Garden ideas: October flowers
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Fall gardening in Florida
October in Florida garden is pretty much like spring in the northern climate. While up-north gardeners are preoccupied with other autumn ideas, Floridians can start planting some of the traditionally spring annuals and bulbs around their homes.
It's completely up to you, however, if you start your new flowers from seeds, buy plants at the local nursery or plant some bulbs this fall for some striking blooms in spring and summer.
It's completely up to you, however, if you start your new flowers from seeds, buy plants at the local nursery or plant some bulbs this fall for some striking blooms in spring and summer.
Garden flower seeds
Florida gardening ideas
Planting flower seeds is the cheapest way to have lots of varieties of flowers in October in Florida. If you're a beginner gardener, follow directions for planting and make sure you keep watering until your seedlings get established.
Before planting the seeds in the ground, prepare garden soil by spading and adding some compost and slow-release fertilizer.
Mulching around the plants improves garden conditions by a lot, as long as the mulch is kept 2 to 3 inches away from the base of each plant.
Here are two easy-to-grow October seasonal flowers you can plant directly in the ground:
Calendula (Calendula officinalis), also known as pot marigold or English marigold from the daisy family is one tough cookie. It's easy to grow in sunny spot and almost any kind of soil.
This herb has been used for medicinal purposes for thousands of years, for dying fabrics, for foods and cosmetics.
Calendula is most famous in treating various skin disorders and pain, it acts as bactericide, antiseptic and anti-inflammatory.
International Herb Association named this healing plant that's also delicious with your foods and looks beautiful in your garden - Herb of the Year 2008.
More about Calendula
Nasturtiums have beautiful foliage, produce infinite flowers in bright colors, spread like wildfire and on top of everything - taste good.
Some sources call them gardeners' dream for all the reasons, mentioned above - and being virtually care-free once established.
In mild climates they will self-seed and come back year after year - and the snails seem not to like them very much.
Nasturtiums grow in bushes, climbers or trailers. When buying seeds, look for your favorite variety. They can be grown on a trellis, in an empty spot of your garden or flower bed, or hanging over in a flower basket.
And best of everything is that every part of this plant is edible.
Nasturtiums are also famous for fiercely brilliant bloom colors, so bright that taking photos of them is difficult.
More about Nasturtium
Before planting the seeds in the ground, prepare garden soil by spading and adding some compost and slow-release fertilizer.
Mulching around the plants improves garden conditions by a lot, as long as the mulch is kept 2 to 3 inches away from the base of each plant.
Here are two easy-to-grow October seasonal flowers you can plant directly in the ground:
- calendula
- nasturtium
Calendula (Calendula officinalis), also known as pot marigold or English marigold from the daisy family is one tough cookie. It's easy to grow in sunny spot and almost any kind of soil.
This herb has been used for medicinal purposes for thousands of years, for dying fabrics, for foods and cosmetics.
Calendula is most famous in treating various skin disorders and pain, it acts as bactericide, antiseptic and anti-inflammatory.
International Herb Association named this healing plant that's also delicious with your foods and looks beautiful in your garden - Herb of the Year 2008.
More about Calendula
Nasturtiums have beautiful foliage, produce infinite flowers in bright colors, spread like wildfire and on top of everything - taste good.
Some sources call them gardeners' dream for all the reasons, mentioned above - and being virtually care-free once established.
In mild climates they will self-seed and come back year after year - and the snails seem not to like them very much.
Nasturtiums grow in bushes, climbers or trailers. When buying seeds, look for your favorite variety. They can be grown on a trellis, in an empty spot of your garden or flower bed, or hanging over in a flower basket.
And best of everything is that every part of this plant is edible.
Nasturtiums are also famous for fiercely brilliant bloom colors, so bright that taking photos of them is difficult.
More about Nasturtium
Flower seeds
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Nursery plants
The fastest way to spice up your garden varieties and add more color is to simply go to the local nursery and purchase some plants. Plant them right away into prepared soil and keep watering until established.
The following flowers available in October can be planted in your Florida garden as soon as they become available in the stores:
The following flowers available in October can be planted in your Florida garden as soon as they become available in the stores:
- impatiens
- geraniums
- petunias
- pansies
- snap-dragons
Online nursery plants
Fetching new data from eBay now... please stand byPlanting flower bulbs, clumps, corms
October September garden varieties
For all those who like to plan for the future (even in garden care) - you should focus on purchasing some bulbs for explosion of spring flowering, as intense as only bulbs are able to deliver.
Bulbs to plant in Florida:
Plant bulbs deep enough to cover them with one inch of soil and space bulbs 3 to 4 inches apart. Zephyr lilies grow only 6 to 12 inches tall.
Zephyranthes grandiflora cultivar will produce flowers many times throughout the summer and fall - always after downpour that follows a dry period.
Bulbs to plant in Florida:
- amaryllis
- crinum or swamp lily
- agapanthus or lily of the Nile
- gladiolus
- lycoris
- daylilies
- zephyr lilies
Some people call amaryllis Florida tulip.
Blooming amaryllis, planted in groups of ten or more in landscape flower beds, create a striking display of spring blooming - unlike any other.
When planting their bulbs make sure that the very top of the bulb stays above the soil line, don't even bury them with any kind of mulch.
Swamp lily, also known as Crinum, Cape lily or Spider lily, is a fragrant native of Florida and grows in swamps, marshes, and wet hammocks.
Plant deep, space bulbs 12 to 18 inches apart, top dress with compost or manure and mulch to keep the soil cool.
Crinum will bloom next summer, most likely after the rains in white, pink or bi-color.
When planting fleshy rhizome of African lily, cover it with 1 inch of soil and space 8 inches apart in well drained soil. Can be planted any time between late fall and spring.
Agapanthus prefers full sun or at least morning sun and does best in pots but can also be grown as a border plant.
Lily of the Nile blooms during summer with flowers in blue, pink or white color.
Gladiolus or glads grow from corms. They should be planted in groups of seven or more of the same variety for the strongest effect.
They prefer sunny spot and well-drained soil.
Corms should be thick, tall and plump, the size of 1ΒΌ inch or larger in diameter - to produce large blooms. Smaller corms may not bloom at all.
When planting, make sure the pointed side is up and about four times as deep as their diameter. Space the corms 6 to 8 inches apart from each other.
Glads come in a rainbow of colors and bloom in summer. They need a support structure and the best time to put those in place is when you plant corms (to avoid any possible damages later).
Lycoris (Lycoris radiata), hurricane lily or red spider lily blooms at the top of the hurricane season (each October) on 18 to 24 inches tall, leafless stalks, topped with clusters of brilliant red flowers that appear seemingly overnight and out of nowhere.
It only performs well in the south. Plant a bulb anywhere in the garden. It will come back year after year. Divide every few years in summer, when this plant is dormant.
Daylily (Hemerocallis) is frequently referred to as "perfect perennial" for the variety in colors, shapes in sizes available.
It also requires very little care, it's suitable for different climates and landscapes, it's drought tolerant, has very few pest and disease problems and easily adapts to different soil and light conditions. Daylily usually blooms for several weeks and some varieties have more than one blooming period.
More about daylilies
Plant bulbs deep enough to cover them with one inch of soil and space bulbs 3 to 4 inches apart. Zephyr lilies grow only 6 to 12 inches tall.
Zephyranthes grandiflora cultivar will produce flowers many times throughout the summer and fall - always after downpour that follows a dry period.
Flower bulbs
Fetching new data from eBay now... please stand byOctober blooming flowers from my backyard
Florida landscaping ideas: Seasonal flowers in October
Florida sunflower is blooming since early this summer. It is one of more than twenty species of sunflowers (from daisy family), native to Florida.
I received it as a gift this spring, planted it in the driest flower bed under the pine tree and more or less forgot about it (meaning - I've hardly ever watered this incredibly drought-resistant plant.
Despite all neglect, little miss sunshine keeps bringing smiles to my face with plenty of glowing blooms and beautiful foliage.
My red hibiscus is still blooming, but now visibly slowing down.
The blooms are getting smaller, the shade is not quite as intense as it used to be, there's usually just one flower at the time on the bush in a pot - and I don't get to see a fresh bloom every day next to my garden fairy - as was the case all summer long. Hibiscus is definitely one of the must-haves for Florida backyard.
Zinnias are one of my all time favorites. They grow in any climate, keep bringing new blooms if you deadhead them, keep attracting butterflies in all colors, shapes and sizes and always look great. If you ever have any bare spots in any of your borders or flower beds, plant zinnias. In Florida you can do that year-round.
Mexican heather is a small tropical evergreen sub-shrub, tough perennial throughout the southern states but grown as an annual up north.
It has finely textured foliage and tiny blooms in purple, pink or white color - for most of the year.
Mexican heather is a great border plant. It will fit perfectly in your annual bed and add seasonal color to your perennial flower bed.
Another one of those incredibly reliable and completely undemanding plants, perfect for extreme Florida conditions.
I can't even remember any more what my yard looked like without Mexican petunias. I received them as a gift and since they keep spreading, I planted them to several more places around our home.
I just love their color and all the butterflies they invite into the yard so I can admire them (blooms and butterflies) from every window.
The only thing to keep in mind is that they can get invasive so it's important to keep them in check.
Marigolds always look great - in the garden, flower bed or any kind of planter!
In Florida they bloom all through the summer, autumn and well into the winter - until frost.
They are easy to grow (even from seeds), easy to propagate with cuttings - and undemanding.
This is an idea for another filler if you discover bare spots in your planters or beds and borders.
Share your garden ideas here
Which are your favorite autumn flowers?
blue22d wrote...
Nice lens. I just love Hibiscus and Nasturtiums. I have a small patio and that's my garden. It is so much fun to see what others can do, especially viewing Squidoo lenses. Five stars and a favorite.
Posted January 28, 2009
Squidoo-Pat wrote...
Nicely designed lens-Nice photos-I absolutely love Pansies. Flowers are one of God's most beautiful gifts to us. No artist can top the intensity of color.
Posted January 17, 2009
susansavad wrote...
Great lens. I loved your flower pictures and was able to put a name to some of my mystery flowers.
Posted December 25, 2008
AndyPo wrote...
Excellent lens. It think your season in Florida is quite extended compared to England's. How lucky you are.
Posted November 20, 2008
JaguarJulie wrote...
I so love living in Florida to appreciate the flowers longer than I did in Ohio. You've showcased some beautiful examples. Next year we may have to hunt up that plant-like tree with the bell like flowers that hang down -- A neighbor has one and it is beautiful.
Posted November 15, 2008
windowbox wrote...
Great lens including good pics of beautiful flowers i love flowering too and i do this at my home through the containers like flower box, Window box Planter ...Containers gardening being so popular in the urban areas as we can not have enough space for the gardening in each house ..... and it is also give eye catching look to the House
Posted November 10, 2008
beachbum_gabby wrote...
very lovely lens, it reminds me of my hometown where there's a lot of flowers.
Posted October 29, 2008
Music-Resource wrote...
Hi Daria: Beautiful photos. I like the way you alternate them for layout variety. The lycoris is an interesting looking flower. First time I've seen one. Well done.
Posted October 25, 2008
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October in Tennessee
Tennessee fall foliage
by daria369
Hi,
My name is Daria of DariasWorld.info and I have many interests.
Above all, I love researching and traveling. But no matter what I do or where I go... (more)
My name is Daria of DariasWorld.info and I have many interests.
Above all, I love researching and traveling. But no matter what I do or where I go... (more)
