More Updates to the Web Site - 2007
10/16/2007 - There is a change in the wind - and it's not just the onset of autumn. It looks like the USDA is finally making a serious effort to update it's Hardiness Zone Map issued in 1990. The USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) has initiated a project to revise the map using data from 1971 - 2000 and to issue a new map late this year or in 2008.
The USDA Map has attracted a significant degree of controversy during the past 5 years, something that is particularly surprising when one considers that the map is merely a compilation of objective temperature observations over a stated period of time. The USDA originally contracted with the American Horticultural Society (AHS) to update the map in 2002, but abandoned the project when the results showed a clear warming trend. It is quite possible that the revision was rejected for political reasons, since it undermined the Bush Administration's claims that global warming was not a real threat.
The AHS in the March/April 2007 issue of Gardener's Notebook has an interesting quote on the topic, "Tony Avent, owner of Plant Delights Nursery in Raleigh, North Carolina, and a member of the USDA’s technical review committee, feels the difference in the maps is due to the fact that the 1990 USDA map used a “13-year data set, but one that was taken during a cold cycle. The Arbor Day map has a similar length dataset, but one that was taken during a warm cycle.” The AHS version is based on 16 years of data (1986 to 2002), while 1990 USDA Map was based on 13 years of data (1974 to 1986).
By using a 30 year period (1971 - 2000) for the proposed update, the USDA is blending the data from these two periods and reducing the impact of the higher temperature readings experienced during the past 20 years. My guess, when and if the USDA does issue an approved update to the 1990 Map, it will still show a significant northward migration of the hardiness zones and provide further evidence that we are experiencing a significant change to our climate. For further information on Hardiness Zone Maps, click here.
10/6/2007 - Now that the Summer is slowly coming to a close and the Butterfly Garden has had a chance to settle in, it's time to take an inventory of what worked and what ... dried up, shriveled and died (see the Butterfly Garden Diary).
09/29/2007 - It has been a frantic four months. We moved into our new home in June and began the slow process of adding the little touches that will eventually make the house uniquely ours. Ok, some of the touches aren't so little. A good deal of our initial attention was focused on installing a pool, which we intended to make the primary focal point for the house. Freestyle Pools broke ground in late June and pulled off a near miracle by completing the pool in August. They did an excellent job, particularly with the waterfall.
Since we wanted the pool area to have an immediate impact (i.e. my spouse had no patience for me spending the next three years finding the right plants and their placement), we had Palms Nursery and Landscaping in Tampa design and install the plants. They used a colorful combination of Stromanthe, Cordyline and Flax Lily along with a Pygmy Date Palm centerpiece to create a beautiful accent for the waterfall.
9/26/2007 - I've been neglecting the Butterfly Garden for the past month, so last weekend I decided to clean out some of the expired plants and prepare the garden for Fall. Several of the plants, particularly the Butterfly Milkweed and the Lantana, have made a come back now that the temperature is starting to moderate. The butterflies seem to appreciate my efforts. Witness the Palamedes Swallowtail sipping on the flowering Pentas.
09/23/2007 - Couldn't resist posting this (click on the image for a larger picture):
08/07/2007 - It looks like the Gulf Fritillary caterpillars I photographed two weeks ago have turned into butterflies. Click on the image for a larger picture.
07/29/2007 - I discovered a great nursery in Tampa this weekend, Palms Nursery & Landscaping. Their prices are exceptionally good. For example, I went there looking for a Pygmy Date Palm and White Bird of Paradise. The Bird of Paradise in a 3 gallon pot went for $10, which was at least 50% less than the tired looking plants I saw today at Lowe's. More importantly, they provided great service and advice. They have been at their site near the Vandenberg Airport for only a year and don't have a Web site yet. They are also a little hard to find, but the trip was worth the extra effort. You can find a map to Palm Nursery & Landscaping here.
07/24/2007 - I can officially confirm that Gulf Fritillary caterpillars love Passion Vines!
As I was looking over the Butterfly Garden this afternoon I noticed a few orange caterpillars on the Passion Flower vine. On closer inspection I found over 20 caterpillars happily munching on the vines and the flower buds. It was fascinating to see so many in one place. Click here for more pictures.
Still being a novice with butterflies, I needed help identifying the variety of caterpillar - it turned out to be a Gulf Fritillary. I found a great little web site to help, it's simply called What's This Caterpillar?
07/15/07 - For the record, today was one of those days. No, not one of those sweaty, dirty, muggy days where everything you touch seems to shrivel and die. Nope. This was one of those great days when the Butterfly Garden was full of flapping wings, when I could fiddle with the placement of the Indian Hawthorne in the front garden and the arrangement actually looked good, when I could take my Brazilian Iris and Chinese Banana and separate them into eleven new plants, when the day seemed as bright as a new Tithonia blossom, when things really felt good. What a great day to be a gardener!
07/04/07 - Phrenology is the study of the shape of the head to determine personality traits (i.e. am I truly out of my mind?) Phenology is something completely different (i.e. am I truly out of my head for obsessing on hardiness zones?). If hardiness zone maps can be defined as the measurement of temperature changes in a particular location as an indicator of whether plants will thrive, phenology is the measurement of the plant lifecycle as an indicator of changing climate. As defined by the USA National Phenology Network, "Phenology ... is the study of periodic plant and animal life cycle events that are influenced by environmental changes, especially seasonal variations in temperature and precipitation driven by weather and climate. Wide ranges of phenomena are included, from first openings of leaf and flower buds, to insect hatchings and return of birds. Each one gives a ready measure of the environment as viewed by the associated organism. Thus, timings of phenological events are ideal indicators of the impact of local and global changes in weather and climate on the Earth's biosphere."
While man has practiced phenology for centuries ("Plant corn when oak leaves are the size of a squirrel’s ears"), today when we desperately need guidance on the issues surrounding global warming, phenology does not provide clear answers, the type of answers found in consistent observations taken over several centuries up to the present day. For example Robert Marcham and his progeny recorded data on annual plant and insect "indications" in England starting in 1736, but the data stopped in 1958. The British Royal Meteorological Society conducted extensive phenological observations starting in 1891, but the records stopped in 1948.
It would appear that society, starting in mid-century, decided to enter a period of denial with respect to global warming - if we don't look for the indications of progressive warming then the problem doesn't exist. It was not until late in the last century, when the evidence started to mount that the weather was changing and we had to do something about it, that phenology again became popular and the data flooded in. Regardless, there is a disturbing gap in the data that parallels man's denial of the mounting evidence.
For some links on phenology, click here.
06/29/2007 - I ran across a reference to butterfliesandmoths.org in the Hummingbird and Butterflies Forum at Dave's Garden. Butterflies and Moths of North America is a great site for searching for butterflies and moths in your county along with extensive images.
06/24/2007 - Butterfly gardening has got to be, hands down, the coolest form of gardening! I'm hooked. It started back in May when I was reading a post on centralflorida.blogspot.com with a gorgeous picture of a Black Swallowtail Caterpillar munching happily away on some fennel. The blog stated that Swallowtail's especially like Bronze Fennel. Plant it and they will come. A few weeks later I was in the midst of a buying spree at the USF Butterfly, Herbs & Native Plant Fair (see below) when I spotted Bronze Fennel for sale. On an impulse I scooped one up.
A few days ago I was out watering my new butterfly garden when I noticed a small yellow lump on the fennel. I was in shock. There before me was a Black Swallowtail Caterpillar in all its glory! How in the world could a Swallowtail find my meager Bronze Fennel in such a short time? Since I was in a rush, I did not have the opportunity to spend time admiring the caterpillar, much less document the event with a picture. And wouldn't you know it, when I did return to the garden the next day, it had disappeared.
I just assumed the caterpillar had met some horrible fate. Not so. This afternoon, I was looking over my Crinum and there it was - only it was now a chrysalis!
06/01/2007 - I am a very controlling person. My day job is head of "Risk & Control" for a financial services company. I'm paid, supposedly, to predict the future, head off risks, and keep everything very predictable. It's my job to ensure that each process and system works the way it was planned and designed.
Yeah. Sure.
Things always break. Humans are not perfect and their systems will eventually fail. The problem with business is that we have a multitude of ways to disguise these failures, ways to perpetuate a group consensus that the Emperor's clothes are looking particularly striking today. So when something fails in my business, I just go about my job of writing incident reports, searching for the root cause and keeping up the appearance that I am in control. And every day I drive home stifling that little voice within reminding me that this is all a sham.
That is why I love to garden. There is a brutal honesty in it, a constant reminder about who is in control, a great leveler.
I've been dreaming and planning about my new garden for the past two years. I've made detailed designs, researched hundreds of plants, and wandered through nurseries and public gardens for inspiration. But all along I've had this sinking feeling that I'm not getting it right, that the garden will just be an accumulation of plants, and not a place for enjoyment and reflection.
Then along comes my wife. In a random moment she looks out the back window of our new house and says, "Why don't we put a butterfly garden out there?" And I stand there wondering why I never thought of that before. It's the perfect location, sunny and sheltered from the wind. It's right outside a hall window, so the plants and butterflies can be enjoyed from the house or out in the yard.
And in an indication that the stars and planets are all aligned with planting the butterfly garden, this weekend was the Butterfly, Herbs & Native Plant Fair at USF.
We were at the Fair when the gates opened for the University of South Florida Botanical Garden members. After scoping out all the vendors, I settled on the Colorfield Farms exhibit area. I was like a kid in a candy shop. After a half hour I had picked out 19 plants. We then brought them back home and, with the help of my daughter, we had them planted that afternoon.
I've started a Plant Diary to track how the butterfly garden grows over time. In the meantime, if you know of any butterflies in need of sustenance or a place to start a family, point them my way.
05/28/2007 - We've Moved. Finally. Two and a half years of planning and harassing the contractor. We're in our new house. Now the fun begins. I hope.
04/28/2007 - Happy Birthday! Centralfloridagarden.com is one year old. In some ways I feel like a doting parent gazing happily at my one year old child as it struggles to take it's first steps. This site is far from "mature" and I have a lot to learn before I can claim to be an expert gardener. But the past year has been a joy.
In our first month of operation the site had only 27 visitors. For most of 2006 I struggled to make the it relevant and attract visitors. I had to resort to some of the simpler techniques to build ranking on Google like finding the right key words and begging related gardening sites to link to my pages. I want to especially thank the authors of donitaworld.com and centralfloridagarden.blogspot.com for helping other gardeners to find my site. Currently, approximately 800 people visit this site each month. Okay, those figures pale in comparison to the traffic seen by even mildly interesting videos on YouTube in one day, but I'm still proud of those numbers.
Now that there is building traffic on the site, I am beginning to see some interesting activity. Google is the main source for links to this centralfloridagarden.com. Earlier this month I was amazed to see how many people had found my site using "frost" as a search word in Google (I've written a few brief Topics on frost). My guess is that most of those searchers were from outside of Florida and were suffering through the severe late season frost that occurred in states like Georgia and South Carolina.
With all the various plants listed on this site (the My Favorite Plants page is currently up to 74 different plants - I'm not good at picking just a few favorites), I was also confounded by the large number of readers in April who came to my site looking for information on Dwarf Confederate Jasmine. Then I ran the same search on Google and found that this site was listed number 3 for those search words! Why? Who cares, I'm happy to just bask in the lime light.
It should be interesting to see what this site looks like in another year. By that point our house will be complete and I can start filling out the various plant diaries that I am keeping. Instead of mostly dreaming about gardening, I'll actually have dirt under my fingernails quite regularly. Let's just hope I can successfully guide the site through its Terrible Two's.
04/27/2007 - Last Sunday was a glorious day - bright, warm and clear - and what better way to spend it than to go down to the Marie Selby Botanical Garden in Sarasota. We had a wonderful time. I was able to take pictures of a wide variety of plants, especially the many spectacular Bromeliads that were in bloom. Beautiful plants inspire beautiful pictures.
03/04/2007 - Some of the happiest moments in my life have been spent at public gardens like Hidcote Manor, the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens, the Strybing Botanical Gardens and Hama Rikyu in Tokyo. However, after I tour a public garden I often get a little knot in my stomach, because much of what I have just seen is well beyond my capabilities or bank account - an unachievable fantasy.
Then there are little gems like the Hillsborough County Extension Bette S. Walker Discovery Garden, which demonstrate that with a little care and creativity you can have a beautiful garden. Last Tuesday, in the midst of an oppressive day at work, I decided to take a long lunch and stop by the Discovery Garden. It was a marvelous idea and a very enjoyable experience. Click here for some pictures.
02/27/2007 - The answer to the eternal question, "Can I grow daffodils in Central Florida?"
02/17/2007 - I spend a lot of time thinking about the risk of frost , but I guess I don't spend enough time doing anything about it. Yesterday we had our first really cold night since we moved to the house we are renting. At 9 PM the outdoor thermometer read 48 degrees and I figured there was nothing to worry about. In our old house, the temperature never dropped more than five or ten degrees more over the night in similar circumstances. Not so in our current house.
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By morning, the temperature was around 32 degrees and there was frost on the ground and plant leaves. Like a jerk I had left my few tropical plants unprotected. Even my Chinese Yellow Banana (musella lasiocarpa), which is hardy to Zone 7, was frost bitten. My guess is that it will come back, but it will be one pathetic looking plant for several months. The lesson is that, despite my almost compulsive desire to understand hardiness zone maps, experience plays a lot in preventing frost damage. In our old house the immense over hanging oak trees and the nearby pond provided abundant sources for heat retention. I just assumed the same would be true in our current house, even though it is in a new subdivision where the backyards are fenced in and free of any significant trees. I will need to rethink how I will protect my plants from frost in our new house which, other than the pool area, will have few sources for heat retention. |
02/10/2007 - I stopped by the USF Botanical Gardens and took some pictures. To be honest, they are not very inspired. Maybe it's just me, but I have been to the USF Botanical Gardens twice now and both times I have not been impressed. There are many heritage trees and some beautiful specimens of tropical plants. But the site does not flow. It seems more haphazard than planned. Granted, as a tropical garden it has to yield to the chaos of Nature, however there are many places within the garden where a little human intervention would help.
02/03/2007 - For the past several months I've spent some of my free time researching climate zone maps. You would think that these maps would represent only the highest standards of objectivity. Instead, the process of updating the 1990 USDA Hardiness Zone Map has taken on a political component as the White House has apparently stifled any update that would support those who claim we are experiencing global warming. The controversy has not stopped other organizations from issuing updates that show a marked northward movement in the hardiness zones. Hopefully, the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report statement that, "Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, as is now evident from observations of increases in global average air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice, and rising global mean sea level," will lead the debate in a more positive direction and the adoption of an update to the USDA Hardiness Zone Map that does reflect the current warming trend.
As a gardener in Central Florida, I'm confused and concerned. Are the recent changes in the weather in this state reliable predictors of a long term warming trend? If you look at the chart below from the National Climatic Data Center, which shows a marked warming trend since 1980
or the most recent hardiness zone map from the National Arbor Day Foundation where Zone 10 is shown moving North into Central Florida:
there is a clear implication that we are in for warmer weather for the next few years. But how long will it last? Can we start planting Plumeria in the front yards of Central Florida with little worry of frost or even leaf drop due to cold weather? As a resident of the Tampa Bay area can I assume we will be in Zone 10 for at least the next decade or even 25 years?
The chart above would favor a "yes" answer. We are definitely experiencing a pronounced upward spike in temperature patterns and it is unlikely we will see a dramatic drop any time soon. But what if you take an even longer term view? Instead of going back to 1880 as with the chart above, what if we go back a thousand years? It would appear that the answer is the same - yes we are in a period of global warming and it may be just the beginning of an era of above average temperatures.
What to do? I'm not really sure . But I do know that any decisions about which plants will thrive in my yard pale in comparison to the question of whether global warming has also lead to the recent increase in the number of severe hurricanes striking Florida or even the horrendous weather system that tore through Central Florida yesterday killing at least 20 people. I may be able to plant a Plumeria in my front yard and not worry about it being killed by frost, but that may be "cold comfort" if the tree is soon blown away in a storm.
01/07/2006 - The National Arbor Day Foundation updated their hardiness zone map in December. While the map has not changed significantly from the 2004 version, it does show an expansion of Zone 10 along the I-4 corridor in Central Florida moving from the Tampa Bay Area toward Orlando, likely a result of urban warming. For further information on hardiness zone maps, click here.