Water drips from lettuce trays into recirculating tubs.
Photo by DONNA DIETRICH
“They said that hydroponic gardening couldn’t be done outdoors year-round, so of course, I had to prove them wrong,” Richard Meister says as he leads a tour of the one-fifth acre of lettuce and tomatoes that he grows hydroponically, year-round, on a piece of borrowed scrub land in Islamorada.
Posted: Sunday, November 15, 2009 01:15 PM EST
An iguana takes off with a strawberry he snatched from the writerÕs patio.
Photo by DONNA DIETRICH
Ask an Upper Keys Garden Club member what she thinks about iguanas and there is usually a momentary grunt, then a frustrated sigh and finally a monotone recitation of the official response: “They are not a native species, they are invasive and they just shouldn’t be here.”
Posted: Sunday, November 15, 2009 01:15 PM EST
Italian parsley and chives grow well all year in partial sunlight.
Photo by FRAN MARCHBANK
Community and backyard gardens are proliferating throughout the country, as are the number and variety of fresh herbs and vegetables thriving in flower boxes, in deck and patio planters, and on kitchen windowsills.
Posted: Sunday, November 15, 2009 01:15 PM EST
Elizabeth Henderson loves to take photos of the butterflies that visit her North Key Largo garden. Here, a swallowtail grabs some nectar.
We are very fortunate to live in an area that is home to a wide variety of big, beautiful butterflies, and it is easy to draw their fluttering wings into your backyard with a simple butterfly garden.
Posted: Sunday, November 15, 2009 01:15 PM EST
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
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
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
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
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
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
