One of the most vexing problems for gardeners everywhere is how to deal with the areas of their property in which there is not enough light for turfgrass to grow. In the southern U.S., St. Augustine grass outperforms other turfgrasses in terms of shade tolerance, but eventually it, too, becomes sparse as lighting decreases. Rather…
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In 1832, famed avian artist John James Audubon (born Jean Rabin), was visiting a friend in Key West when he gazed into a neighbor’s yard and saw a beautiful flowering tree, which we know as Cordia sebestena. So impressed was he by the tree that his later engraving of white-crowned pigeons shows the birds perched…
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If you’re looking for a colorful variegated shrub, you would do well to consider the Caricature Plant. Native to southeast Asia, most likely New Guinea, the plant features glossy, variegated leaves which display a splash of pink/peach coloration in the center. Richard Lyons’ Nursery carries two foliar color forms, one with a green background and…
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If your only familiarity with guava fruit is its use as a jelly, you need to put that out of your mind. At least that’s the advice of Brooks Tropicals, which recently published suggestions for better ways to appreciate the fruit. Here are some of the highlights: • Add sliced guava to a meal by…
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In 1898, the United States became embroiled in the Spanish-American War. President William McKinley, eager to assess the relative strengths of the Spanish forces and Cuban insurgents, wanted to send a message to General Calixto Garcia, who was somewhere in the mountains of eastern Cuba. Col. Arthur Wagner, head of the Bureau of Military Intelligence,…
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