What a Mess!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But I really love it!!! This was a shade garden when the sun was further down the horizon in the winter. As we get closer to the summer solstice, there's no shade any more, so I've been planting some annual and perennials, hopefully the kind the butterflies like.

I had some Cleome Spider flowers in there, but they have gone to seed already and I replaced them with Cosmos. I expect the Cleome seeds will come up later and be back.

Yes, it is a mess of whirling butterfly, salvias, cosmos, caladiums, balloon flowers, even some coleus in there.

Yes, it's a mess, but I have lots of butterflies come round, and ya know what? I don't think they mind one bit.

Molly
:^)))

It really has lots of color! How does your caladium do with all the sun? The leaves on mine dry out even when well watered.

Down here a lot of landscapers use caladiums in the rodeway medians, full sun all day and they do look a bit worn out. But they get watered once a day so they survive.

In my yard, the sun is not beating on this bed all day long, but consistently at intermittent periods. I have the plants packed in there close so I kinda have them depend on each other for keeping the ground cool.

When I come home from work I also give this bed and my zone 9 bed a cool down with the hose. It seems to do the trick. I also have an automatic sprinkler system that comes on every other night at 4:00 am, and this is Florida, a place where humidity is our middle name.

I think all these factors contribute.

Molly
:^)))

I love the informal look.

I'm with you. I think it's cute and I know the bees, and butterflies don't mind.lol.It looks better than mine and I've put hrs. and hrs. into it.I still haven't caught up with the weeds yet.I was waiting for the seeds to come up to see what was what before I started pulling,now I've gone and hurt my back/liver/ribs not sure which and can't do didily squat.I wet down some mulch today so the butterflies could have a drink,they seem to like it when I wet down the rocks too.Maybe they get minerals or something from the rocks they seem to like it wet better than the pine bark mulch.I don't know that much about them but I love all critters great and small.I figure they have as much a right to be here as we do.Keep up the good work.
Jody

Yay, Molly!

Jody, sorry to hear about your injury. I hope it gets better for you.

All the plants in this bed now were put in from pots. I did mulch in there and so far all I have to pull up is the St Augustine runners creep in through the little pickets.

Now, waiting on the seeds from the plants to grow, I'm not pulling any weeds. I can't tell the difference between a seedling and a weed. That's the way it goes.

Yall thanks for looking. John, it's nice to see you overhere. This is only my second thread in this forum. I hope to spend some more time over here.

:^)))

I like the "mess"! I'm glad to see someone else's garden looks like mine. I have been wondering if I should thin some of mine out or just leave it all. This is just one view of the area that has had great success with things that reseeded. :)

Well, look at that!

I love your mess too Blond!!!!

:^)))

Seems messes are a good thing.lol.Jody

Molly~ and konkrete~

Right on !!! Good for you both. They're beautiful. So long as the butterfly likes it, who are we to argue. We do have a predilection for neatness. I feel that it comes from our mothers' training of us.

Let it all hang out !

Right On!!!