The Maple Hill Hop 154

Welcome to 

The Maple Hill Hop.

This is a hop for folks who love the outdoors.

Feel free to post about anything that's going on

OUTSIDE

in your neck of the woods,
no matter the season.

(Please share only outdoor posts.)

*Grab the button above to link back to Maple Hill 101.*

On Saturday,
there was a Master Gardener's Sale 
on native and Florida-friendly plants.
This event occurs twice a year
and much of our garden is composed
of plants from this venue. 

It was a beautiful morning
with abundant sunshine and smiling treasure-seekers.

This display of tiger lily caught my eye.
It's a fall bloomer, so it happily soaked up the sunshine
and strutted its stuff.

The range of colors, textures and shapes was astounding.
Whether one was looking for succulents, flowers or butterfly attractors,
the choices were plentiful.

red penta

crossandra

There were quite a few specimens that were new to me.
The flowers of this beauty were enchanting.

And would you look at the color on this gorgeous blossom?
Simply striking!

For only a few dollars per pot,
there were bargains to be had.
It would be easy to spice up your garden
for very little money.

Wagons at the ready to be loaded up 
and delivered to waiting vehicles.

The tiger lilies proved to be too tempting,
so I brought home two.
One will be given to a friend and the other is for my garden.
I also bought a lemon balm (for the bees)
and found a butterfly vine that was given to Faye & Lynn.

The tiger lily has a seed pod that's just loaded!
I see more of these in our future!


That's what we've been up to her in Central Florida.
What's going on outside where you live?
HOP to it!


   

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The Maple Hill Hop 102

Welcome to 

The Maple Hill Hop.

This is a hop for folks who love the outdoors.

Feel free to post about anything that's going on

OUTSIDE

in your neck of the woods,
no matter the season.

(Please share only outdoor posts.)

*Grab the button above to link back to Maple Hill 101.*

Fall ushers in a new season of gardening and inspiration.
It was time for the local Master Gardener's Plant Sale.
I got there around 9:30 on Saturday,
and had plenty of company.

There was a great selection of butterfly plants.
This milkweed seemed to be very popular.

Other aisles contained native varieties or
Florida-friendly selections.
We have used both of these type of plants exclusively in our garden beds.
It really makes the most sense.
Natives and Florida-friendly plants are less fussy
and more resilient because they are meant to be grown in our area.
They need less water, no fertilizers and need not be covered in winter.

There weren't many cleome plants left.
These beauties make a dramatic impact in the garden.

These are long-leaf pine saplings.
The texture is phenomenal.
These will grow to be up to 40 feet tall.
They just scream "Old Florida".

Here's another evergreen that looked like a miniature Christmas tree.
It was irresistible and one was brought home.
It will be placed in a pot and possibly taken with us when we move.
If it won't tolerate the new climate,
we'll just give to friends.
We can always come back to visit it!

With so many choices, it was difficult to limit my purchases to just two.
At this point, it doesn't make sense to continue to add to the garden.
It does give me lots of ideas though, about our future property.
Natives are the way to go.

We already host several types of caterpillars and butterflies,
and have many varieties of plants able to accomplish that goal.
This cigarette plant is a butterfly AND hummingbird attractor.
That's something we haven't yet ventured into,
but could easily be convinced to do so.
Something new and exciting is sure to come our way!

What have you been up to outdoors?
HOP on!
   

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