With the start of the 2024 Hurricane Season, which is forecast to be an active one, homeowners should be proactive about preparations. Some storms in recent years have wreaked havoc on locales, and in many situations, trees have been a major cause of damage and injury such as broken limbs piercing roofs, fallen trunks crushing…Read more
One thing is certain, the recent rains are making the grass, and most other plants, grow. Thankfully the conversations about drought have been silenced for the time being and everything is green. In the local home gardens a member of the grass family is responding positively to all the moisture from above. Sweet corn in…Read more
Florida is a state where lightning strikes, and it is more than twice. With summer bringing multiple thunderstorms weekly, the chances of tree damage are quite significant. Lightning protection systems for trees are old technology, having been developed decades ago. They consist of three connected parts. A copper cable “down-conductor” directs the charge of a…Read more
The recent storms and tornadoes have focused the attention of many residents on trees within their home sites. Typically, these large plants are part of the background and receive little to no notice. However, weather events such as tornadoes, hurricanes and the like can reveal often overlooked safety and maintenance issues. Much of the damage…Read more
Before initiating construction, it is prudent to consider all the ways to preserve tree root zones when building a home or making improvements on an existing site. There are several reasons why preconstruction study and planning are worth the effort. Healthy trees add significantly to the appraised value of a home. Larger trees take two…Read more
The calendar says April and there have been several days in the 80s. While heatwaves have not been the norm recently, the humidity percentages have been in the low 20s, especially after fronts have come through. The landscape, along with people and pets, may reflect the results of exposure to a lack of moisture in…Read more
The seasonal weather has many homeowners returning to chores in their yards. The lawn has to be mowed, weeds pulled, new plants installed and on and on. The effort usually produces positive results. The neat, well-kept appearance delivers an inviting environment and, best yet, the envy of neighbors and visitors. The yard work also produces…Read more
“Familiarity breeds contempt” according to Aesop, the 6th century B.C. philosopher and children’s author. That approach may be correct as applied in the story of the Fox and the Lion, where the lion was outwitted by the sly fox. In managing a home landscape, especially in spring, the exact opposite is true. Ignorance now may…Read more
March in panhandle Florida is a transitional gardening month. Both spring and winter gardens are being tended, with the winter crops soon coming to an end and the spring crops developing. From a weather perspective, the year 2024 has been kind to vegetable gardening. The temperatures and rain have been close to seasonally average. Most…Read more
It currently looks like the winter of 2024 has finished a bit ahead of schedule, at least in panhandle Florida. The storm systems which are still heaping snow and ice on the northern tier states are producing showers locally. Those showers, hopefully minus the destructive winds, are producing copious flowers, both wild and domestic. That…Read more
