Home Gardens

Gardening and landscaping in Florida is different from any other place in the U.S. that I can imagine. Sand. And with that sand comes all types of bugs, snakes, and crawly things gardeners in other regions and temperature zones can only imagine. In Illinois the only nematode I ever heard about was in the dozens of gardening books and magazines that I had on my shelves.

That said, gardening books pertinent to and specific for Florida are very few. Oh, there are some on the local bookstore shelves, but with the specificities of Florida conditions from region to region, area to area, and even from neighborhood to neighborhood, the hapless gardener really has to get his or her hands in the soil -er- sand.

But I do have gardening books. From time to time I'll review some of the books, newsletters, and flyers that I've seen for various areas of the country. Some of my favorite include the "home remedies" for weed eradication, insecticides, and plant foods. I've always been fascinated with the idea of leaving little or no lasting footprint anywhere on the good green earth. I don't litter, smoke, spit, or waste water. I do recycle, of course, and try to use natural gardening techniques. One gardening book I've had for years and years is called "Square Foot Gardening." It proposes that you can garden intensively in small areas, and since such small areas need so little, yet intensive care, a bit of extra attention to the details will yield a bounty of fruits, flowers, and vegetables in your home garden plot. I don't have the book with me, otherwise I'd list the author and publisher.

I'll get better with these blog postings and try to be more organized in the future, but until the next time, go stick your fingers in the good green earth!