Lady Cat Lady

Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening All!

We are gathered here today to take a saunter through our gardens. As a reminder to all, I garden organically (No pesticides and Only Organic Fertilizer) year round and live in Zone 9B. I am just beginning my fourth year of gardening, and learned everything I know on mostly Youtube but some websites as well.

Starting in the front yard, we have our roses blooming again. These are miniature roses which are true roses that were bred to stay small.

Next, you’ll see our sunflowers are really starting to bush up. I can’t wait until they’ve bloomed. These are volunteer sunflowers. A volunteer plant happens when seeds are dropped and get into the soil, a plant will just come up on its own without help from anyone. There are more in the backyard, but I didn’t take pics of those today.

Next is Star Jasmine. I can stand and linger by these flowers all day. Despite their small size, their scent packs a huge, sweet punch!

Last on our tour of the front is the Mulberry, no matter how much we pick, they just keep coming in

Despite their similar appearance, mulberries are not closely related to raspberries or blackberries. All three species belong to the Rosales order. But while the mulberry is a tree belonging to the Moraceae family (also including the fig, jackfruit, and other fruits), raspberries and blackberries are brambles and belong to the Rosaceae family (also including the apple, peach, and other fruits).

Not counting the many handfuls of Mulberries we’ve already eaten this season, we’re already over two pounds! For the rest of the world, that’s a little over a kg!

Moving to the backyard, you’ll see the strawberries have slowed down production but are still looking good.

You’ll see the papaya plant (yes, it’s a plant) slash passion fruit is still looking lush. As a reminder, I took seeds from a papaya that I bought in the grocery store, put them in the ground, cut back all the weaker plants until I was left with the strongest one. Now, I have so much papaya, I’m mailing it, unripe, to friends.

The beefsteak tomato is getting bigger, there’s a couple smaller ones on the plant just difficult to get them all in one pic.

The potato in the container is doing real well, the ones in the ground? That’s a story for next week.

Lastly, let’s not forget the dune sunflower. Native to Florida. It “should” be in the ground. However, let’s all remember I have a duck situation. Muscovy ducks have taken over my back yard, they’d trample the plant.

Thank you for joining me on this tour of our gardens!

Happy Friday Farm Day