Usually I dig down a few inches (with my finger) and check for dryness on my in the ground plants, if I feel any dampness at all I don't water. My potted plants that I keep in the sun; well, it's fairly easy to tell if they need watering just by the weight of the pot. I think I may tend to over fertilize, I have a "more is better" mentality and give in to it way too often. Quite a few of my neighbors have one or two D.R. in the ground and simply ignore them and they seem to do better then mine

I got a roll of foil backed insulating material. mine is not bubble type i taped with foil tape to the metal ceiling and used wire cable and used that to hole it 1/2 in off the ceiling it works best if it is not up against the roof so it reflects the radiation cold or heat you feel coming from the walls. now having a foil looking ceiling was not to appealing so i got old fish nets and small Christmas lights and sells.starfish, sponges(from tarpon springs..lol) and strung the blue lights and one string of white lights with no direction just everywhere in a random pattern, then i hung the fish net i have old black and old cotton i got true old used not fake stuff. I draped that and put all the trinkets up in it . put the lights on a dimmer. I have a hot tub out there and when i used it most at night i turned on the lights and dimmed them down and it looked like stars . it was so nice laying in the hot tub looking up at stars and in day looks like well here are a few pics of that project

Hetty thats a great idea ...if you want something more permint (more money ...a lot more..) my grand parents where the fist in the states to get the ac unit that they put a small unit outside and run 2 lines in side and have a small unit with fan inside. now they didnt have to pay for it due to testing but now i thin they are $$ thousand or here is a link to what they had BUT they are 1400.00 kinda used if you add a room to live in and your ac is not big to cool that room;
http://www.goductless.com/Mits...


insulation

netting and final view.

I installed a new out let threw my block wall to pug lights in and a dimmer for it

when i did this 8 yrs ago you could not get this insulation at home depot now you can.

hope it helps

Thank you everybody. I think I am going to go with the portable AC. Thank you Hetty for the tip; I will go with the dog door or drier enclosure

Dutchlady1 said:No photoshop (don't know how to use it) and yes, it came from Florida Colors...

Hetty, how can I contact Florida Colors on their desert rose plants? I sent them e-mail several days ago and "no" reply.


Thanks,
Cora

Cora - go to their website and give them a call on their toll-free number. This time of year they often don't get to their emails in days....

Hetty, I'll do that!

Thanks so much.

Are all of our south and east Florida members safe.The storm went to the east of us but hit parts of Florida really hard.

Thanks for asking. We had nothing but plenty of wind and rain and some minor greenscape damage. Nothing that I lie awake about. I know the Tampa area got hit hard.

Yes thanks for asking
I am north of Tampa nw of Orlando and got socked by rain real bad BUT the good thing is i live in the highest points in the state. here in clermont there are (small) but hills. i have a difference in grade level of 8 feet from middle of my lot and lots on one side is higher and other side is lower. behind me is a water retenchen area and threw all the storms and rain in 12 years it has NEVER had more the 2 INCHES in it.there is a 20 foot difference in elevation between my lot and bottom of the area. and i have lakes all around up here and they are 40 feet elevation difference between where i am and about 1/2 mile to the lake. I looked at flood plane and elevation maps when i get insurance for my house. they told me i need to get flood insurance and i said LADY if my lot and house flood we will need an ARK there will be nothing left of Florida..LOL a few low spots in the yard had standing or rushing water but i had no water damage and just a little branch damage ....now my plants are a another story some loved it and some revolted and are playing dead....


i keep talking about how over grown my back yard is and its a jungle out there look at this picture. we all know the size of garbage can you can get at home improvement stores use that as a gauge for my yard to one side of my back yard.
.
....my dog looking for wild life
...if you click and look close you can see the dog's tail i think she gets lost sometimes!!!

dont think ill be mowing that any time soon!!! was thinking of round-up the entire yare seems easy compared to mowing.... and it sill all grow back in less then a year with plain roundup!!

well thanks for all concerns i am thank full we here where spared any damage feel for those who didnt

mike

Dry, dry dry here, unusual. Dry season, late winter, was very wet. Climate change.

Raining almost everyday here though.

Mmm, how long have you been there, Cora? I think of Florida as being a fairly wet state.

Melissa - we have a wet humid hot summer, but a dry sunny winter. We're the sunshine state!!

Oh! Twice I was there when there was ice all over everything, once in Tampa, and once in Ft Lauderdale. And another time I was living in Stewart, and there were HUGE thunderstorms every single sfternoon. The first time I was in Key West, I nearly froze, 68 and raining all day. I guess my timing is good?

I'd say your timing could stand improvement..

I have to admit that the only place I've been in Florida is the Miami airport changing planes. It sounds lovely though and since seeing the wonderful gardens from Florida here, I'm even more convinced it's beautiful. I'm sure I'd have to adjust to the cooler temps though, I too am freezing at 68°F. If it gets below 80°F at night here I have the electric blanket on

Glad you all seem to have come through Debby without many problems. Let's hope the rest of the season is as safe and easy for all of us.

Jonna, I freeze at anything under 70 too. The other night I am watching TV and say to my hubby, turn the a/c up - it's too cool in here. It was 78.....

Only been here for six weeks Melissa, and in two weeks I'll go back to Georgia till September.

Cora your going to miss our best weather most of huricane season rain ,humidity @ 100% and, uv index @10 highest,and temps in the 95-100 deg in middle of the days .................oh wait your in S. Flroida its nice down there HAHAHAHA

yeah hahaha indeed