We landscaped a beautiful home today in Altamonte Springs. It was a large two story and the house was painted a bold mustard color but a little more brown like the spicy mustard. I tend to like bold colors so it was a fun project. We did it pretty tropical, per the owners request and used a lot of Hawaiian Ty's. They were used mostly against the house and the contrast with the house color was fantastic. I used many Bromeliads under a Roubellini Palm. Also Gold Mound were staggered in front of the Ty's and Mondo under the existing large Ligustrum. We also used Dwarf Oyster, Purple Queen, and Mexican Petunia as the owner requested as much purple as possible. It really was a shocking personality change and we were all very pleased. That's the great thing about Landscape design, it is so rewarding when I pull out of the drive and stop to take a prolonged look.

Today's cooler weather has been really a lot of fun as it makes the work go so much easier. The dogs are all doing quite well except they tend to bark at night at the least little sound and since we have a lot of wildlife it is annoying sometimes.The Yorkies are the loudest at first then they all start the chorus. The little Yorkies sleep with us at night and since the weather is cooler they tend to curl up next to us in little round balls. We have always had yorkies and I highly recommend them for just about everyone as they are so loving. I spent a lot of time last evening with our older Golden Lab as she is such a sweet dog and a total love hog. My wife found her abandoned about 7 years ago and it took her 3 days to build the trust so that we could feed and pet her but after that she found home sweet home. We theorize that she was abused by the former owner but we feel honored that she chose our house as she has brought us a lot of happiness. My friend cesar has a golden as well and they are such a great family dog. His dog loves peanut butter and when he just says the words the dog goes crazy. So one time the dog ran down the street and Cesar had to go looking for him while yelling peanut butter all over the neighborhood. It worked.

Wow, what beautiful weather we have in October, perhaps my favorite month. The yard looks amazing as that lush tropical feel is my passion. I always say "Why go to a resort if you can have one in your own backyard"

I did the show this morning and had great calls, but the highlight was going to Starbucks to get my soy latte, I might be addicted to that stuff.

My kids went to conquer a local corn maze with a friend and had a great time so in the afternoon it was just me and the dogs! I spent the most time today with the black standard poodle , what an amazing animal. To watch him run is poetry in motion.

Last night we were invited to a dinner party at Cesar's house and he did stakes and salmon on the grill. Seriously, it was the best salmon I ever had and his kid found some kind of amazing glaze on the internet and we raved about it. They had so much that he insisted we take some home and of course me being Mr. Polite said , "Oh no that's ok". Now, all day I keep thinking that I could have had that salmon for lunch! We had sugar - free blueberry and apple pie as Cesar is a tennis Pro and a health nut, which is the smart way to go. My emotions however think that Hagen- Daz is the answer to everything, but I know Cesar is right! But right now as I speak to you and now that I have actually written the term, Hagen-Daz, I realize that Rum Raisin is really a health food as it has fruit in it.

I finished mowing all of the grass lately. Having a big yard is a lot of work but wow what a great feeling when the work is done. The sunken tropical garden is in it's prime right now and i have enjoyed it in the evenings. I am especially impressed with the fruit trees as they are some of the healthiest i have ever seen. All of that rain has really helped, but I feel so sorry for all those folks around Lake Monroe and parts of east Orlando as their properties are so wet and the fungus is beginning to make so much rot. One of my customers in Sanford said she spoke with some of the old timers who have been there for 60 years and they have never seen anything like it.

I did a lot of estimates out in east Orlando today and yes it is still moist out there so if you live there and if your soil stays wet then be sure to turn off the sprinkler timer. Also if weeds are coming up then you need to spray and add fresh mulch

I did my doubles tennis tonight, I really wasn't too much into it tonight so I guess we all have days like that.

A few weeks ago my son and I went to Homestead to see the fruit and spice park which is part of the Miami Recreation Dept and had a wonderful meeting with Chris Rollins who runs this fascinating 35 acres. It seems the hurricanes did a lot of damage but thanks to Chris' smart thinking he had his small crew trim back much of the fruit before the storm which saved the trees. They have a great little gift shop there where they sell jams and jellies and I purchased several unusual jams such as Key Lime, Passion fruit, Mango and more. So far the best to me is the Guava jelly which has always been my favorite, my family thinks so too so we are now rationing it around here! They have a tram ride at the park and the young lady who gave the tour was so friendly and I could tell really loves her job. There was a couple from Brazil that I met and they were telling me about all the beautiful fruit in Brazil, many of which we have never seen or heard of in our country. They also have a nice display of fruit in the shop and you can taste some of the exotic varieties most of which I have had, except a fruit from India called Bale and I never saw the spelling so I could be wrong about the spelling, but I really liked it. I also had Longans there which are a cousin to the Lychee, just perhaps smaller and brown instead of red and a bit tart but still very good. I have this exotic in my yard but the top froze out of it last year as I was not able to cover the very top of the plant. It is doing well now though. My son got to taste his first coconut which was a great thing for a father to see. We met my good friend Ron Weeks there and really had the time of our life as we have been friends for over 30 years , Ron is a world plant explorer so we heard of great tales of super trips and we had so much fun that I really want to go back next year as well. Before leaving the park Ron bought a very expensive book that I wanted but didn't want to pay for and gave it to my son for which we were very grateful but at the same time upset as I didn't want Ron to spend so much. But now since we have it is is probably the finest book I own and I am an avid book collector and have all of my books organized on their respective shelves. I have a particular interest in the exotic fruit Jabotacaba and have been intensely studying this plant for years. I have gotten them to fruit right here in Central Florida which is a rare treat for me, and I love sharing them with my friends at a dinner party. All of our fruit trees seem to be doing very well as I continue to follow my methods of feeding organically in small doses quite often.

The rains have been amazing and we are all very grateful. The only problem is that the grass is growing way too fast, I just mowed on Saturday and now it is ready to be cut again! The good news is that the plants all look wonderful, but be on the lookout for aphids on Crepe Myrtles as well as the Asian scale hold on all Sago's. Keep om doing as much trimming as needed now and the payoff will be prettier plants in 5 to 6 weeks. Also keep an eye out for the mites on the Knock out Roses as the new growth can curl this time of year especially.

The other day I was doing estimates in Altamonte Springs and came across what I thought was a stunning landscape. I literally drove back by the house to see it more clearly and I noticed that there was a plant that we grow that was the main focal point, my first thought was wow, that is a great design. But the one Topiary just looked like one of our plants as I did not recognize any of the others. Well I called my designer and told him about it wondering if it could have been his design and YES it was. I was so impressed and he did an amazing job and i want to go back to take photos.

Yes, that's right we have a new Yorkie! Her name is Coco and she is 5 pounds and already trying to boss the other dogs and has the Standard Poodle on high alert. It seems my physician brother in law got the 8 month old pup from one of his secretaries who was having a baby so decided to give Coco up. He got the pup with the intention of giving it to my son. Then he falls in love with the little guy and never mentions anything about the dog at all, I can't blame him as she is so unbelievably cute. After 3 weeks he finally realizes that it is not fair to the dog as he has long hours and felt that Coco needed lots of cousins which we have. The next thing I know, one weekend my wife goes to visit her brother and I get a phone call telling me of the new family addition. I ask for immediate cell phone photos which I promptly got and couldn't wait for them to get home. She has bonded the most with my son, as she never seems to even want to leave his arms!She sleeps with him every night and curls in a little ball much like a cat near him for warmth. This dog has hit the dog jackpot moving into our house. Barcello, the other Yorkie has been quite disgusted until recently and finally just the other day started playing with her. The Golden acts like she doesn't exist and the Jack Russell is a bit jealous as she is always in someones lap, but so is he. The Poodle plays with her and is amused and even nibbles her as if to clean and the Bishon that we are only baby sitting seems to ignore all the dogs and just sleep most of the time and definitely likes me the most.

On a green note, I finally got the yard under control this past weekend, it the kind of yard i can't ignore or it talks back. The weed issue is so time consuming.

Last weekend we had a surprise party for our friend Suzette who is moving to New York and it turned out beautiful but so bitter sweet. So sad to see a special friend leave but she will be back lots and lots of times as her family is here.

Last week I harvested my first ever Passion vine fruit, how exotic and such a wild taste. It is something so easy to grow with fruit in one year! I have basically finished fertilizing everything which is good as we had those rains and wow what a difference.

Oh, I almost forgot, I had a great Father's day this past weekend, after the show we all went to the movies to see "The Hulk", then home to Bar-be-que steaks. Really I just love being at home, nothing like jumping in the pool and doing nothing except walking in the garden. Of course, it's only fun when the garden looks good or you'll see work that needs to be done and get depressed.

The fruit trees are doing great as I have kept them well fed to get some bulk on them.

I did a beautiful landscape in Sorento the other day at a brand new home and the owners absolutely loved it, I used lots of the Red cascade ground rose as a groundcover and I think that was a big hit.

Wow today was a very hard work day and got home very late and had to miss half of my tennis game, I really didn't want to go but I couldn't let my friends down as I missed recently due to vacation. You may have had those work days when you just want to take it easy and do nothing. But when I got there Cesar worked me by myself against the other players and It was crazy. But when I was done I was so glad I showed up! We found 2 dogs in the nursery today and went door to door to find the owners and that made it all so worth it, beautiful black labs and so healthy , collar but no tag. All I could think of was that they could get hit by a car on 46 so we kept them in the office while we searched. WE made that family very happy today!

Last week we were working in Apopka at the new home of one of my good friends and wow what a difference. After we left a company called Kwik Kerb added new fancy borders around my entire design. They did an awesome job and I have already told other clients of mine. You can actually see this incredible job they did on my before and after section. I will surely tell as many folks as I can. The owner of this particular Kwik Kerb is Richard Judd and his number is 407-448-2968. I quickly saw that companies that do these cement borders are not all alike as all landscape designers are not of equal artistic ability; my friend said that their clean up was perfect, I think you will like the photos.

The sunken garden is still showing signs of winter stress. I had to cut back the Banana's so the site does not seem as lush to me but I have added lots of seasonal color and I will start fertilizing soon. The topiaries are trimmed, as well as the palms and the fish are doing great in their now cleaned out Koi pond. I say cleaned out as I drained it this winter and pressure cleaned it so the water is crystal clear now. I have added well over 150 Verbena plants for spring and summer color and I can't wait for them to grow as they are mostly planted in the back of the garden and will create quite the carpet of color when they fill in. I have great luck with Verbena. The trick is to lightly trim them and feed them once they end a blooming cycle and they start all over again. I have added 2 beautiful Bougainvillea into my cobalt blue columnar pots that are the lions of the garden so to speak and they add such dramatic color. I also added a lot of Geraniums this spring which is totally out of character for me but I have been wanting to do some large grouping for some time and this is the time. Tomorrow I am adding 100 red Salvia and I am putting 10 gold Bougainvillea in large clay short pots to replace the Jatropha which took a beating from the winter.

On a separate note we are baby sitting my sister-in-laws Bishon whose name is Emma and she has really made herself at home and even tries to intimidate the standard poodle, but it is quite the dog comedy show around here.

On Sunday we went to Universal to see the Blue Man Group. It is truly an amazing show and a must see as it is totally creative as well as unusual and very entertaining. The whole family loved it and it was a packed house.

It was a really inspiring day today as I was doing estimates and met some really fantastic people. I went to a house that I landscaped 8 years ago and it still really looked good. They had an oak tree in the back that really got huge and shaded out their grass. I had large sweeping beds to fill with low maintenance plants and it just flowed like an artisan well! The back yard had a hedge of leggy viburnum that was tall and hid the roofs behind it. In front of the open spots I staggered Purple Cardinal which I introduced to the area this year after years of propagating it. It has large narrow purple spike flowers that attract butterflies. It will grow bushy and fill in the open gaps of the viburnum. I also used red Cloak and there is a photo of the ones in my yard in full bloom in the plant ID section. Two palms were used in the shade as focal points , one was a Chinese Fan, the other a Triangle Palm which is quite unusual. I also used Texas Star and velor Begonias for color so I will try to remember to get photos as I am really proud of the design.
In other news my pump in the waterfall stopped working so I have to deal with that this weekend. I have been working by myself in the garden and there is a certain peacefulness to that. The grass is finally getting a bit greener.

I have a big day in the yard tomorrow. I need to access the situation for annuals at certain locations and it might be time for Turf Pro. I need to get a good nights sleep as I could be out in the yard several hours. I think I would like to do Petunia this year as I haven't done them in awhile and I will plant some Lobelia too as that blue just can't be matched. It was a great work week, met lots of interesting folks, one of my heroes was an 86 year old man who goes dancing all of the time and looks about 66 or so, I could sit and talk to him for hours. He had a Spanish style home and it turned out so gorgeous and as usual I forgot to take pictures.

I have started playing tennis again and no the tennis elbow is not perfect but at least I am not in pain.

The weather has been so beautiful that I am beginning to wonder if there will be any more real cold weather but I bet there will be. My bananas took a beating and I have all ready trimmed the dead fronds off. If this weather continues I will start with the Turf Pro soon.

The family has been watching American Idol and yes still loving it as we all look forward to it.

I heard from an old friend this week that I have not heard from or seen in 30 years! What a great reunion, even if it is by e mail. In the good ol days he was president of the fern society and we had quite the fun group way back then. I was just a teenager so many of the folks that were retired when I knew them in the society are gone now but still others are still at it , collecting rare and unusual plants. Some of the finest people I have ever met were in the plant societies, we all had a common interest and always helped each other. I am not able to collect the rare and unusual aroids that I once did as I do not have a heated greenhouse, but I have a plan that someday I will be able to do it again, even if it's in the future when I retire someday! Once you get into the rare and unusual plants it really never leaves you. I like the idea of having a conservatory in the backyard that is tall so you could grow tall palms and others then it should have rock walls dripping with water to simulate the rain forest, then add lots of aroids, bromeliads and ferns and I would be a happy camper. Just take a look at www.exoticrainforest.com and you will see what I mean.

Well this is my second week of playing tennis and what fun! It has been a year off due to tennis elbow so naturally it is difficult as I have to get the form back so it doesn't come back. But from what I hear it always comes back so I am just taking it easy to preserve it just a bit longer.

Last Sunday a group of 11 of us met at Pisces Rising restaurant in Mt Dora and as usual it was an amazing dinner. I had the Cuban red snapper with black beans and it was great. Everyone loved what they ordered which was mostly snapper or steak. I did not have dessert but a few days earlier I was there and ordered the hummingbird cake which is made with spices and a creme cheese frosting. I sure wish I had a piece right now as I feel I deserve it after such a vigorous tennis game!

I had a really good workday as I did an estimate for a gentleman who knew my father when he was alive and living in Ft Lauderdale. What a great guy he was and I hope to talk to him more in the future as he has lived in Costa Rica and I have always loved that country since I was a kid .The dogs are doing great and I spent some time with the Jack and the standard poodle today, such big babies. I have to go now as the whole family is calling me to watch American Idol so I will see you next time.

The freeze really took it's toll on some of the plants in the yard. Everyday it looks a bit worse as the foliage browns and yes it's a bit depressing, but that's nature. I am optimistic that all will come back. Clearly, the plants that I doubled and tripled wrapped came out the best, so I can say for sure that I will have more fabric next year. Just because a plant goes entirely brow does not mean that it won't come back beautiful in the spring. I will trim the banana's most likely this weekend but on all others no trimming until the end of February. I am a little worried about my variegated Banana as I have had them for 30 years and even now they are so rare. I will let you know in the future if they do alright. I cut the grass today, well at least the backyard, and no sadly, it is not very green this time of year. I am ready for spring as I want to plant a lot of California Daisy,{the lighter colored one} as I have figured out that they are inexpensive and bloom all spring and summer. I have been concerned for some of the folks in the Villages as many people have sadly been sold many tropicals and their plants are devastated. I was in the Villages this morning and was shocked at how much damage, so I think I really need to talk more about the importance of choosing the right plant for your county. Over the holiday's I cleaned the Koi pond and it looks so good. In addition, I pressure cleaned all of the boulders and it looked awesome until the bananas froze! But I digress. All plants have their time to shine so the sunken garden I figure needs about 2 months to reach full optimum beauty, but it will probably be before that. Yes, I remain optimistic!