Costly garden mistake

Since 1990 when my family moved to our current house we have enjoyed our Plumeria tree in our backyard.  It was the first tree we planted in a grass-dominated yard, a gift from my late father.  Fast forward almost thirty years later and that Plumeria tree has matured to a giant tree overpowering the corner of our neighborhood.  My  house is part of a zero lot neighborhood in suburbia Miami(zero lot homes are individual homes, where one side of the house has no windows and doors and that side is part of your next-door neighbor’s yard) Needleless to say we are on top of each other, this is a way for developers and government to maximize land use in urban areas.  The key to a peaceful existence in this environment is to get along with your neighbors, my family was one of the first families to move in our development and over the year we have had many neighbors come and go.   Currently we have a neighbor that is not happy with my Plumeria tree, he complains about how messy the tree is and that it has become a danger in hurricane season (he is right on both counts)   This mistake is on me, I should have been more attentive to the tree in early years and pruned after each season.  My only solution at this time is to hire a professional tree cutting service (fully insure) to cut the tree, a very expensive proposition. 

Pictures from around the garden

Lady of the night flowers

This croton plant has great color and it stands out among all the green

These bromeliad flowers last for a couple months, giving the garden some color at the end of the summer

Heliconia flowers are year-round flowers and my favorite to photograph

Is Holloween time

Three years ago, this week.

Three years ago, this week, my wife and I visited the Colorado Rockies on the peak of the fall season.  I have visited Colorado many times during fall and it is always a hit and miss.  The season is short, and it can be early, late or very disappointed. This trip was perfect, and we have fond memories of our time there.   I hope to visit again next year.

This week at the DragonFly Garden

I am turning my attention to the front garden.  I finally was able to get some help and trimmed the Powderpuff tree.  

Next on the list is the Brazilian Red.

This time of the year the garden is looking a little tired.  The heat of summer does a number on most of the plants, especially the potted plants.  I am waiting for the end of October, after the end of hurricane season before I start to replace my annual flower plants.  The buttercup flowers grow all year and they are not bothered by our hot weather, sometimes is good to be a weed.  

We dodged a hurricane bullet

We are thankful that Dorian decided not to pay us a visit in Florida, now we need to turn our attention to our neighbors in The Bahamas.  The devastation to the northern Bahamas islands are horrific, they will need our help for a long time, yesterday I donated to World Central Kitchen run by famous chef Jose Andres.  They are ready to set up temporary kitchens in the affected islands to feed all those affected with hot meals.  I remember the first few days after hurricane Andrew passed through South Florida, a hot meal was a luxury we didn’t have.  Today we are taking all our unused hurricane supplies to our local fire station, collecting needed items for the Bahama relief.   Please help, the Bahamians are great people, they have welcomed us to their islands over the years, now is our time to return the favor.