Autumn in South Florida

For those who live in the Southern part of the Sunshine state you know that we really only have one season... Hurricane season! (No joke) The way we South Floridians tell when Autumn is approaching is when the stores and the coffee shops start to offer Pumpkin flavored goodness.

Being a transplant to Florida I truly miss the changing of the seasons. The turning of the leaves from green to majestic golds, reds and oranges, the sound of them crunching under my feet as I walk in the park and feeling that crisp cool breeze tickle my nose.The sound of the leaves rustling in the air, knowing Summer has come to a close and Winter is not too far. I just really love Autumn!

I feel sad for the native SoFlas who have yet to experience a true Autumn Season, to me, it's so magical. All they have to go on are pictures of Fall leaves and Pumpkin flavors, by all means I'm not complaining, Pumpkin and spice is a wonderful warm flavor, one that takes me instantly to that Autumn paradise. However, I've noticed it doesn't translate in to soap very well in this market. Even the colors don't really translate either... I'd love to hear what you think.. Autumn Scents in Soaps "Yeay" or "Nay"?

How does your garden grow?

I think I got my green thumb from my Father. From the time I can remember we've always had plants in our apartment in New Jersey growing up. I would help to transplant them when they out grew their pots. When we moved to Florida and we had a proper back yard my Dad would save and plant dates, coconuts, he even tried to plant pistachios ( those did not grow well). I joined in and planted Sun flowers, Amaryllis and Paper whites. Now that I am back to apartment living, I still enjoy getting my hands dirty so to speak. My current "garden" contains a Pineapple plant, Celery and Turmeric.

This is my second Pineapple plant and it is most definitely ready to transplant it to the ground, it has grown tremendously since all the Summer rains. Pineapple is the easiest to grow, just cut the top off of a fresh pineapple and you have a new plant. I saw a tip on local television if you peel away the bottom leaves close to the base about 1-1/12 inches up you will start to see the roots of the plant. All you have to do is just plant it in a pot or in your garden, before you know it you will have a Pineapple plant.

Next on my list is Celery, again it's easy to grow, just cut the base of the celery bulb and place in a small dish with water, soon enough you will start to see yellow-green shoots coming from the center. I then moved the bulb to a pot of soil about 2 weeks after it "caught". As soon as I transplanted it in to the earth,the yellow-green shoots turned a gorgeous deep green. This picture is about 2 weeks after it was in the dirt, best part is it has that bright Celery scent already. 

My newest go at growing something is Turmeric root. I've talked about all the benefits to Turmeric in a previous post. This is more than just a natural food colorant, Turmeric is one of the greatest super foods we have. Turmeric like the Pineapple grows from itself. The roots start to produce sprouts and roots which once planted in the soil become a plant, you can then harvest the roots after the leafy tops start to turn yellow and have all new Turmeric roots to use and even plant more. 

 

I'm excited to see how my Turmeric plant grows and getting the chance to use my own homegrown Turmeric in my soaps! These plants for the most part are low maintenance and for me, fun to watch grow and develop.I'll keep you posted on my "harvest" ...lol