It’s dry. Boy, is it dry. Early May in Florida is, as Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin used to say, “the peak of the dry”. Although I’ve designed my gardens to withstand drought, I can still see some signs of suffering, especially among the new plants I just couldn’t help putting in during March’s glorious weather. [...]
Tuesday morning, Pinellas County took 2,600 acres of the Brooker Creek Preserve for its water systems. About 900 of those acres will be destroyed for multi-story buildings, chemical storage, parking lots, service roads and reservoirs. But they promise to only use about 260 acres. Of course, promises and government don’t always go together. Howard Troxler notes [...]
In my last post, I asked “Who Needs a Lawn?” A few readers reminded me that some HOAs still require “traditional” turfgrass. I could go off on a tirade here about how those HOAs need a serious reality check, but we’ll save that for another day. Instead, I thought it would be helpful to provide [...]
Recent rains notwithstanding, the Bay area is undergoing a severe drought, and the tightest watering restrictions ever have been imposed. As we watch our grass get brown and dry, this is a great time to consider a Florida-Friendly gardening tip: Reduce the size of your lawn, or eliminate it altogether. In Florida, lawns just aren’t natural. [...]
As if we needed another thing to worry about… She stepped half way into her car, and turned the ignition. Apparently, the fox was hiding under the vehicle, got spooked by the cranking engine, and bit the only thing he saw – her left foot. Citrus Park Mall has been around for over ten years now, isn’t [...]
Apparently we can add Jennifer Closshey and her family to the list of local high water users. The use of over half a million gallons of water over the past year makes the Closshey family 10th highest in Plant City, and among the top 50 in all of Hillsborough County. Why would we single out Jennifer [...]
It’s hard to imagine a worse place to build houses than smack in the middle of an AQUATIC preserve. Here’s this breathtakingly beautiful, skinny little spit (only 300 feet wide!) running out into the middle of the Little Manatee River [see aerial image] — full of pines, palms, mangroves and wildlife [see photos] — so naturally [...]
Whenever we have to conserve water, news outlets love to point out those high-profile names that are using more than their fair share. ABC Action News published lists of top water users for each area, and stories told by the St. Pete Times, My Fox Tampa Bay and others pointed out that the Don Wallace [...]
You may have heard that the Tampa Bay area is in the midst of a (thus far) 3 year drought. The Hillsborough River is low, as is the Alafia (look at the photo). The rainy season doesn’t begin until June. The C.W. Bill Young Reservoir that we built in 2005 – just 3.5 years ago! – [...]
