Yes, I'm in Florida. But I was reflecting on my same behavior as when in Georgia. Hmmmm... "finest paint"...? The trouble with assessing such a thing personally is that no one can run "clinical" trials with controls in the home setting. And there a lot of variables. Back when I was doing some house renovation and needing a lot of paint, a Consumer Reports study led me to Valspar paint (sold at Lowe'es) as one of the higher performing brands. (I also use gloss which holds up better than other sheens.) Being a creature of habit, I stick with it. That was a few years back and things could have changed so I don't know how it would shake out now. Maybe someone subscribing to Consumer Reports can update...?

Hi Sanda, Yes, we have 2 tours planned for next year - late spring and late summer. I like to give the hosts plenty of time to recover from winter and let whether warm up a bit. The actual homes/locations are still undetermined but there are quite a few we are considering. We still have a couple of fun events planned for this year. Sometime in late September we are planning to have a tropical arrt show at the nursery. Artisans of various mediums will be showing their works of art including scultures, oils on canvass, waterpaintings, etc. We are still open to more artists so feel free to pass the word along. The dates/details for all the events will be sent out to everyone on our mail list (sign up at www.tropicalvibe.com). I will try to post the events and details here but if I get to busy with our landscape design work and nursery operations I might forget. Once the email is sent out please feel free to post the information - "the more the merrier!" torpicalvibe

Thanks for the encouraging words. Kate, (Solstice98) I will post photos as the project progresses. My wife and I work in North Carolina and only get to spend ten days every month at our home in Florida. We hope to retire next spring and live full time in Florida. Gary, (garyfla) thanks for all of your comments and suggestions. I do have plans for a shade/ potting shed structure in the backyard. It will have a large trellis area with outdoor seating under vines in front of the enclosed shed. But that is down the road on the list. I am a collector but my collections are very eclectic. That is why I have divided the property up into many outdoor areas; herb, butterfly, cacti & succulents, incredible edibles, fruiting trees and shrubs, etc. I feel like President Obama because I want to address all areas at once! Lol. I taught high school horticulture and landscape design for nearly twenty years and you wouldn’t believe the files of information I have available. I do believe in doing research before starting a project. I love to learn how to do new things. I am currently researching hypertufa because my wife wants simulated ruins in our tropical entry garden. I am trying to figure out how to make replicas with hypertufa. I should give a little disclaimer here, while I taught all those years, it was not in Florida and I feel a real novice about Florida Gardening. I am planning on doing underground electrical to various areas of the yard while I am trenching for the irrigation lines. Tanya (Goldenpond), I appreciate your encouraging remarks. As I mentioned above, I love to read and do research which I do mainly on the internet. My wife and I work in a children’s home where we are house parents to eight teenage girls and I find I have lots of time to study and learn while we are on duty. I garden to save my sanity and escape from all the “girl drama”. Lol. Tina (aroidgardener), Thanks for the photos. I really enjoy seeing what others are doing with their space. I like your trellis’. I am going to use trellis in many of my areas. I plan to build a Moon Gate that will go from my herb garden into my butterfly garden. The gate will have a trellis up the sides and over the top. Now my big problem what vines to plant where; but what a great problem to have. (sis3), Wow! What a beautiful courtyard! I hope my entry garden turns out looking half as well. Mine will be very different as it is off to the side of the front door and you don’t actually walk through it. We are going with a Central/South American “ruins in the Jungle” look with a small water feature. At least that is the plan on paper. I find that plans often change drastically when I start the actual work. I am planning on planting my palms after I get the “ruins” in place. Some palms I am considering are the following: Chamaedorea cataractarum, Areca vestiaria, Chamaedorea elegans, Chamaedorea metallica, Chamaedorea erumpens/C. seifrizii, Hyophorbe lagenicaulis, Pinanga coronate, or Sabal minor. I will only have room for three to five of these but I chose them all because they are either fairly slow growers or don’t grow too tall. If anyone has experience with any of these in Zone 10 or knows where I can go look at them growing and a nursery where I can obtain them, I would appreciate the information. Another plant I am looking for is the Mysore Raspberry. This is for another area of the yard. I read about this bush on the ECHO site and then I went out to get a couple. They told me when I visited that they did not grow any this year because they weren’t happy with its success. But as I was walking back to the parking lot, I passed what I am sure was one of these brambles and it looked great to me. So if I can’t find it anywhere else, I may go see if they will sell me some cuttings I will attempt to root. Billb

My husband did a Tiki style carving out of a nice piece of redwood. It looks great, even if it's not exactly traditional tiki. He just sketched it out and played around with wood carving tools for a while. This year I gave it a coat of stain to freshen it up. I also have bamboo edging (although I put most of it away this year for a cleaner look), bamboo fencing, a bamboo bench, tiki torches. My favorite accessory is my Guan Yin statue, it was a splurge, but I love it! This is a photo from a few years ago, so the garden has changed a lot around her, but here's Guan Yin... I also have a buddha and a dragon statue. My style is kind of Southeast Asian tropicalesque. Here is a link that might be useful: Guan Yin statue