Plants and Trees

Meet the Inkberry

October 15, 2011

To most people, beach plants are just an obstacle to walk around on the way to the water. But they do serve a purpose. Many purposes, in fact. Beach plants are specially adapted to live in the hot, dry, salty environment of the upper beach and dune. But development of Florida’s has decimated beach plant [...]

Read the full article →

Learn to Recognize Poison Ivy and Avoid the Itch

July 23, 2010
Thumbnail image for Learn to Recognize Poison Ivy and Avoid the Itch

If you’re going to be hanging around on Florida islands, you need to be able to recognize poison ivy so you can avoid it. It is a very versatile plant. It grows on the ground, in trees and on fences. Sometimes it can be everywhere. You don’t want to touch it–not even dead, dry leaves [...]

Read the full article →

You Know Winter is Over in Florida When You Smell the Orange Blossoms

April 10, 2010

What is your favorite sign of Spring where you live?

Read the full article →

Sapodilla Fruit (Manilkara zapota) Flourishes in South Florida

July 15, 2009

Posted by David McRee at BlogTheBeach.com Imagine a soft pear with brown sugar embedded in the flesh. That’s what a ripe sapodilla tastes like. This very dense evergreen tree is originally from Mexico and Central America, but has been spread by its human admirers all over the tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world. You’ll [...]

Read the full article →

Star Rush (Dichromena colorata) Blooms on Pine Island

July 6, 2009

I often see the beautiful little star rush plants growing near roadside drainage ditches in places where it is difficult to stop and have a closer look at them. I came upon this impressive showing on Pine Island, a couple of blocks from the Pineland Marina and was able to stop the car and have [...]

Read the full article →

Our Obama Garden Progress

May 18, 2009

On April 14th I blogged about our humble garden’s hopeful beginnings. I’m happy to report that we have now harvested three very healthy and very tasty zucchini’s from our plants. Below is the first one. I was alarmed that many of the young fruit seemed to turn yellow and fall off. So I turned to [...]

Read the full article →

Tropical Fruit and a Ride Thru the ‘Glades

May 6, 2009

Driving home from the Keys on Monday I took a detour because I-75 (Alligator Alley) was closed due to smoke from fires. I took the Tamiami Trail (Highway 41) through the Everglades from the Homestead area to Naples. After taking this beautiful drive, I’ll probably never take Alligator Alley again.  Highway 41 puts you in [...]

Read the full article →

Our Obama Garden

April 14, 2009

I’ve been wanting to grow a few veggies and herbs in the back yard since I bought this house in 2002. Problem is, this area is nothing but gray sterile sand. and very dry. Heck, even the weeds have trouble growing in our yard. But you know when I saw Michelle Obama and company putting [...]

Read the full article →