Flowers or weeds? Sad looking flowers around the common areas and roundabouts
 

I’ve been in/around The Villages for nearly 8 years and have always appreciated the landscaping and flowers throughout the neighborhoods. This year though, they look more like weeds! I’m wondering if they simply cut the budget, or what??

The tall ones look like thistle. Hard to tell with that shot though, they're too far away to see any details. Could be cynara or maybe basketflower. They're all very pretty, to me. I love wildflowers though.

If I were the landscaper, however, I'd put them in the middle of the garden, with shorter ones encircling it outward, to the shortest ones at the curb.

I'd prefer more perennials accented with some annuals also more use of mulch to conserve over watering

What is an "annual" back home up north, is apparently a "perennial" down here. My basil plant is still living, still producing green leaves, but it's absolutely classified as an annual and I planted it over a year ago.

The begonias they plant in the beds around the Villages will definitely grow more than just for the singular season. The last time they switched out the beds a month or so ago, I got lucky and was driving by at the time. I grabbed a few random plants, I don't even know what kind they were, and planted them in pots in my garden.

Two of them died right away, I think they'd been left unrooted in the sun a little too long. But the other two seem to still be doing well.

Florida gardening is definitely weird. We don't have seasons in the same way, there's no true dormant season for wintering plants that need to be wintered before greening again in the spring.

At least they're still kinda purdy weeds.

Those taller purple flowers are verbenas not weeds. They do tend to lean and meander a bit and that might not please everyone. Landscapers like them because you can see through them and they don’t form a solid block of foliage. I lost a good number of them a few years back as the soil they were planted in was too heavy and wet. Verbenas like well drained soil. I have some ‘volunteer” verbenas that came up on their own this year and they are doing well. I did notice that this year the landscapers had planted them in the median gardens.

I actually love the look of them. Also, my neighbor just stopped by yesterday and also mentioned how much she like them. I guess to each their own? I actually really like them a lot.

I've been thinking that these are the best flower plantings I've seen since we moved here. I absolutely love those tall, lanky pink flowers. I hope they stick with this look!

Don’t worry they will rip them out and plant other flowers soon

I believe the tall ones are Gomphrena pulchella. I call them gum balls. This has been a difficult summer for flowering plants. Blazing sun and too much rain/humidity.. Some of my regular summer plants called it quits a few weeks ago.

Since it’s Florida, I think they plant what will look good for a while and be able to withstand the heat/dry temperatures here. As far as the budget goes, maybe they are saving Salome money to be able to clean up all the palm trees that look horrible.

looks like some annuals and wild flower mix thrown in.

I googled them right away when they were planted because I think they are delightful! Reminds me of Dr Suess. As an earlier poster said, it appears to be a Gomphrena. Sounds like Dr Suess too!

I was just mentioning them to my husband over the weekend. They are wildflowers and I think they are beautiful. :icon_wink:

“ , I got lucky and was driving by at the time. I grabbed a few random plants, I don't even know what kind they were, and planted them in pots in my garden.‘

So it is OK to steal plants