About Me!

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Central, FL, United States
I am a former teacher, aspiring artist, inveterate traveler This blog is about my Florida garden experience and its expression though poetry, philosophy, photography and art. It includes my other creative endeavors. Here can be found posts about travel to other gardens around the world. My garden is a half acre in zone 9a which includes a large water garden. I have mostly a shade garden because of the huge live oak. To keep things easy, I love to grow bromiliads,ferns,gingers and other tropicals. I need to have a low maintenance garden. In the summer we usually have plenty of rain and it transforms into a jungle. I have converted my swamp into the water garden where I grow irises, waterlilies, papyrus, radigan, spikebush and swamp lily. I also grow citrus (lemon,key lime,grapefruit,tangerines,pineapple,and loquats). Me?...Often the prickly thorn produces tender roses. (Ovid)

Nov 15, 2011

the garden is alive with the sounds of animals


 

 

We like to make our garden animal friendly. We have raised orphaned squirrels and racoons.  We also have  foxes, rabbits, snakes, lizards, varieties of insects, and even armadillo which are not native to Florida.  We have many Carolina Wrens and Cardinals and birds of prey (like barn owls). We try to minimize pesticide use. We have a swamp part of the year and do not spray for mosquitoes.  We prefer to use minnows for natural control .We believe in the cycle of life. We have even had a small alligator visit our swamp . Our neighbors  try to restrict even squirrels,unfortunately.


Carolina Wrens


Our first fledgling bird of prey (raised and taught in our yard) named "Special"

Im hiding in the blue ginger



Our orphans named Fred and Ethel and a another from a nieghbor named Rocky

3 comments:

  1. FlowerLady Lorraine7/05/2012

    Wonderful photos! I've never seen a katydid except as a shell of itself, they are really pretty. They sure are noisy too. :-)

    Too bad the cutie raccoons turn into such destructive critters when they grow up.

    Happy Gardening ~ FlowerLady

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    Replies
    1. sharon7/05/2012

      I love the animals..the racoons don't really harm any of my stuff....the armadillos dig holes and tear up the yard but i don't mind....my nieghbor shoots them.....and another shoots the squirrels because they bite the tips of the branches of the trees..He actually had a thief and shot at him and blew out another neighbors window .I love my animals...not so fond of the neighbors..haha ...thanks for visiting

      Delete
  2. Unknown4/20/2013

    I envy you! Lovely pictures, and so nice to have a lot of critters! I love my squirrels and birds and frogs, but that's about all we have. Lucky you!

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