A New Season Begins

We made a short holiday trip to the wintry state of Pennsylvania in search of snow. Unfortunately, temperatures ranged from the 30's to almost 70ish. And the only snow to be found were piles of dirty stuff on the side of the roads. We did, however, get a taste of cold weather which made our return home even sweeter.


If you're not from the north or some other cold weather climate you don't realize how bleak winter can be. It's cold, the sky is gray and overcast, and, most trees and plants are bare with the exception of the evergreens (which by the way, I was surprised to find that most folks don't decorate them for Christmas).

A trip up north in the winter makes me appreciate living in Florida. I couldn't live without the sunshine, the greeness and being able to garden 12 months out of the year.

As I took down the Christmas decorations in the warmth of an 80 degree day, I noticed the azaleas buds had swelled and were popping open in large bunches. For most folks, azaleas represent spring but in Florida they start to bloom in late winter. They are a little early this year because our temperatures have been on the warm side as of late.




I did notice that some other plants are putting out new growth, including a crepe myrtle. It feels like summer and the plants think its spring. But that's not necessarily good. We still have the possibility of some cold weather sneaking in within the next 6 to 8 weeks and zapping the tender new growth.