Browsing all posts in "Florida".
Beautiful Orchids and a Wacky Backyard
I meant to post some photos of my parents’ backyard taken during my visit over the holidays. My brother, who lives with them, is a plant nut – from a young age he could tell you the scientific name of any plant you stuck in his face (one of the amazing gifts of Asperger’s syndrome is this ability to remember EVERYthing too). He also has an amazing green thumb and used to grow the most amazing bonsais until my mom accidentally killed them when he was out of the country for a few years (she felt bad, but hey, it ain’t easy keeping bonsais going as a favor). He now grows incredible orchids. Here’s one that was in bloom during December that had a delectable fragrance.
Only thing is, this green thumb gets a little out of control. Fred just adores plants, and he wanted the yard to use a lot of native plants of Florida – in fact he even got some sort of thing from the state government about this (not sure if it is a declaration, protective designation – but he was very proud of it when the yard qualified). The yard is a bit out of control these days – one time it got so bad the neighbors complained and my dad had to shell out about four grand to clean it up. Looks like he might be shelling out another bucket of cash soon as you can see from these backyard pics.
We live on a golf course – so one of the goals was to block that view – no problem there I can tell you. You can see some of his orchids hanging – species that are not in bloom this time of year.
And another:
The front yard is scary – but for another reason – the indigenous plants seem to wreak havoc on the concept of grass. It looks like hell.
Pump Gate
This appeals to me mainly because it comes out of Treasure Island, Florida – one of the beach communities maybe 20 minutes from where I grew up.
Sheesh.
http://pump-gate.blogspot.com/
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Hurricane – Home of the Grouper Sandwich
An annual tradition when I visit my hometown is lunch at the Hurricane on Pass-a-Grille Beach.
Hurricane – Home of the Grouper Sandwich
Originally uploaded by Smash Monster. Continue reading →
Sunken Gardens
Sunken Gardens
Originally uploaded by Smash Monster.
This is a delightful place in St. Pete – lush gardens growing in a gigantic sinkhole. Sinkholes are common in Florida. You always hope your house doesn’t happen to be built on one, especially now that insurance companies take great delight in rejecting such claims.
