Nature and Animals

SOPHOMORIC LANDSCAPING So it’s a beautiful Florida summer, the rainy season is here, and our trees, shrubs, and lawns are automatically growing nice and lush, right? Well, that’s what I thought would happen when I moved here from Texas back in 1990. Boy did I get that wrong. The stories I could tell you… wait… […]

GLORIOSA LILY IS A NON-NATIVE, VIGOROUS VINE THAT GROWS FROM A CORM. Mina Edison loved lilies – European Madonna lilies in the Moonlight Garden, waterlilies in her specially constructed lily pond adjacent to the Caloosahatchee River, a host of crinums outside her winter home, to lilies-of-the-valley and trout lilies scattered throughout her Glenmont gardens. Despite […]

SKYE MACDONALD OF SANIBEL CAPTIVA COASTAL WATCH FOUNDATION (SCCWF) At the Gateway Women’s Club last August, Skye MacDonald of Sanibel Captiva Coastal Watch Foundation (SCCWF), and our August speaker, brought approximately 90 mangrove seedlings (called propagules) for adoption by the GWC and Gateway Girlfriends. Participants’ job would be to watch over the seedlings either indoors […]

S. ARBORICOLA CAN BE USED AS A NATURAL LOOKING HEDGE When contemplating a plant genus to write about, I tour the gardens at Edison and Ford Winter Estates with open eyes, looking for that specimen that does one of two things – catches your breath or blends into the landscape, hardly noticed. To me, the […]

MARY MILLS BY ONE OF THE FISH TANKS THE BAILEY-MATTHEWS NATIONAL SHELL MUSEUM & AQUARIUM KATHY FLAHERTY The Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum & Aquarium is a natural history museum and aquarium, and the only museum in the United States devoted primarily to shells and mollusks. Its mission is to use exceptional collections, aquariums, programs, experiences, […]

PANDANUS: FROM WORLD’S OLDEST PLANT FOSSIL TO YOUR KITCHEN One of the largest plants growing at the Edison and Ford Winter Estates greets visitors along the main allée, just outside the Edisons’ home. Heavily damaged by Hurricane Ian, this unusual plant has made a full recovery, testament to its resilience to wind, water, and salt. […]

APRIL ON THE WATER  April may be our top month fishing in the coastal waters of southwest Florida. As we transition into spring, our waters are warming, baitfish have moved in, and fish are hungry. The weather is stable for the month with light winds and mild sunny days, plus not much threat of daily thunderstorms. Also, […]

Keeping our community looking healthy, green, and welcoming is always a priority. Recently, many homeowners across Southwest Florida—including here in our community—have noticed changes in St. Augustine lawns, including yellowing, thinning, and decline. Our landscaping partner, GreatView Lawn Care, has been closely monitoring these conditions and working proactively to address them. One of the issues […]

SOUL CARE “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you!” I’ve always loved this greeting to Mary from the angel Gabriel. Kindness, blessing, promise and hope in one brief greeting, right? What a greeting! What a blessing! And that’s pretty much the whisper I hear in my heart somewhere between 4:30 and 6 every morning […]

LATANIA LODDIGESII SEEDS ON A PALM NEAR THE EDISON CARETAKER’S COTTAGE Nearly a thousand miles east of the coast of Madagascar, in the Indian Ocean, sits an archipelago of islands collectively known as the Mascarene Islands. Their isolated nature and lack of humans until about 1507, allowed these volcanic islands to enjoy a vast biodiversity […]