Cleaning up after the freeze

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It's January 29th here at The Tropical Paradise and I've finally finished cleaning up most of the damage to the elephant ears and the canna. I hauled away a lot of damaged foliage, which was kind'a sad, but it needed to be done, anyway. The area by my dining room window seems a little barren, but it's already starting to grow back. In a month or two, the canopy will be growing strong.

There is still some damage to the pygmy date palms, but I am going to leave them alone for a little while. When the weather warms up I will trim them back very hard to the green center growth. But it's still a little cool today, and downright cold at night, so it's best to wait.

As you can see, the grass is fine. Because, well, it's plastic. Best investment I ever made. I will need to get out there with the blower, but I will wait for the ground to dry off a bit more. We got a little rain last night but the sun has come back out, and it will dry up quickly. Besides, a few stray leaves makes artificial turf look less artificial. I've seen some of the newer types that even have a few dead brown patches built in to make it seem more realistic. If you're thinking of doing this, don't be tempted to put in a "putting green" unless you want your backyard to look like a goofy "putt-putt" course.

I am pleased by how the big chunk of quartz looks there, and am going to be getting more pointy rocks from a friend of mine who is redoing his backyard. All I gotta do is go over there and get them. A good project for tomorrow!

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