GARDEN BLOGGERS' BLOOM DAY-FEBRUARY

Is it cheating if you've temporarily moved from Zone 5 to 9 ? No? Well lookey here what's blooming in the Tampa Bay area and these folks aren't even gardeners :

This is a houseplant in Chicago that is summered outdoors -Hibiscus !



This is an annual in Chicago-Vinca



Roses bloom year round here

I'm in a small rental cottage that doesn't have much of a garden probably due to a lot of upkeep that the owner's can't manage. There's a lot of natural beauty in the live Oaks, majestic palms, hollies laden with berries, Azaleas, grapefruit , orange and apricot trees.

I can only dream what I would do if I lived here year 'round. I'd need a lot of acreage because I would want a large orchard of fruits and berries and a huge vegetable garden to grow my own organic produce.

Now go visit Carol at Maydreamsgardens and let her know what you've got blooming in your neck of the woods.

SPEAKING FOR THE TREES

The State Tree of Louisiana : Cypress

I'm a tree-hugger and proud of it. I also specialize in Trees and Shrubs at the Garden Center where I work a few days a week in the growing season. So I was quite disturbed to read that the beautiful Cypresses (pictured above ) that are native to the Gulf States such as Florida and Louisiana are endangered because they are being clear-cut for mulch and not a by-product as they once were.

Cypress provide habitat for threatened and endangered species, protect from flooding, clean the water and are important for migratory birds.

These great trees, some of which are a 1,000 years old, are being sold in $2 bags in the big box stores such as Home Depot, Wal-Mart and Lowe's. The Gulf Restoration Network ( Joe @healthygulf.org ) was organized to save the Cypress and they've contacted all the aforementioned stores to stop selling the mulch, but thus far have had no success.

I call on all tree lovers to send an email to www.healthygulf.org to join the list of people that are sending a message to the CEO's of the big box stores to stop selling cypress mulch. Click on the category OUR WORK and select Save the Cypresses. They're trying to collect 5,000 emails.

The Cypress tree has stood for eons in the Louisiana and Florida wetlands and are an integral part of the landscape, hostory, culture and future.

I've alerted the owner of the garden center where I work and have added my email to the CEO's. Won't you join us to save a tree that is a vital part of history ?

RAINY NIGHT IN GEORGIA

What used to be a Lake in Georgia

And Alabama, Tennessee and Florida. Even though Georgia and parts of South Carolina got a half inch or more it didn't rain enough to help the severe drought. I shot the photo above on my travels through Georgia earlier this month.

We were on tornado watch here until 11 p.m. last night. It hit Coco Beach and destroyed some homes and cars.

Being from tornado alley, Alabama, I spent a restless night worrying about it. Fortunately, it just rained all night and the tornado watch was lifted by early morn.

The forecast for tomorrow is sunny and 75.

POSTCARD FROM FLORIDA

Looks like Snow doesn't it?

Clearwater Beach, Florida. WISH YOU WERE HERE ! Weather report : perfect ; seventy five degrees.

Clearwater , on the Gulf of Mexico has one of the loveliest beaches in the state. The sand is so fine and white and there's a boardwalk with many interesting cafes and shops. We saw dolphins, pelicans and egrets galore.

And the Palm trees, which are everywhere, really say Florida to me. The cabbage palm,I learned, is the state tree. Mature palms are expensive, fetching up to $3,000 and I'm told that people sell them right out of their yard.