Spring has sprung

     Blooms. Everywhere. My favorite weeds have begun growing again. Some of my new favorite plants have survived this warm winter quite well.
Still have seeds of Spanish Needle and roots of Cardamom Ginger for sale.
Here is a quick snapshot of what is growing on in my main permaculture bed. Pictured here is a small loquat that I grew from seed; black grass, perennial sunflower, and tropical sage, from the Nature Coast Botanical Gardens. I am very much looking forward to their spring plant sale.

Opuntia Placed Using the STUN method.

     I may have said before that I am a huge fan of Mark Sheppard's STUN method of gardening, which is short for Sheer Total Utter Neglect.  In short, you plant a whole lot of the thing you want to grow, as many different varieties as you wish, collect the seeds of the survivors, and continue to plant and collect seed of future generations so that you will be growing the best, most adapted plants for your space.
     So I pruned all of my Opuntia, which came out to a lot more than I had thought it would. Filling up an entire bucket! From my postage stamp yard I was impressed. These are not old and large plants, but tiny things I have found in the neighborhood and bought one at the botancal gardens. These are the native Opuntias, be cautious when handling!

     Then I took all the tunas to the new property, which I am going to have to give a name to. I had wanted to make a fortress of solitude out of the place complete with a moat of Cactus all around it, but as yet I dont have enough plant matter for that. So I placed them all in the ground in a protected area. Could always move them later on. I was delighted to find the sand was moist about an inch deep, perfect for these cacti! With any luck, I can STUN these into thousands more plants for my moat.

Rose Red

     Whoever said roses were not a versatile and humble plant couldnt be more incorrect. These little beauties come from the big box store and look fantastic. Care requirements are high, as they are not native and not adapted. This is not a set it and forget it plant.
     Rose hips are a good source of Vitamin C, as are Cranberry Hibiscus pods.