Blue is a color which has connotations and implications, usually negative or depressing. People feeling depressed or out-of-sorts are said to have the blues. Blues singers always have a sad song about love lost or some other gloomy situation beyond the control of the person suffering through the unhappiness and indignities. With no hope for…Read more
One of the most visible signs of our local “Southern Ecology” is Spanish moss. It has been eulogized in poetry, novels and song for centuries. It is closely associated with the mental images of the South. Spanish Moss (Tillandsia usneoides) is an epiphytic, flowering plant in the Bromeliaceae family. Epiphytes typically grow by attaching to…Read more
“A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds,” wrote 19th century philosopher and poet Ralph Waldo Emerson. What he was saying, in a highbrow and antiquated way, was not to do the same thing repeatedly without thought. Luckily, the local plants do not concern themselves with consistency. Most are currently recovering from a dry…Read more
With the return of consistent, if not excessive, rain after a dry patch during May and the first half of June, lawns are actively growing in Florida’s panhandle. This results in some positive aspects and some negative. The major positive feature is a lush, green lawn. No matter the turf species, there is a unique…Read more
Composting is the biological process of recycling organic matter (i.e., leaves, lawn clippings, plant food scraps, etc.) into a valuable fertilizer that can enrich soil and plants. When organic waste is recycled, the resulting product, compost, can be used to improve soil quality and help plants grow. Home gardeners have relied on compost for generations….Read more
