Mid-January in The Tropical Paradise

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It's January 20th here at The Tropical Paradise and all danger of frost is over. This has been the mildest winter that I can remember - although I guess mostly I remember the big freezes of 2007 and 2010! The coldest it got this past winter was in November of last year - and the temperatures have been well above freezing for the lows ever since.

The canna will need some heavy trimming - but it's nice to see it get through the winter without getting knocked down. The lettuce has been growing very nicely - the reason that it's so stubby is that I have been eating it. As soon as it grows back I have another salad!

This is the first year that I and my winter visitors have really gotten some good use of my backyard in the winter. As you can see, the morning sun comes pouring in, and even though the air is chilly, the sun feels good. I don't really miss the old palo brea tree! There is a place for trees that grow like weeds and have nasty thorns, but not in my backyard. Another thing that makes The Tropical Paradise so appealing on winter mornings is that I can leave the chairs out on the *grass* - which is actually artificial, and my guests can move them in and out of the sun as they see fit. And no cold wet grass! Did I mention how much I like the artificial turf?

I am still growing coleus and some annual flowers indoors and plan on moving them out in a couple of weeks. They started from seed, and now I am taking cuttings from those plants and rooting them. Growing plants from seed is a lot of trouble, and I really can't recommend it, unless you just like to putter. And it has made me appreciate the plants that I can get for $1.99 a six-pack at Home Depot!

2012 is gonna be a great year.

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