What's blooming in paradise

Their beauty makes them look fake, like brightly crinkled paper perfectly formed. My cranberry hibiscus plants are loaded with buds and I just noticed the first blooms the other day.  They are a different species than the tropicals, these are more like a native plant, requiring less care, drought...

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Organic pest control

Someone left a comment on one of my posts asking the question . . ."how do I keep bugs from eating my basil?" I'm an organic gardener and don't use chemicals in my garden, especially on herbs and vegetables.  There are several recipes that I've used to control pests, but the one that is...

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Calissia fragrans . . . thriving in my Paradise

This is an older post from another blog  that I am currently restructuring. The calissia fragrans are still thriving, although the unusually cold winter knocked them down a bit this year. I'm currently propagating them from runners and cuttingsin containers and will start another "farm" in the...

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Screening with container plants

My gardening theme for this monthis container gardening. We plan on restructuring the carport jungle and the surrounding area this month and look forward to starting many herb and vegetable plants that we will grow in containers. Container gardens can add a green privacy screen to a balcony...

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Container gardening at Busch Gardens Tampa

Inspiration for our garden is one of the reasons I love visiting Busch Gardens. Container gardening is my preferred method of gardening since it allows for quick changes to the landscape and makes it easy to move plants into the greenhouse or indoors in the event of cold snaps or hurricanes. I've...

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Blooming Bromeliads in October

Blooming Bromeliads were featured on this blog at the end August . . . the plant photos were taken from Busch Gardens in Tampa, Florida.  When we visited the gardens this month, I thought it would be interesting to chronicle the life cycle of the blooming bromeliads from one month to the next. The...

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Tin-can & Glass-jar Lights

Set your backyard, porch or terrace  aglow with these fun lights. There is something about candle light in the darkness that is magical.  One of the things I love best is taking something that would normally be thrown away and make something useful from it. I have also taken tin...

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Composting autumn leaves

Leaf mulch made from the leaves of my oak trees make an excellent mulch for acid-loving plants like hibiscus. My method is ridiculously easy . . . rake the leaves and place in a garbage bag (shredding the leaves is recommended, but not necessary), water the leaves before sealing the bag . . . and...

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Outdoor design ideas

Image Source:  HGTV Website As the heat and humidity calms down a bit here in Florida, my increased desire to get outdoors inspires me to work on some outdoor design ideas For more outdoor design ideas, click here for a  slideshow of over 500 photos . . . very inspirational! Sorry,...

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Gorgeous Bromeliads in bloom

Now is the time to visitBusch Gardens in Tampa, Floridaif you love blooming bromeliads!The clustering of different types of bromeliadsmixed in with caladiums and orchids arrangedin varying heights is breathtaking . . .These type of tightly clustered beds arescattered throughout the grounds atBusch Gardens.Love...

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Growing Basil

One of the benefits of gardening in central Florida (zone 9) is no time is a bad time to start basil from seed . . . and a benefit of growing basil after not doing any serious gardening for several years is the instant gratification. It is one of the most foolproof herbs in this area.Growing basil...

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Aucuba . . . the plant with the look of the tropics

It is one of those plants that thrived in my father's garden, a successful result of his passion for propagating plants collected in his travels. The shrub in the photo from my garden is a result of several years growth from the cuttings I took from his yard. The aucuba plant is one of my favorites. Our...

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Florida Gardening . . . what to do in June

After a very unusually cold winter, summer has crept up on us. The poor bushes have put out new growth amongst the bare sticks that still need to be pruned from the winter damage.After years of neglect, we have the overwhelming task of starting over again with the landscaping. As we rebuild "The Paradise"...

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