Musings on horticultural therapy and the soothing effects of plants and nature
When a tree has a name like poisonwood you know to stay away. Metopium toxiferum is a member of the sumac family, Anacardiaceae, and like its poison sumac and oak relatives is a don’t-touch-me kind of plant. It can be identified by the fact that its leaves turn up, rather than down, and its trunk […]
The shoreline of our beach is not a pristine expanse of white sand, but is filled with wrack. This natural material is a combination of sea grasses, sponges, shells, coral, driftwood and other organic materials that wash up. When the wind comes from the south, it tends to pile up. From the north, it clears […]
The birds are always active looking for a snack regardless of size. Flying high are pelicans, anhingas and ospreys looking for yummy seafood and making a quick and decisive dive to capture a morsel. Closer to the ground are sanderlings that scamper in a pack pecking the sand looking for sustenance. Their quick and coordinated […]
When do you know you are in the tropics? When you find more discarded coconut shells by the road than beer cans. 🥥🌴😎
Every year we time our visit to the Keys so we can attend the Upper Keys Garden Club garden walk. Each year five different gardens are opened to the public for a tour. It is both a joy and humbling experience to attend. A joy because of the collection of exotic plants that are on […]
Reaching for what I think is a blue plastic bag in the shoreline wrack, Juana yells, “Stop!” She spots what I don’t, which are a mass of stinging tentacles. It’s not a bag. It’s a Portuguese Man-of-War—a nasty, stinging jellyfish. These seemingly benign floaters come in on the tide and wind resting on the shoreline […]
It seems no matter where you travel in the Keys, it is hard not to bump into or spot an orchid. These epiphytes hang effortlessly on trees, fences, strings and anything their often-exposed roots can grab. I am jealous that we have had little luck up North keeping the ones we purchase alive and healthy. […]
One of the great things about being in Florida this time of year is that strawberries are fresh out of the fields and available in farmer’s markets. I love to gorge myself on perfectly ripe, red and juicy berries. I can’t get enough. But to my surprise and shock, I recently spotted white strawberries that […]
Walking along the beach yesterday, I spot a strange looking stone. Picking it up, its lightness surprises me for its size and I soon realize that I have found a pumice stone. It is riddled with tiny holes that give its smooth surface appearance a rough edge. Perfect for a bit of exfoliating. These stones […]
Floridians seem to be more playful with their mailboxes than us Northerners and Keys residents appear to amp that up a notch or two. Here is a collection of some of the more interesting mailboxes/posts that I have found in my daily bicycle trips around Upper and Lower Matecombe in Islamorada.