When I have an idea for a newsletter, especially if it is from my childhood, I often go looking through old pictures to see if I can find visual proof of the thing I have in my mind. Doing that always leads me down a rabbit hole of looking at other pictures and remembering things that have long since slipped my memory. On one of these photo journeys, I found a pile of dirt. Actually, it’s a pile of horse manure, freshly shoveled out of horse stables into my grandfather’s old Ford Ranchero and then unloaded into our yard.
But it’s not just a dirt pile. It is the Dirt Pile of the Month, as you can see on the festive sign. In the small print, it says “Presented by Dewey, Mulchem & Howe.” I can’t get any corroboration on this story, but I’m guessing it was a prank by some family friends at around the time our little neighborhood started a Yard of the Month award. And who wouldn’t be proud of a big ole’ pile of dirt? A lot of people, I guess, but when you are a gardener, you do and like weird things. Even now, I have a pile of dirt in my own backyard that I’m always using to pot up plants or plant new ones. I’m pretty proud of it, even if it won’t win Dirt Pile of the Month. I wonder whatever happened to Dewey, Mulchem & Howe…
Indeed, as gardeners, we are prone to odd habits. And we are also prone to not giving up, although sometimes the weather in Florida may make you want to throw up your hands and say, “I’m through.” If you’ve ever felt this way, then join me this Saturday for a free seminar all about Gardening in Florida. If you are brand new to gardening and looking for your first Dirt Pile of the Month award, come out and join me. If you can’t even count the piles of dirt you’ve created in your life but still find Florida a bit challenging, then come out and join me. We are going to talk about the particular challenges that Florida presents to gardening of all kinds and what we can do to continue to have award-winning gardens.
P.S. There are two other big events coming up at Kerby’s that I have to mention. First is our Start a Pollinator Party on Saturday, October 21st. The day will start with a seminar on Native Plants and Native Pollinators at 10 am. Then at 11:30 am, I’ll give you a guided tour of our Homegrown National Park® and tell you more about that movement. And make sure you have your tickets for the 1 pm Make and Take where I will guide you through the creation of a Pollinator Orb, a little apartment complex for the pollinators that find their way into your garden. If you are hungry, Seasoned Green will be serving up delectable vegan and vegetarian fare from 11 am to 2 pm. It’s going to be a delightful day focused on what we can do to make our gardens better for Mother Earth.
And… the doctor is in! If you have any houseplants that need to see the doc, join us on Saturday, October 28th at 10 am for a free seminar and then from 11 am to 2 pm for our first ever Houseplant Checkup & Repotting Clinic. Tickets are required for the clinic (details here), but we’ll have our microscope out and ready with solutions on hand to help you diagnose and treat your plants. If you need repotting, we’ll guide you through the process and provide the soil and fertilizer you need to properly replant your houseplants (limits apply). Get all the information on our Happy Healthy Houseplants Day here.
