With time on their hands thousands of people around the world have found comfort in baking and sharing their activity on social media. Seasoned bakers and people who never dreamed of baking bread are engrossed in developing unique strains of sourdough, grinding heirloom grains and crafting amazing loaves including the Italian flatbread called focaccia. In Ancient Rome, panis focacius was a flat bread baked on the hearth. The word is derived from the Latin focus meaning "heart

Firecracker Plant is a name shared by at least four completely unrelated plants, which is why it is always agood idea to know a plant's botanical name. All four of the following “fire” plants provide embellish yourgarden with lovely red flowers and will attract pollinators. Russelia Equisetiformis, aka firecracker plant or coral fountain is an attractive cascading small shrub in the family Plantaginaceae. A Mexican native, it grows 2-4 feet high and has a spread of 3-5 feet a

FINDING COMFORT AND JOY IN THE GARDEN “When the world wearies and society ceases to satisfy, there is always the garden.” This sentiment, expressed by nineteenth-century poet Minnie Aumonier, is perfect for this unprecedented time in human history. With the advent of Covid-19 life for each of us abruptly changed. Our normal busy lives, filled with social engagements with others, came to a halt. Suddenly, we were isolated from normal contact with friends, neighbors, and even f

WHAT TO DO – FERTILIZER BAN ENDS SEPTEMBER 30TH Conserve water. Operate sprinkler systems manually, only watering when grass shows signs of distress. Rain barrel alternative - clever planter idea from Pinterest. 12 Ornamental plants - Fertilize plants that show signs of deficiencies. Rapid growth and leaching rains may result in nutrient deficiencies in some plants. Inspect plants for insect infestation and disease including mildew. It’s so much easier to nip problems in the

Fall is a fabulous time to add some porch planters or to re-design the ones you have. With the changing season we embrace new flowers and a new color palette. Orange is a major fall color of course, and yellow is a great accent, along with the ever present green. Purple, as a fellow secondary color, provides a wonderful contrast to orange. Mums are a standard of fall planters, but many other plants are just as wonderful. We have some plant suggestions for getting those fall c

WHAT TO PLANT Annuals/Bedding plants - If summer beds need refreshing, try ageratum, coleus, zinnia, scarlet sage, nasturtium, celosia, and wax begonia for color into fall. See Annuals: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/topic_annual_landscape_plants Bulbs - Aztec lily, butterfly lily, walking iris, and spider lily can be planted any time of the year, even late summer. Add color, texture, and pattern to the garden with the many varieties of elephant's ear (Alocasia spp.) now available.