In most parts of the country, cool-season flowering annuals provide late spring to midsummer color. But here in the Tampa Bay area, we can often enjoy these plants from late fall to early spring. ...more

November 8, 2009

Despite what you see on certain product labels at garden centers, fertilizer is not plant food. Foods are carbon-based substances - primarily carbohydrates, fats and proteins - that organisms can break down to provide energy and the building blocks to construct and repair living tissue. ...more

October 25, 2009

QUESTION: "I have about 2000 square feet that gets morning sun. It's all clay, rocks,and redwood roots.We did a water test and it took one gallon of water over 12 hours to drain. We dug another hole on the other side of the area (most shady side) about 18" deep and hit water. They area is bare other than two 25 year old redwoods. I was going to plant a variety of ferns near the redwoods but unsure if there are some varieties that are hardier than others against the redwood roots. ...more

February 1, 2009

Lost Without The GPS This past weekend, the PW and I spent an awful amount of time learning how to get around on the streets of an unfamiliar location without our navigation device. We were in the Ellenton area where the tanker truck destroyed the bridge over State Road 301 on the southbound lanes of Interstate 75 last week. Our motel was located in the Prime Outlets Mall area, within a half mile of the accident. Thank goodness we had a few friends who were familiar with the area and gave us maps to use to get around most of the congestion. Even so, it was impossible not to get into some standstill traffic jams. But before we left Sunday morning, the authorities had devised routes and some rerouting of traffic, which made traffic flow almost normally. ...more

June 12, 2008