Sharing my passion for gardening and lessons learned in the South Florida landscape.
At last! I am here...in the garden.
I have traveled a long, rocky--or should I say sandy--road to reach this moment of gardening revelation. Learning to love and embrace the South Florida landscape that surrounds my home did not come easy.
By respecting the natural landscape, I have experienced lasting success.
I fought the good fight with several plants unfit for this formidable USDA Hardiness Zone 10A simply because I coveted a certain garden look--that look to grace the cover of the popular garden magazines: tons of floral blooms with a dash of green foliage here and there. I entertained visions of hosting English tea parties in my backyard as I ran to and from the Home Depot and Lowes gardening centers replacing flowering annuals as they struggled to keep up with the demands of our climate.
To my dismay and for my own good, I eventually lost the flower fight to nature. The truth is, over time, I have developed a reverential respect for the natural landscape and the flowers and plants that can survive and thrive in our unique growing zone.
Philly native turned South Floridian
Back in Philly, my grandmother used to grow all kinds of veggies and fruit trees on our slender row house lot. In the back of the house, I recall figs, apples, tomatoes, cucumbers and even a composting container all neatly yet compactly spaced in the narrow strip of soil between our neighbor's driveway and ours. One or two small fruit trees, like our beloved peach, stood in the front yard as edible centerpieces.
When I moved to South Florida and began working to create my dream garden, I knew that I would be pouring a great deal of sweat equity into this project because hiring a professional landscaper was out of the question. I toiled and I tilled various areas within my modest suburban homestead thinking that one day, my efforts would transform my yard into the cover of those gardening magazines. As the weeks, months and years moved along, the demands of my job and caring for children overshadowed the needs of my garden. Nature willingly stepped in by reclaiming many of the previously tended spaces for her own.
Knowledge and experience wins out over sweat equity.
As my garden territory succumbed to native plant species, to dollarweed-covered beds and to St. Augustine grass creeping over and under borders, I turned my attention to learning as much as possible about gardening in the South Florida region. Absorbing valuable information through books, articles, blogs, seminars and videos, I have became more aware of the abundance of options and resources for gardeners in the sunshine state of Florida. Thankfully, I no longer felt alone in my quest for gardening paradise while learning of the successes and challenges faced by both novice and expert gardeners alike. I found inspiration, a
renewed sense of purpose and re-imagined my South Florida garden.
Today, I no longer pine away for high-maintenance flowers and plants that struggle to survive in this unique growing zone and even more importantly, in my garden. I have embraced tropical specimens like the Croton, perennial bloomers like Thryallis and Florida native species like American Beautyberry, that make my experience gardening a true delight. With research, practical application and persistence, I now tend to my garden with love and gratitude assured that I will reap an abundant harvest of joy for years to come.
Forever in the garden,
Crystal Jasmine
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