White flowers on the brunfelsia shrubs appear in mass; torch and butterfly gingers; heliconias and costus; reed-stem epidendrums; terete vandas and mokara orchids.
And, this month's chores:
Weed with tenacity. Cut back fast-growing shrubs that have put on what seems to be an enormous amount of growth; thin old growth from the center of the bird of paradise to keep the flowers coming.
Q: I think I have nematodes in my vegetable garden. Last year my plants did poorly and were stunted. The roots were knobby. Is there anything I can do this year?
In South Florida, we plant while the rest of the country harvests
W hile people in the rest of the country are preparing to harvest their fruit and vegetables, we here in South Florida are getting ready to plant our crops. Our climate is too hot and humid during the summer to grow most vegetables. But our dry, mild winters are just right for an edible garden.
The best time to plant your garden is the second week of October, after the rains have begun to subside and nighttime temperatures dip below 70 degrees. Until then, there is plenty that you can do to prepare.
Begin by getting your planting bed ready. Using untreated wood or cinder blocks, create a raised bed that is at least 10 to 12 inches high. A good-sized garden would be about 8 by 8 feet.
When you think slaw, you might think cabbage, or maybe you've even gone so far as to try slaws made from broccoli or carrots. But there's a big wide world of slaw possibilities out there.
Slaws are essentially simple things: Take a main ingredient cut into shreds, dress it lightly with something tangy, and finish it with the little touches that add color and crunch.
Start building your slaw by looking for a crisp central player -- a slaw is defined by its ``crunch'' factor. Squash, root vegetables, even fruit are possibilities. Now cut them into shreds with a mandoline or box grater.
Description: A cross between a Brassia, the spider orchid, and an oncidium, dancing lady orchid, that makes the hybrids a little easier to grow and the flowers a little larger. Even so, the ideal temperatures are mid-80s in the day and mid-60s at night, closer to the needs of intermediate conditions than warm conditions, so this is a good plant for the more advanced orchid hobbyist.
Light: Cattleya like light, early morning sun, which means 50 to 70 percent shade cloth or hanging in an oak tree.
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Slideshow | What's blooming in June
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