :(   Thank goodness for the aerobic, nitrifying bacteria called Nitrobactor which will then gobble the Nitrites up and convert them into Nitrates, which in simplicity is just fertilizer! (talk about this later) Then the whole crazy process continues to repeat itself! WA-LA "the nitrifying process"

When I upgraded to the larger pond, I already had an established filter to aid in the conversion so my process was quite painless...but many Koi have been lost due to an un-informed well meaning fish parent! This process can takes 4-6 weeks to settle in, and testing should be done daily during this process to stay on top of harmful levels... Should harmful levels arise to unsafe conditions, there are products out there to aid in binding ammonia and salting can help reduce stress of fish from high Nitrites in pond, along with water changes and perseverance you can establish a healthy system in your pond. My Bio filters are 2, 55 gallon strapping barrels, each barrel holds approximately 7,000 feet of strapping material with lots of surface area to grow all those little bugs that I so desperately need in my pond! Note that I mentioned "Aerobic" bacteria earlier on! Yes they thrive in oxygenated water, so both of my barrels are fed air also to keep my bugs alive and well and thriving! I also have a bead filter which aids in both bio and mechanical filtration....So then why with such a healthy pond atmosphere would it be green with Algae...You see...the water is healthy, it's just green with free swimming algae, you see my UV light broke when I did the new plumbing, and brilliant me thought I could survive in Florida without one...Ha!...As soon as the water warmed up and the sunlight penetrated that water I had a beautiful Algae bloom......yep...all my fish disappeared into pea soup! I quickly out witted the algae, or so I thought.....remember I said the Nitrates were fertilizer...well the algae is a plant....so how do you kill a plant? Starve it!

Water changes were made and Canna Lilies were added in large tubs to the edge of the pond to consume more Nitrates that the algae....and between the algae and the plants, my levels quickly dropped...starving off the Algae and my water started to clear right up! SWEET! I was so happy to too see my babies once again....even though I believe they enjoy the green water better!  Alas....It was short lived, once the water cleared somewhat, the Nitrates built back up and the sunlight penetrated the  water again, the process started all over again! This pond cycles this way about every 4 weeks now....I give in. I am now in search of replacement parts for my UV light to kill the free swimming algae altogether, I would rather not add any more plants. Plants can help balance the process if plated heavily enough to consume your Nitrates altogether and floaters to shade the water, but in a Koi Pond, the injuries of the "xtras" in the pond to the Koi are just not worth the risk. So I will choose mechanics in this case and buy the UV light.  This is just not the vision I had of my pond.....
I want my gin clear water back I did find it so interesting to watch this process continue to repeat itself though! Life is teaching me new things everyday! Got to love it! Well that's my lesson on getting your pond established and understanding the Nitrifying process in a Pond, because truly the most effective way of having a healthy and clear pond is to understand the process, then work with it, not battle it! Nature is wondrous that way! It has a glorious maker that has engineered all this stuff  "perfectly"

John 1:3. Through him all things were made: without him nothing was made 

that has been made.

.....Enjoy some shots of the garden from a beautiful Summer Evening in Florida! and for goodness sake...sow some seed!   -janine

Hibiscus acetosella

Twilight purple Crape Myrtles

I love the woodland look of wedelia!

   My dumpster dive find : a rescued (upcycled) vintage kitchen chair  

The bird garden

Love the warm patina from the newly mopped with "ironite" patio!

A nice coffee spot in the morning shade, chickens cluckin in the background

Native Canna in beautiful bloom!

The Caladium path....

The Start of the Bird Garden

So I have decided to turn the area that was once the old Koi pond into "The Bird Garden" Only seems appropriate since I used to keep all the bird feeders around the fire pit which is now the New Koi Pond.....As they say "Tit for Tat" or well something like that!.....This Mocking bird sits greeting me as I walk through the garden gate....on the Fortuniana Rose bush...just starting to burst into blooms....With the pond up and running and the fish transferred...it was time to do some clean up around the place! I had procrastinated long enough. With clippers in hand I spent an entire day cutting all my roses back, pulling the passion Vine out of the Crape Myrtles and giving the Honeysuckle over the  chicken coops a heck of a hair cut! Shew.....the patio looks much better now. I placed some of the Xtra Cannas from the old pond into a galvanized tub on the patio with some other potted plants...it's 25 gallons, so I placed a small pump and filter to circulate the water...and now I can definitely see that we will need a few African Cichlids in that mini pond :) ssshhhh our little secret .......At the moment it's the home to the DH's 3 crawdads we found in the pond skimmer...Oh Well .....now back to the bird garden.....

So this is the spot just after the pond liner came out....I had enough dirt from the new pond dig and left over concrete from the demolition on the back porch to almost fill it up...I left the last 4-6 inches for peat and pine fines....my plan is for a bed of Caladiums here.....amongst the bird feeders....

This is the bones I'm starting with....The old frame from a garden swing upcycled to be a bird feeder holder, a few bird feeders from around the yard and a great sturdy concrete birdbath, along with a few bishop hooks....At this time I have some potted up African Iris around the border, but they are too big...I think I'll go with some Mondo grass instead...but after that first day...I felt like I was on my way...and no money out of pocket, just some things moved around...just like re-arranging the furniture :)

I'm a frugal gardener you know....so no stopping at the big box store and buying a few new bird feeders for me....Oh No...I would hit the Goodwill and thrift stores and find me some treasures! And yes I did! Can you say 

"SCORE"  

I will Make my bird feeders...

Okay....so you probably already figured that the Koi plates are my fav's...I still haven't figured where they will be incorporated...but they will...oh they most definitely will..... These sweet other finds, will soon be the beginnings of my bird garden.

 I  merged the Pink Vase and the white plate to make my first feeder....Okay...so drilling holes in glass....NOT so easy....don't try this one at home...Lucky for me I have access to a dental drill at work...and it was STILL a long and tedious project....I have to get some wire to hang it still...

 The next was the marriage of the matching Pink Mosaic Vase and Plate...(By the way)...bought a day apart and at two different thrift stores! They are mounted together on a metal Candle holder with mimicking shape.....How lucky am I.....Actually I don't rely on luck...I ask and God always seems to provide me with just what I need.....And it matched my Pink vase perfectly too...Do you see a theme here? I think the Azaleas in the yard have me inspired this month...I'm so easily swayed...Can't you just see a bed of Pink and White Caladiums around the foot of that feeder???

 Did I mention.....I do love me some azaleas!

And just a short time after...we had our very first visitors! 

 It sure has a ways to go.....but in just a few short days it is coming alive with birds and squirrels! A little paint on that swing frame, and a bed of caladiums and we shall have a little bird Haven! Native Blackberries grow entwined with the rosebush behind it and I plan on putting in a blueberry bush also....along with the neighboring Wax Myrtles and Mulberries....there should be plenty of food to keep the birds hanging around throughout the year...

Don't forget to spread some seed!  janine

I'll leave you with a quote from genesis:

 And God said, "See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food"; and it was so. Then God saw everything that he had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day. (Genesis 1:29-31)

OH My....The Tree Swallows Stopped By

Wow...WHAT A TREAT!    When I was a child one of my great memories was when the Tree Swallows would come through town in swarms...we would follow them as kids in hopes that they'd do one of there dives into a local Wax Myrtle Bush. Then we would run in and see how many we could touch...

As I walked out back today...the sky was dark with birds...In the back of my mind, for years, I had hoped by letting all those Wax Myrtles take over my back yard I'd have a pay off  some day...Well today was that day!

It was just magnificent....There were thousands of swallows everywhere...So many in fact that it sounded like it was raining on the tin roof of the chicken coop LOL...and  Yes, I was willing to risk it...though I did place a shirt over my head..... :)

It was so much fun to watch...it only takes one bird to land...then the WHOLE swarm tries to take over the Wax Myrtle for a luscious treat of berries....The tree turns black with birds as they all try to cling to the flimsy branches...

This time I watched, rather then chase after them as that little kid so many years ago..it took alot of self control I tell ya! I never realized how many..and how beautiful they are...They shine an iridescent blue, green shade over their black wings...just remarkable!

There is only a few times a year when we get such a sight in Florida...While they make their way to and from the North....Since it's been such a mild winter..I'm unsure if they are coming or going really.

At one point as I took my camera down to really take in the moment...I was sitting right amidst the swarm...they were whizzing just a foot from head, and they were everywhere.....Oh how I hope they come back this weekend...I would love to share this with my Daughter...who was off at school today :(

So like that great old movie line "If you build it...they will come" I have come to realize that in a garden "If you plant it they will indeed come" Wildlife is amazing that way! So plant something in your yard to bring in the birds and the butterflies...or what ever else you may love...And don't forget while your at it....sow some seed! Please let me know you visited by just saying Hi in a quick comment!   janine

You never know where you may find a friend :)

I got to share my garden with a new friend today! I listed a very nicely priced Child's toy that was gathering dust in my daughter's room on Craigslist in hopes that a little girl may get a really "big" surprise on Christmas morning.  Just after posting it....for a very nice price...ummm..did I mention that? Well I rechecked to see what others may be listing this item for, and needless to say I was underpriced....but that's not the point :) I came across a posting from a Mother looking for this item for her girls for Christmas....I quickly threw her an email and hoped she would contact me before anyone else, since it had already posted...To be honest..I would have just called her, had I reviewed the site to begin with...None the less, she called this morning and her and the family came out this afternoon! I had one text just a few minutes before her, and a bunch after.... but I just knew I needed to call this one back first...As it turned out...I met a lovely family, relocated to our county from Fort Lauderdale... The Mom was from Columbia and the Dad from Chile, they had 4 beautiful children, so polite and sweet....I couldn't have asked for a better home for the item :)

 As we talked, and talked, and the husbands talked and talked...we ended up out back, introducing the Chickens, the Koi and the birds to the kids....I would apologize for the mess, and she would just keep saying how it was perfect just the way it was....like being at home where she was raised....It's funny how we see all our own flaws, but others see things about us so differently!
 She seemed like just a beautiful person inside and out...and from such different parts of the world...we had so much in common.....the love of nature, the animals, the kids....They will be looking for a house out this way....I hope God leads them over here closer...would love to have them in the neighborhood... My daughter took their little girl on a tour of the yard as we talked..she picked flowers the whole way...and then Thanked my daughter, Elly, for letting her pick the pretty flowers in her yard..

All the time spent, is rewarded in moments just like that! There is nothing more beautiful than children feeding the fish for the first time, or a little girl clutching a fist full of flowers......... Enjoy whatever garden space you have.....it's like a universal language that everyone finds some peace and comfort in....  janine