Berries at Target

My Final Photo of the (Last) Day (of the Year)

Taken at the local Target parking lot today

HAVE A BERRY GOOD NEW YEAR!

An Herb Garden in Central Florida

Rebecca's New Herb Garden - 12/21/10

 Having survived several frosty nights under the sheets, this herb garden was photographed as the car was idling in the driveway for our long trip home to Michigan. The previous day I had tidied a bit, removing the fallen leaves. The new soil was clean and pliable--oops, I meant friable* as one would expect from a professional mix. I am a little concerned that the many backyard squirrels will find it to be an ideal spot to bury their saved treasures. Also, by Michigan standards the location seemed too shady, but only time will answer that issue. It is serviced by the underground sprinkling system with a head emerging from the middle of the bed--probably strategically placed by the resident expert. (My highlighting turned it falsely blue). I like the angled placement of the two plots and the framing of the area with great rocks. It was nice to see green things growing again even if they needed to be tucked in a few times. Good job, Rebecca and Gustavo!

*Friable soil - easily crumbled--loose, open, un-compacted, well drained, allowing roots to expand and heavy rain or too much water to drain through easily

Flora in Florida

 

We are spending a week in Florida and even though it has been cold and even freezing overnight here in the Orlando area, we went to the ICE! sculpture show (see my other blog) and enjoyed a buffet lunch at The Palms, and strolled through the indoor gardens which were tropically warm and decorated thematically for Christmas. We sat "outside" at Villa de Flora for our lunch, surrounded by plantings, with a few koi in the pond and some small gators and turtles keeping company on a rock. Otherwise, I didn't see any bugs or creatures that would do damage to the perfect foliage and flowers of the gardens. I will include a few photographs, including the whimsical, the tropical and the seasonal.

Moss chairs

Perfect leaves

Lots of poinsettias

A find the bears activity for the youngsters

A tree of poinsettias

Poinsettias in a tree!

We ate lunch under the star (above, left)--it must be a magical place at night! Pictured here is a cinnamon tree (bark used for making the spice). I don't know where cinnamon trees grow but I think I have never seen one. I included it because I delighted myself with the thought that the cinnamon tree was, in a sense, seasonal-seasonal!