A New Gardening Adventure

I posted pics awhile back of my two new avocado plants.  They are growing like crazy.

See?

When we saw the holes in the leaf, we inspected the plant and pulled off a little worm which I promptly squooshed.  I'm glad we checked on it.  The other plant is doing well also.

And we have a new gardening venture:  Ta Da!

Pineapple Top

Last week we had an author program at the library.  Tim Dorsey was there to do a book signing and author talk about his new book, "Pineapple Grenade."  I bought the pineapple and used it as a centerpiece for the refreshments table,  I brought it back home and Butch cut it up for me.  We saved the top and he planted it in Miracle Gro potting soil an a HUGE pot.  We know nothing about growing pineapples.  Makes me wish I had paid more attention to them when we visited the plantation on Maui where they had fields of pineapple growing.

Maui Tropical Plantation

Well, we can always go back to do our research, right?

Bookmarks

"Crossed Palms"

September is a busy month for me every year.  After a summer of days with relatively little on my calendar, I switch into high gear with the advent of Labor Day.  My friends who went to the mountains or somewhere else north of Florida are returning and it is so much fun to see them again.  So the last couple of weeks I have been getting ready for visitors here as well as making plans for art workshops with a focus on creating items for gift bags for guests at the charity fashion show next March.  I know this seems awfully early to some of you, but there will be 250 of these little suckers and it takes a little organization to get it off the ground.

So far I have determined most workshops will be on the 2nd, 3rd or 4th Monday of the month, held at a community center or club house still to be determined, and activities will include card making, creation of bookmarks, jewelry, and other items created by club members.

"Crossed Palms" is one of my bookmarks.  I love palms.  The look of them and especially the SOUND of them when wind blows through their fronds.  Lying in bed at night, it is a sound that lulls me to sleep. And I love to paint them. I am looking forward to making and donating some bookmarks for the fashion show "goody bags" but also plan to sell them at the art mart in November. It supports a scholarship for a deserving art student at Tarpon Springs High.

I think I am going to have to get my calendar and start writing in goals for these projects so I don't let these deadlines creep up on me.

Happy Autumn, everyone.  I think we have all been looking forward to it.  For us Floridians it means low humidity and highs in the low to mid-80s.

Paradise.

From a little avocado plant

I really don;t know what possessed me one day several weeks ago when I decided to take three avocado seeds, stick toothpicks in them and "float" them in water to see whether they would do anything.

The seeds were from avocados we had gotten from the tree out back which actually belongs to a neighbor, but half of the fruit hangs over, and falls into, our yard.  One of these days a hurricane will probably push it into our pool.  Yes, it is that very tall tree that I photographed yesterday when we were experiencing a monsoon from the Gulf.

Well, two of the seeds took off like gangbusters and the third did nothing.  When the two had each developed a good tap root and surrounding root system and sprouted a plant, I got my resident green thumb to plant them in big pots for me.

At the same time he put his little tomato seedlings into smaller pots.  Actually, he was already planning to do his little tomato seedlings.  I struck while the iron was hot and he consented to do my avocado babies, too.

That was a week ago.  They have been sitting on the lanai table for a week and my babies are growing quickly toward avocado "toddlerhood."

And his tomato babies?

Not so much.  He has one that appears to be growing.  It is called "Mortgage Lifter."  I'll tell you more about the "Mortgage Lifter" tomato when I am sure the baby is going to make it.  He says that this was the "one" tomato he really wanted.  That's good.  Because from what I can see, it is the only one that has a prayer of producing fruit by Christmas.  He says he'll start all over again with more seedlings in December.

Rolling eyes.  Laughing. I do love this man.

Oh, and our papaya trees have grown leaps and bounds this hot, wet summer.

The plumeria trees  have grown several feet, too.  And flowered all summer.

So days like yesterday when it rained, and rained, and rained, and...

That kind of day.  Those are the days that make our trees and plants grow as though they live in a rain forest.  That dead plant to the left in the last picture?  That's the last tomato plant from this year's crop.  It just gave up the last tomato and will soon join it's siblings in the waste can for yard trash pick up.

This has been a long one, but I figured I needed to make up for the weeks of no post.  I had people emailing me to ask me we were okay.  We were.  But we have had a lot going on.  Life is returning to normal now.

Have a great week.  Happy Monday to all my retired friends. ;-)