Tag: plants

Flowers are life.

.Reading time 11 minutes.

I’m not exactly sure how my flower-love started. Maybe it was because when I was a kid, all my grandmas and my mom grew beautiful flowers. I think it was my mom’s garden that really captured my imagination, though. She has always planted the kind of garden kids love because it’s colorful and wild and jungle-like. She loves whimsical accents like a tipped over pot with the flowers planted like they’re all spilling out. Just a few years ago, I spied a gorgeous teal and rusty wheelbarrow in a dumpster and rushed straight over to get my dad’s truck to pick it up and give it to my mom for her garden. She planted it with sweet potato vine and succulents and Egyptian Papyrus grass. Dreamy. My mom’s landscaping method drives my dad crazy. There’s no plan, there’s no design, there’s no evenly spaced anything, and there’s certainly no constraint with color. Just writing that makes me laugh because a garden like that is just pure JOY. Part of the magic of my mom’s garden had to be that I never had to do anything to make all that beauty happen. I can only imagine how much work it was for her now that I have my own gardening experience.

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Loving That Balcony Life

.Reading time 5 minutes.

As nature people living in an apartment, a balcony/patio is a must. And we learned the hard way if that balcony/patio is in Florida and isn’t screened in, it’s essentially useless most of the time! (Because mosquitoes, bees, wasps, flies, lizards, snakes…you get the idea.) The people who built this complex did a very smart thing…they arranged the buildings in such a way that every apartment has a beautiful view. There are 3 ponds, green spaces, and a lovely tree-lined walkway on the property. Both places we’ve lived in this complex have had gorgeous views, but the one we’re in currently is perfect! We’re in the back of the property and the wildlife here is the best. We regularly see alligators, Great Blue Herons, Little Blue Herons, Whistling Ducks, Ospreys, Sandhill Cranes (with babies 😍), Great White Egrets, Cattle Egrets, plus various kinds of snakes, turtles, butterflies, songbirds, and bugs.

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Learning to Love Ferns

.Reading time 8 minutes.

My experience with ferns up until this past year is dismal. Tragic. Best not to be recounted. Ferns are not like other houseplants; they do not bounce back from underwatering, and I get the feeling they don’t appreciate being in my house at all. Well, fine. Live on the balcony for all I care.

I have found a few ferns that I do better with, which I will talk about in more detail below…the ferns with tiny leaves tend to be harder to keep happy, so buyer beware! (I’m looking at you, Maidenhair Fern! Oh yeah, you’re dead.)

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Coconut Casita Wonderland Garden

.Reading time 5 minutes.

I’m fresh back from a mini-vacation at the most unique AirBnB I’ve ever seen…in pictures or in person. If you’re friends with me or Brian on social media, you’ve probably seen us freaking out about it already…but really…it’s so beautiful. So magical. It’s like falling down a rabbit hole and ending up in a cross between Wonderland and the rainforest. Unbelievable. The pictures I looked at when I chose this AirBnB don’t do it justice, just as our photos don’t do it justice.

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Houseplant Tour

.Reading time 9 minutes.

Let me start by saying this: if you’re not interested in houseplants, I’m afraid this blog will be painfully boring to you. There’s a possibility even if you do like houseplants, this blog will be painfully boring to you. I’ve lost all perspective about what’s interesting to other people. It won’t hurt my feelings if you close down this tab right now.

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