The Garden Journals

I spend so much time in the garden I feel like it's were I really live, not the wood and concrete thing I store my stuff in.  It's always changing with the seasons.  We Floridians start hunkering down this time of year for the long hot ones.

Gardening here is like nowhere else.  Our soil is sandy, the heat and humidity up there and you just want to lay around under a shady tree or hit the beach.  Being subtropical we can grow an interesting mix of plants ,  I've been hunting down native varieties especially the food crops the Seminole Indians ate.  The seeds and cuttings are harder to find but a lot less work once established.  

Today I'm transplanting Everglade tomatoes (I've been dying to get these seeds!)  Native to Florida they are perennials here.  Tomatoes you never have to replant!  I'm seeding another crop of Seminole pumpkins, okra, Callaloo spinach, Caribbean sweet potatoes, more Longevity and Okinawa spinach.  The Moringa and Chaya trees are in overdrive and seem to grow a few feet daily.  I'm propagating mint.  My favorite summer drink is mint water, nothing cools me down like tall cold mint infused water.   Turmeric and awapuhi ginger are breaking ground.  We are gobbling down Mulberries like crazy.  None make it into the house!  We call them garden snacks.

We recently added a patio to the fire pit area at Sunset House and Gardens (the above pics!) and over the weekend we expanded it and added a sun deck.  It's getting to be time to put the water misters up.  I am hoping to start working on the outdoor showers.  I can't wait!!!  The water from the showers will be channeled to the nearby garden beds,