When moving to your new home in Hernando and Citrus County, Florida, one of the hardest things to leave behind is your garden! Especially, those beautiful roses that you spent so much time and effort into nurturing into a healthy rose bush.

Most roses are easily rooted from cuttings but since each variety is different, there is a plastic bag method that seems to work well every time! Take a gallon-size zip-lock bag, and put approximately three inches of a seed starting mixture in the bottom of the bag. To take a cutting from your rose bush, measure approximately three inches from the tip of the stem downward. Make sure that you remove any buds, flowers and all the lowest leaves. Dip the cut ends of the stems into a rooting powder than place the cutting in the seed starting mixture in the zip-lock bag. Fill the bag with air and seal it up, place in a warm spot but not in direct sunlight. Once you start to see the roots grow, add a little bit of water and let the cuttings grow for around another week or so. Once your cutting is ready to be potted, introduce sunlight to it gradually.

Viola! You have now successfully brought a little bit of your old home to mix with the new!

While staging your home for selling, bonsai trees are a great way to add beauty to both the inside and the outside of your home. Working with bonsai trees can also provide a wonderful new hobby. It’s the art of dwarfing, pruning and training trees to grow in trays or containers to accomplish the style that you desire. It’s really a form of horticultural art!

The word bonsai is a Japanese word meaning ‘pot plant’, it’s history dates back thousands of years. There are two types of bonsai trees, tropical and temperate. A tropical bonsai cannot withstand the cold temperatures and needs to be protected from the frost. Temperate bonsia’s can withstand the cold but they have shallow roots, so they do need to be somewhat protected.

Bonsai’s can be grown from either a cutting or from seed. No.. there is no such thing as a Bonsai seed! Bonsai is the name of the art, not the name of a tree. You can use any seed from any tree, however varieties with small leaves are the best suited for trays. These trees are kept small by training and pruning the branches into different styles. There are five common styles of bonsai trees, formal upright, informal upright, slanting style, cascade and semi-cascade.

Although, all styles are beautiful, my favorite is the informal upright. When looking at trees grown in nature, they tend to sway away from shade, buildings, or toward light. When growing an informal upright bonsai tree, the trunk will slightly bend and twist in one direction or the other, giving the tree a dramatic effect. Japanese Maples, Beech or any conifers will do well with this type of style.

Bonsai’s do require quite a bit of commitment, but if cared for properly, they can provide beauty in the home that can last for hundreds of years. They are something for your future generations to enjoy and continue to pass down to the next generations.

When planning to add new fruit trees to the curb appeal of your new Hernando or Citrus County home, adding Lychee trees are an ideal and simple addition to any garden. Since the Lychee tree requires very little besides full sun, regular mulching and some kind of wind protection, Florida offers the best climate for Lychee growing in the country. These trees grow to be 10-15 feet tall and make wonderful shade trees.

Ok..what’s a Lychee? I hear you.. A Lychee is a fruit with a bumpy rind a little smaller than an apricot, inside that rind is white or pink, sweet, juicy flesh that is an incredible add to a fruit cocktail, tea, marinade, salad or just by itself as a snack. The amount of recipes that include Lychees are endless. They are a great source of Vitamin C, calcium, potassium and phosphorus. In the herbology world, they are a used to cure a cough and for any digestive problems.

As the Lychee is not a citrus tree it is not susceptible to the diseases that attack citrus crops, and are a great replacement or an alternative to citrus. They do not have a limited lifespan, there are a few Lychee trees in China that are over 1000 years old, however they do tend to stop bearing fruit after 25-30 years. If grown organically, they will thrive for years to come. Keeping your tree mulched and composted will maintain the health of your tree. The fruit will not ripen after picked so make certain that you only take the ripe ones and use them quickly as they have a short shelf life.

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Easy steps to creating compost for your garden in Hernando and Citrus County
Decorating your front yard in West Central Florida

Photo Credit: Norma Rans

When starting that garden for your new Hernando or Citrus County, Florida home, the best place to start is with composting. Composting can save on waste and provide a nutritious additive to your soil.

Pick a nice sunny spot away from the house to start your compost bin. You can build a pallet fence around the area so that your yard still looks nice and maintained. Make sure that your pile gets plenty of air, this helps in building up the heat to make your pile decompose quicker. Covering your compost bin also helps to break down your pile, by keeping some of the heat that your pile has generated contained. Lids will also aid in keeping the pile free from debris.

Start your bin by adding several inches of green materials, things like vegetable trimmings, weeds and grass clippings. Then add several inches of brown materials, like dry leaves and wood brush. Alternate layers of each types of material until your pile reaches 4-5 cubic feet. The brown material will add carbon to your compost, while the green material will add nitrogen. Nitrogen will help the pile heat up quickly. The hotter your pile gets, the faster it will break down into compost. The ideal temperature is between 110 and 140 degrees. Throw a scoop of garden soil in there too, this will aid in breaking down the compost. You can safely add any plant based materials to your compost bin. Add things like crushed egg shells, tea leaves, coffee grounds, leaves (although too many oak leaves can make the pile acidic) and vegetable peelings. Never add meat or dairy products to the heap, they will not decompose properly.

Now that your pile is ready, you can either dig the compost into the soil around your plants or you can try top dressing them. When you top dress your plants with compost, the compost will act as a mulch and will help keep moisture in the soil. This technique would be especially good during the winter months here in sunny Florida.

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When adding curb appeal to your new Hernando or Citrus County, Florida home, why not add some medicinal herbs to the bunch? Many people grow herbs to add flavor and enhance the taste of cooking, however, herbs are also used for medicinal purposes as well. Adding herbs to your garden will bring beautiful flowers and color to the outside of your home and if you plant them by the front door they add a wonderful aroma as well. You can also plant them in between vegetables and other plants to repel certain insects and pests from the rest of your garden. A few amazing herbs that grow well in the sunny climate of West Central Florida are listed below with just a couple of their medicinal properties.

Catnip - Catnip tea has been used for thousands of years. It can be used to help as a sleep aid, ease menstrual pain and also when applied directly to the skin, makes for a great insect repellant. Let’s not forget, your cat’s will love it, too!

Chamomile - Chamomile has the reputation of a whole-body healer. It can be used as a sleep aid, anxiety relief, digestive aid, menstrual pain, diarrhea, fever, colds, congestion, headaches. You can also grind up some Chamomile flowers, add some water and oatmeal and use it to treat skin irritations such as ulcers, infections, rashes, and burns.

Garlic - Garlic is referred to as the ‘miracle food’ and for good reason, there is not much that this herb can’t do. Garlic has been proven to fight infection, thin the blood, alleviate high blood pressure, lower cholesterol, stimulate the immune system and ear aches. Garlic contains a substance called Allicin, which has anti-bacterial properties that are equivalent to a weak penicillin. However, cooked garlic seems to lessen these effects. So, it seems that taking this herb raw is the way to go. The lingering odors that are associated with garlic is not an old wives tale, it is very, very real. I suggest making a tincture that will lessen the odor and keep your friends around! For cough, flu, and respiratory ailments, you can make a cough syrup out of garlic. Take a pound of fresh garlic, slice it and pour a quart of boiling water over it. Let it sit for 12 hours, and add sugar until you reach the a syrup-like consistency. You can add some honey for a much better taste.

Lemon Balm - Lemon Balm is one of the better tasting herbal teas. It aids in easing congestion and stuffiness when you have the cold or the flu. It’s great for fevers, respiratory infections and stomachaches, it can also calm the nerves and aid in digestion.

Enjoying the benefits of reaping what you sow in your garden can be a fun and wonderful forgotten art. Although many herbs can help us, there are also many that are harmful. Just because herbs are natural does not mean that all of them are safe. Take caution when preparing herbal remedies. Educate yourself or talk to a professional before ingesting any herbs that your body is not familiar with.

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After purchasing your new piece of real estate in the Hernando and Citrus County Florida area, it’s time to spruce up your yard. Why not make it both beautiful and functional? When preparing to plant all of your pretty new flowers, choose some that are edible. During the hot summer months of West Central Florida try exploring a whole new source of food. Food that has been disguising itself as ‘just pretty flowers’ for years. Yes, it’s true! When picked just before your meal, you can mix them into a green salad, sprinkle them over homemade ice cream or freeze them to add to your summer ‘ade’ of choice, the choices are unlimited.

There are some rules to flower eating, however. Avoid eating flowers from florists, nurseries or picking roadside flowers, these sometimes can be sprayed with pesticides or polluted with exhaust fumes. Orgnically grown is always the best. Use only the petals and eat them in small portions at first to make sure that you don’t have any reaction to the flowers.

Calendula petals, also known as the pot marigold is great for using to accent soups and stews. Just let the petals dry out, they will still keep that orange and yellow color. Nasturtiums are good for salads with their spicy flavor. Nasturtiums grow from seed very easily and are beautiful bedding plants. Pansies are very popular for decorating desserts. With the striking color, they would be a great flower to freeze then add to summer drinks, as well. Bringing the beauty of your garden to your kitchen, somehow just makes the food taste better.

This morning I awoke and proceded with my normal routine. I made the bed, turned on the computer and went outside to water my plants. I started with my herbs and moved on to my vegetables. I was shocked to find a multitude of tiny little grasshoppers having my eggplant for breakfast. Horrified, I ran into the house and quickly made a pot of coffee! No, not to wake myself up, but to spray on my grasshoppers. Yes, it’s true. Grasshoppers do not like coffee. Make a strong pot of coffee let it cool and spray it on your plants. Just to make sure, I also dug a small hole in the ground next to my eggplant and placed a jar with one part molasses and 10 parts water. The sweet smell of the molasses will entice your new green little friends to the jar instead of your plant where they will dive in and drown. Make certain that you clean out your trap daily.

A few other methods to try to rid yourself of these garden pests is a pepper spray using jalapenos, habaneros or any other hot pepper to repel the adults. Include some castile soap in with this concoction. A garlic oil is also effective, combine three ounces of minced garlic cloves with one ounce of mineral oil. Let the oil soak for 24 hours or longer and strain the big pieces out, then mix one teaspoon of fish emulsion with sixteen ounces of water you want to also add one1 tablespoon of castile soap to this mixture. Then slowly combine the fish emulsion water with the garlic oil. Mix 2 tablespoons of garlic oil with 1 pint of water and spray directly to your plants.

To prevent the shocking experience that I had this morning from happening to you, plant “grasshopper repelling” barrier plants around your garden. Plant the herb horehound or cilantro. Grasshoppers are also not big fans of peas or sweet clover. Plant some Calendula flowers, which, by the way can be used as a Saffron substitute. They are also used to add into to salads, egg, or cheese dishes and they have anti-inflammatory properties when applied to the skin. But that’s another blog!

Out of the three species of Hummingbird that hang out in Florida, the ruby-throated hummingbird is the most common. This hummingbird is about 3 inches long and weighs about as much as a penny. Hummingbirds will begin nesting in April and can become agressive during this time, so be sure that you have plenty of blooms for all to come and feed without conflict. Nesting hummingbirds will gather nectar from March until September. Bringing these little gems to your house is just another way to add beauty to your home.

Hummingbirds are attracted to tubular shaped flowers with orange or red blossoms. It’s not that they were born attracted to these bright colors, through trial and error they have found the ones that offer the best goodies. One of the best ways to begin your hummingbird garden is by securing a trellis to a wall and cover it with a trumpet creeper or a coral honeysuckle vine. This will give height to your hummingbird garden. Then add some smaller shrubs. Hummingbirds feed comfortably from blossoms that are 2 feet high or higher. Add some fire bush and coral bean as they are native to Hernando and Citrus counties and will require minimal care. If you plant annuals, you will have to replace them each year. Now just sit back and wait for your new little visitors.

There are many different fence styles. There is wood, stone, brick, vinyl and even bottle, but the cheapest way that I have found to date is the pallet fence. Many outlets that use pallets for shipping will give these away as they are going to be throwing most of them out. You can leave the pallet fence untreated or you can paint or stain it, either way it should last for many years.

Measure the area that you wish to fence off and set out to find your pallets. Your pallets can vary in size but be certain that they are in excellent condition. Use dry hardwood for your posts and add two feet to the length of each post for ground depth. I recommend you treat those two feet plus an extra 6 inches that will be exposed above ground with a water sealer. Then set the posts to the side to dry for at least 48 hours.

To prepare the pallets, you would remove all the boards from the back of the pallet and every other board from the front. Start by digging two holes, two feet deep to secure the poles. Take your extra boards and cut and measure them to a length that would allow you to secure your pallets to each side of the board. For instance, if you are using a 4×4 post, you would cut your boards to approximately 16″ lengths. You then would attach two boards to the post, one at the top and one at the bottom leaving 4″ hanging off each side. These boards will hold the pallets to the post. Continue this process until the fence is complete.

A Pallet Fence is a great way to fence off your garden, bring privacy to your home or give your dog a little space and the cost is next to nothing.

Organic Gardening is not as hard as you would think. Start with the soil. Go down to the County Extension Office. Hernando County office is located at 19490 Oliver Street
Brooksville, FL 34601. In Citrus County, the office is located at 3650 West Sovereign Path, Suite 1, Lecanto, FL 34461. They will give you a soil sampling kit for you to send a sample of your soil to Gainesville, in ten days they will send a report back to you, telling you what your soil needs to make the soil ph balanced and ready for gardending.

Choose hardy plants but choose many different varieties of plants. Too much of the same plant leaves your garden vulnerable to disease. There are many organic ways to rid your garden of pests. Take a cup of tobbaco and a gallon of water and mix together, let sit for 24 hours until mixure looks like weak tea. If the mixture is too dark add some more water. This mixture is great for combating many different types of bugs, but especially caterpillars, aphids, and many types of those nasty worms. Don’t use this solution on peppers, tomatoes or eggplant, the mixture will kill these plants. Soap spray will take out those slugs. You can just use your old, dirty dishwater! These are just a couple of easy homemeade suggestions, there are many more.

Living in a small family, my garden doesn’t need that much yeild. There are no rules that say you have to have a specific place to grow your vegetables. I’m starting my own garden at the moment and have decided to mix my vegetables, my herbs and flowers together throughout the yard. Why not plant your leafy veggies with your flowers? Line your mailbox with beautiful lettuce and marigolds. Plant pole beans around your lamp post. Make your whole yard edible and beautiful!