Reds

Even in the early garden, the reds are a standout. Shown above, lettuces in the Salad Bar Bins, and shots of the Kiwi vine that somehow survived the freezes. Those fuzzy, twining scarlet stems and tendrils merit some closer looks.

I have yet to get my head around the Florida seasons, since I spent most of my life in Tennessee. I've been here several years but have only been trying gardening here the past couple. We're still doing this on a very small scale, and I'm also trying to adapt to the strange weather fluctuations. Year before last was completely dry. Last year, we had some nice rains. This year has been unusually cool and mild, though the days now are picking up some heat. So far this year very little early year rain, and there hasn't been a drop in over a month...none in the forecast, either. We had three freezes earlier in the year, and that did in a bunch of our subtropicals (which are suited to this area ideally...usually).

So, it's a head-scratcher. And we're just putting seeds in now. Come freeze, drought, or hurricane monsoon, we'll keep planting according to our hunches and the county extension handout planting charts, and see what happens.