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The Rainforest Garden: An Early Winter for My Florida Garden
http://www.therainforestgarden.com/2014/11/an-early-winter-for-my-florida-garden.html
An Early Winter for My Florida Garden. This weather has been crazy to say the least. Two nights were cold enough to break records from back in the 1800's, yet a few days later a city in our area (Gainesville) had a record-breaking warm night and yesterday Jacksonville had record-breaking rainfall amounts. If my plants are a bit confused about the weather, I can't say that I blame them. Korean rock fern ( Polystichum tsus-simense. And maidenhair ferns ( Adiantum capillus-veneris. The first night, though n...
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The Rainforest Garden: New Priorities for a New Dad's Garden
http://www.therainforestgarden.com/2014/10/new-priorities-for-new-dads-garden.html
New Priorities for a New Dad's Garden. After a year in my new home and the arrival of my baby boy, my priorities as a gardener have changed. Getting my son and ourselves into the habit of eating fresh vegetables every day is of tantamount importance to me now, and I'm also desperate to bring order and predictability to a life filled with this beautiful chaos called parenthood. I want to simplify and focus on what matters most. Goal 1. Simplify. Goal 2. Feed my Family. I'm not against those who choose to ...
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The Rainforest Garden: 10 Mistakes Florida Gardeners Make
http://www.therainforestgarden.com/2015/08/10-mistakes-florida-gardeners-make.html
10 Mistakes Florida Gardeners Make. Everyone makes mistakes, including myself. The problem is that rather than learn from those mistakes, self-proclaimed 'Black Thumbs' get turned off to gardening just because they kill a few plants and never give it another chance. Things are totally different in Florida, so cut yourself some slack and listen up: Here's a short guide to gardening in Florida for newbies and master gardeners alike. Planting Vegetables at the Wrong Time of Year. Maybe you found a pear tree...
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The Rainforest Garden: What's Blooming in my July Garden
http://www.therainforestgarden.com/2015/07/whats-blooming-in-my-july-garden.html
What's Blooming in my July Garden. It's been a long time since I've posted about what's blooming in my garden, and it might have something to do with the fact that I've been a lot more focused on the foliage and overall design lately. Though with all that greenery the flowers just stand out even more! It has only recently started raining after a long dry spell, and the rain lilies were happy to share their excitement. That's turmeric you see popping up through the foliage. The boldest and brightest bloom...
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The Rainforest Garden: Turn a Shower Caddy into a Vertical Garden
http://www.therainforestgarden.com/2015/02/turn-shower-caddy-into-vertical-garden.html
Turn a Shower Caddy into a Vertical Garden. Want to add a little bit of romance to your boring shower? All you need is a hanging shower caddy, a plastic loofah, orchid bark and a few other epiphytic 'air' plants to turn a well-lit bathroom into a tropical spa getaway. Here's how to make your own! I've been growing a garden in my shower for a year now and though I've already shared the project on my friend Michael Nolan's blog. I've decided that it's time I share it with you guys too. Step Four: Add Plants.
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The Rainforest Garden: Custom Illustrations
http://www.therainforestgarden.com/p/custom-illustration.html
To see more of my work, head over to my portfolio. And have a look around. Then be sure to email me at steve asbell@yahoo.com. To get pricing, discuss your ideas or just to say hi. Below are some of the services I offer. Your blog is awesome, so reward yourself with custom artwork to let readers know just how awesome it really is. The headers above were drawn in colored pencil for My Earth Garden. And Gardening Gone Wild. I'll do those too. Whether you're camera-shy or just plain expressive, hand-drawn b...
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The Rainforest Garden: Troy-Bilt JET: Win the World's Most Powerful Leaf Blower
http://www.therainforestgarden.com/2014/11/troy-bilt-jet-win-worlds-most-powerful.html
Troy-Bilt JET: Win the World's Most Powerful Leaf Blower. I've given the most powerful leaf blower on the market a test drive and Troy-Bilt and I are giving one away. You might be wondering if you even really need a blower that displaces 650 cfm and releases it with catastrophic hurricane force 130 mph winds, but after using the Troy-Bilt TB2MB JET in my own garden I can assure you that yes, you do. Here's why all of that power is a good thing. I totally expected to only use this blower for the big jobs ...
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The Rainforest Garden: Impatience is a Virtue
http://www.therainforestgarden.com/2015/04/impatience-is-virtue.html
Impatience is a Virtue. After all, how else would I be motivated to get anything done if not for impatience? I haven't once had to water our lawn since moving in, thanks to the rich humusy soil underlaid with clay. If there ever was a place to have a lawn, this would be it. The ugly fence will eventually be replaced, but until then I've planted bulbs, grasses and shrubs that will quickly form a screen. I've divided bulbs like Alocasia. California', turmeric ( Curcuma longa. Arrowroot ( Maranta arundinacae.
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The Rainforest Garden: Before and After my Slate Path
http://www.therainforestgarden.com/2015/02/before-and-after-my-slate-path.html
Before and After my Slate Path. A garden isn't much fun if you're the only one who gets to enjoy it. "Come look at my new planting of ferns! I would call enthusiastically from the back of the garden to my wife, who timidly stood at the edge of the patio in her nice shoes, clutching onto our baby. "Uh huh! I can see them from here! She assured me. I can't say I blame her for not venturing from the safety of the concrete into the weeds, mud and exposed roots beyond. Before, one year ago. All of the dirt wa...
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The Rainforest Garden: 5 Things to do in the Summer Garden
http://www.therainforestgarden.com/2015/06/5-things-to-do-in-summer-garden.html
5 Things to do in the Summer Garden. In a hot summer, your backyard can either be a haven or a hellhole. Since I've been busy tidying up my own backyard for summer, I thought I'd share some ways to get your patio and garden cookout-ready with a gorgeous garden! Since it will soon be too hot to do much outside, my tips have to do with simplifying garden chores, maximizing enjoyment and pampering your plants so that they look their best. Succulents like this Haworthia take drought in stride. The bromeliad,...
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