Garden Anticipation

The plus side of this summer passing by so quickly is that fall is almost here, which means garden time! It’ll be the first time I’m going to actually grow my own veggies and herbs and I am SO EXCITED. This is something I’ve wanted to do for so long and now that I have a home and yard of my own I can actually make it happen. I’m also going to grow more flowers, because who couldn’t use more flowers in their life? I always can. I’m in love with flowers forever.

 ( garden inspiration from Harry P. Leu Gardens)

There are two main reasons I am so excited about this whole gardening idea. The first being that I get to grow my own produce which means I’ll have fresh, organic, local veggies and herbs right from my own backyard. Duh! Why doesn’t everyone who has a plot of grass do this? The second is to become more sustainable and less wasteful. I hate buying a big old bag of something in order to use a small amount and seeing it go to waste because it doesn't get used before it spoils. There's also no packaging, transportation, etc. The idea of becoming a bit more self-reliant in the food area is a big motivating factor.

I’ve learned a lot over the past few years about nutrition and have been able to create a more varied vegetarian diet. I had never been a huge fan of cooking (I always preferred baking) but educating myself more about food (and the industry) and experiencing the grounded feeling that cooking can bring has really turned things around. I actually like experimenting with complicated recipes I would never have thought I could handle. I have no doubt that growing my own food will contribute more to this learning process and excitement to get in the kitchen and make wholesome meals.

2017 Flower and Garden Festival

Andrew and I went to Epcot's Flower and Garden Festival a couple weekends ago. We always say we are going to go earlier, say in March when it is actually nice out and you don't have to run from one shady area to another. For whatever reason, we end up going in late May. Not the smartest choice in the world! Even then, it's always worth it to check out because they do such a great job on the event. The flowers are always amazing and it's a great learning opportunity, especially now that we are homeowners looking to create a garden of our own. 

It's basically one of my new hobbies: to walk around a garden or event that has information about plants and flowers and try to take in as much of it as possible. I take pictures of little plant signs or just a photo of the flower with hopes that in the future I'll find someone who can identify it. It's helping me learn so much and I plan to use all this newfound knowledge to create a sustainable yard and garden of my own. I know it will be a real "learn as I go" process. I've collected info from Leu Gardens, Oakland Nature Preserve, Epcot Flower and Garden Festival, and the annual Spring Fever in the Garden that Winter Garden hosts. I'll talk about all the other places soon, but here are some (not the best quality) photos from our Flower and Garden trip :)

NOTE TO SELF: FIND THESE PURPLE FLOWERS

CONTAINER GOALS

PENTAS! PENTAS!

ALMOST LOOKS LIKE AN ENGLISH GARDEN!

The cool thing about this experience was seeing so many flowers and plants that I now know from my recent discoveries (Andrew was really impressed as I kept pointing and saying "pentas! pentas" over and over). All this research is starting to pay off! ;) It's exciting to be at the beginning of it all, there's so much to learn. I'm most interested in bird and butterfly attracting plants, native species, which plants act as natural pest repellants, companion plants, and what are considered annuals and perennials in Florida (nerd alert!). It is so, so different gardening in Florida compared to the other states in the country. Thank goodness for my Florida Gardening magazine subscription! (I'm sure I'll discuss at some point). 


Until next year, F&G! 

PS: Got any favorite garden information destinations of your own?

Florida Love

Having lived in Florida pretty much all my life, I’d say I know a thing or two about the state. I’ve spent the past ten years really exploring all it has to offer and pursuing interests of mine, including: hiking a.k.a walking in the woods, wildlife watching, travel, canoeing, camping, concerts, visiting historical sites, botanical gardens, eating, drinking, and generally trying to get a sense of as much of the area within a 6 hour radius.

I’ve been interested in its history, it’s culture, it’s natural beauty for quite awhile now, but it wasn’t until I took a two-month road trip across the U.S. last summer that I really began to see how truly unique this state is.

A few reasons Florida is cool:

1. The people: It’s undeniably one of the most ethnically diverse states in the country, if not the most. We truly are a melting pot here, with people from all over the world: different races, religions, and backgrounds. Somehow we all ended up on this little (well, 500 miles little) peninsula together. Having such a varied population can be challenging, but it's a characteristic that I think makes Florida special (and makes for good food!).

2. SO MUCH TO DO AND SEE: A lot of visitors travel to Florida, go to one of our famous amusement parks, and leave without seeing much of the state at all. Epcot and The Wizarding World of Harry Potter can be a lot of fun, but there’s a lot more to this weird and beautiful state. We have museums, botanical gardens, natural springs with manatees, breweries, really cute downtowns, national parks, old settlements based on wacky religions, science centers, the oldest city in the country, real life mermaids (!), Cuban food, gorgeous beaches, beautiful historic homes, aquariums, and some of the most incredible bird watching in the country. These are just a few things I can name off the top of my head.

3. Amazing weather from pretty much October to April. Yes, I sometimes wish we had the standard four seasons and that I could see colorful fall leaves and jump around in some snow, but the majority of the winter I spend in awe of the bright blue skies and enjoying 60-degree weather.

4. Alligators.

Sometimes Florida gets a bad rap because of people featured in "Florida Man" articles, but it really is a great place to call home. I plan to share my experiences here of past and future explorations, adventures in gardening, favorite local businesses, and whatever else I’m interested in.

So cheers to the “land of flowers” and to discovering more of our own backyards!

PS: Did I mention how amazing our sunsets are? Flatness has its perks!