It’s the height of summer, when high temperatures, plentiful rain and abundant sunshine send nature into overdrive. Lawns and gardens grow so fast you can almost see it happening, and all that new vegetation causes a population explosion in pests.
Posted: Friday, August 06, 2010 11:00 AM EDT
An Aedes aegypti mosquito, the species that can carry dengue fever. (Photo by Muhammad Mahdi Karim)
Federal officials fear an outbreak of dengue fever could spread throughout South Florida following a recent spate of cases of the mosquito-borne virus in Key West.
Posted: Friday, July 16, 2010 11:00 AM EDT
It may surprise you to know that your yard is the first line of defense for the Florida’s Keys’ fragile environment.
Posted: Monday, October 13, 2008 11:28 AM EDT
The word “Xeriscape” is derived from a Greek phrase meaning “dry scene.” But Florida Keys gardeners have found that Xeriscaping – particularly the use of plants native to this area – doesn’t mean you have to settle for a stark, desert-like landscape.
Posted: Monday, October 13, 2008 11:31 AM EDT
So you finally have your place on the water. You’ve worked out the details on your home, whether it’s humble or fancy. Now what?
Posted: Monday, October 13, 2008 11:28 AM EDT
When we bought our first Keys home – a condo that was part seasonal rental, part weekend getaway — gardening was out of the question. A few years later, our first Keys house came with a yard full of limestone cap rock and very little topsoil.
Posted - Monday, October 13, 2008 11:31 AM EDT
Behind a small house in Key West lies an incredible display of almost 1,000 orchids lovingly collected and nurtured by Gary Gethen, whose house was a highlight of the March House and Garden Tour sponsored by the Old Island Restoration Foundation. The collection of brilliantly colored blooms, some large and splashy, others very small and delicate, includes some very rare species acquired by Gethen in his travels around the world, including Hawaii and Peru.
Posted - Monday, October 13, 2008 11:28 AM EDT
The warm ocean currents surrounding the southern tip of Florida create a climate ideal for growing nutritious, delicious tropical fruits. Many of these fruits cannot be grown anywhere else in the continental United States.
Posted - Monday, October 13, 2008 11:31 AM EDT
The Keys climate encourages some plants to grow beyond expectations.
Posted - Monday, October 13, 2008 11:28 AM EDT
While American gardeners who create flower arrangements in their homes tend towards large and lush arrangements, the tradition in the Far East is much different. Their style, particularly in Japan, tends toward a spare and much simpler, style. Often the approach is integrated with the flower arranger’s own spiritual life.
Posted - Monday, October 13, 2008 11:31 AM EDT
