Open Greenhouse & Plant Swap, Saturday, Dec. 7 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., 602 Ronele Drive, Brandon, FL 33511
IMPORTANT: We changed the time back to 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. since it will be cool enough to enjoy being outside again.
If you’ve never been to Open Greenhouse, it’s a great way to see what’s happening in my Florida-friendly yarden and meet other gardeners. The plant swaps are great fun – you never know who is going to bring what. (They’re not a tit-for-tat swap so you don’t need to bring anything if you don’t have plants you can share.)
Our featured plant for December is non-native but is one of the top hummingbird foods in our yard, particularly since my firebush got pretty beat up in Milton. The salmon porterweed is bright pink so the hummers can easily see it and they’re beautiful to watch flitting from flower to flower. Unlike the non-native blue porterweed, the salmon is not invasive. We get one or two volunteers every year so it’s super-easy to control.
We also have a small forest of the native porterweed that’s finally naturalizing in my yard — but, of course, it’s not in a spot where I can easily protect them from lawnmowers. And speaking of forests, Milton knocked hundreds of acorns off our oak trees and we have dozens of baby laurel oaks to share.
Back to hummingbirds because they’re here and looking for food — and now is the time to plant it. Most of the pollinator/hummingbird plants we grow are pretty easy to root or dig up. For best results, bring something that holds water, like a bucket or deep bowl, so they don’t dry out before you get a chance to start them. (We’ll give you directions if you ask for them on Saturday.)
- We have seeds and seedlings for native pink and red salvia, which is also a favorite for butterflies and bees.
- Our firebush may have been beaten up in the storms, but we still have lots of volunteers, also popping up in places where they’re liable to be run over by the lawnmower. Along with the babies, we have a very limited number of larger plants that need to be dug up. Firebush is my all-time favorite plant, it attracts bees, including the bumblebees I really love, butterflies, particularly zebra longwings, hummingbirds and regular birds like cardinals, bluejays and titmouses. These are the native firebush, although they don’t always conform to that description. I purchased the original plants from Brightman Logan, a well-respected native plant grower, and have carefully checked other yards within a half-mile. Nobody else is growing firebush that might hybridize with ours.
- Brazilian red cloak blooms all winter long in full sun or deep shade. It’s also an awesome cut flower if you don’t mind stealing food from the hummingbirds.
• Brazilian red cloak blooms all winter long in full sun or deep shade. It’s also an awesome cut flower if you don’t mind stealing food from the hummingbirds.
- Pink and red powderpuff plants need a good trimming too.
- Dombeya is a totally amazing plant that was gifted to us two years ago. It’s now eight feet tall and six feet wide and really needs trimming too.
- Firespike, in either purple or red, is another plant that blooms in either sun or shade and attracts butterflies and hummingbirds.
- I’m always careful about promoting pagoda plants and bleeding hearts (both Clerodendrum species) because they spread by underground runners, but they’re spectacular all year long if you have the space and the time to keep them under control.
- Wild coffee is one of the most spectacular shade plants in a native garden. It gets pretty white flowers that attract bees and butterflies, then spectacular red berries that birds love. It’s an amazing plant that really wants to grow in a shady location.
- Simpson stoppers – volunteering from a mama that was gifted to me more than 10 years ago – also are popping up in spots where they’ll need to be transplanted.
- There are a few beautyberries popping up in a shady spot at the back of the farm, but we’ll probably start mowing back there soon, so they’re looking for happy new homes.
- The elderberry is blooming early this year, and we’ll have lots of cuttings on this native plant that’s been used medicinally for centuries.
- A couple of native cannas are popping up in my ditch. They’d be happier in a spot where they could get cut back after they finish blooming so you get another big flush of beautiful golden flowers.
Also on the free plant list for December:
- Lady palms, a slow-growing hedge that’s tough as can be once it’s started – and it actually prefers shade.
- Ever-bearing mulberries that are super-easy to root and set fruit nearly year-round.
- Jacob’s ladder is one of the few things we grow that doesn’t benefit wildlife, but it’s an attractive plant that works beautifully in a pot or as an inside house plant that doesn’t need much light or love. Some that’s outgrown its spot on my kitchen window is already rooted.
Before you leave,  I’d like to remind you that the mulch fairies gifted us with two giant piles of the prettiest oak mulch we’ve seen in years and one large pile is rapidly becoming compost! Bring your own containers and help yourself. We also have a limited number of wooden pallets and bamboo that can be cut to stake plants. Bring heavy-duty clippers if you want bamboo, though!