Ciao all, I hope everyone had a great day out in the garden today. I know it's a back to work day for most people, but my goodness, what glorious weather to be outside. Thanks to all of you for such interesting trades and also for your knowledge and wisdom regarding perennials. I have SO much to learn about them still, thanks for your patience in answering my newbie questions. Tristan grabbed some things from the middle circle which I have no clue regarding the names of the plants or what sort of care they need, so as soon as I'm able, I'm hoping to post some pictures of them for ID. I'm so excited about all the lilacs! They're small, but I know they'll fill that space nicely and I can't wait to discover what colours they turn out to be. I put the dahlias in full sun and just barely covered the root/tuber/rhizome thingies. I hope that's what they need. Tomatoes/eggplants/peppers/tomatillos/basil all got a full day outside and tomorrow will be their first major dose of full sun. I'm hoping to get them in the ground before the weekend. Duane finished 2 additional tomato beds as a birthday present for me and got all the 8' stakes in this morning. The soaker hoses are all in place and now it's just a matter of waiting a few days for the plants to get fully hardened off. Big hugs to all of you, I wish the weather had been more pleasant but it was still a very fun event and thanks again to sydseeds for organizing the swap and for everyone's wonderful enthusiasm and generosity. Get planting everyone!! Julianna

Gardening (Landscaping-wise) in Central Florida largely depends on developing the right micro-climates. During the summer the best things to grow are tropicals. During the winter it's the more temperate plants. But it's hard to keep the tropicals alive through the winter and the temperates alive through the summer. But what I'm figuring out, if you work on the structure of your yard, you can create micro-climates where the northwestern winds are blocked during the winter and small bits of shade can be found to give the temperates a short break during the day. The temperates will not thrive during the summer, but they should survive to give their best during the cooler months. Shade has been a hard part for me as my lot has little to no shade to speak of. The only shade I do get is from an oak to the south of me and that is only during the winter months, when I don't need it. But what I have figured out is that if you put a temperate plant next to something a bit more tropical, when the cooler plant shrinks back in the summer, the warmer one grows up and gives it a bit of shade. My first few years here, I also lacked a way to block the western winds, but I planted some dense shrubs (Walter's 'Whorled Class' Viburnums, Wax Myrtle and Simpson's Stopper) and they're finally getting to the size where they should add some relief from the winds. Positioning in regards to your house helps as well. Plants on the eastern side of your house are going to have a better time than plants on the northwestern side. My northwestern bed has been the hardest for me to figure out, but I think I have come to a happy compromise of using evergreen shrubs to provide structure during the winter with semitropical annuals that reseed themselves to provide color during the summer. On a last note, Florida Natives are a huge help with building both structure and appeal in the landscape. They are the most adapted to living with these temperature fluctuations and really help with building the micro-climates to help the more sensitive exotics.

nighthawk, bell peppers just don't like our soil, that's all. You have amend the soil with at least 50% organic matter every year to get them to grow. I have a friend who digs a trench, fills it with horse manure and Black Kow, and plants her veggies in that. Honestly, you just have to give in and do what works here. The first rule of FL gardening is "Forget everything you knew about gardening up north." Nothing but natives grow well in our native soil. That's just the way it is. Have you tried beneficial nematodes? They take awhile to work, but maybe you can put them in when you are up north and they can do their thing while you're away.

Where in the state are you? Because that makes a difference. As you can see from my username, I'm on the West Central Gulf coast, and my cool weather things don't come out until a couple of weeks before I'm ready to start something new - depending on planting dates in the UF guide. I only direct sow greens & legumes, generally, and lettuce and many other greens can also be started in pots and transplanted - many are pretty forgiving of that. Peas usually bear once and then they're done. You can tell because the vines start dying back. Lettuce can last awhile if you use the cut & come again method or just harvest outer leaves, otherwise, it doesn't grow decent side shoots after cutting the main stem, IMPE - neither does cabbage. Broccoli will usually sprout side shoots after the main head is harvested, and the amount and size of those varies depending on the variety. Tomatoes can keep producing if they are indeterminate, but not if they're determinate. Fertilizing after harvest will help with new production.