Showing posts with label tropical. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tropical. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Green Thumb 101...


The availability of tropical fruit is delicious: mangoes, starfruit, papayas.
Florida oranges and grapefruit are bountiful.
Many Floridians are successful at growing these delicious fruits.
My neighbor, Jim, has an abundant grapefruit tree.
One neighbor grows bananas and oranges.
I've never had a green thumb—only a hammered black and blue one.

I went to the nursery and bought an orange tree. It looked healthy with blossoms and buds, promising a nice crop of oranges.
It smelled divine.
I loosened it from the huge bucket that encapsulated the tree, dug a pretty decent hole, adding nutrients to the soil.
As the weeks went by, the tree began withering and dropping it's leaves.
I'd watered it and fed it—what more could I do?
My neighbor's fruit tree weathered Hurricane Wilma, and mine up and died on me without provocation or neglect.

Not one to give up, I went back to the nursery and was captivated by the fragrance of the beautiful Asian Lilies and orchids.
I bought one of each.
The lilies looked great in the garden.
The orchid had a protected and humid location in the house.

Need I say more? Despite all the TLC I gave the flowers, both were definitely DOA in two weeks time.
I give up!

As I cruise down the produce aisle, I pick up my favorite Cali oranges[the best, sorry Florida], and some mangoes and papayas that I'm using as salsa for coconut shrimp.
Seven dollars of delicious, juicy fruit...Yum!

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Why I Love Florida...


*Wearing shorts and sandals most of the year
*When you retire, you're already here!
*Afraid of heights? Only real elevations are the high-rises along the beaches
*Swaying palm trees
*Shells
*Sanibel Island-Captiva
*O-D on Key Lime Pie
*Geckos
*Alligators
*Manatees
*Dolphins
*Iguanas
*Perfect umbrella drinks
*Florida Keys
*Jimmy Buffett
*Margaritaville
*Celebrity-watching
*Hurricane watching
*Fishing
*White sandy beaches
*Shorebirds
*Sparkling blue waters
*International cuisine
*Big Cypress National Preserve/The Everglades
*Swamp Buggy Races
*Mullet Festivals
*Pirate-themed festivals
*Art festivals
*Bo Sox spring training site-Ft. Myers
*Florida authors,Dave Barry, Tim Dorsey, Carl Hiassen, Randy Wayne White
*Haunted Places: Tampa Theater and Don CeSar Hotel