Help us build Lou's Greenhouse!

Lou Encouraged us all to Sow Our Wild O.A.K.s(Ordinary Acts of Kindness)

Lou Poulos was a kind man with a big smile and a generous heart. As a local award-winning landscaper, he planted oaks (and other plants) for a living. He also planted O.A.K.s (Ordinary Acts of Kindness) with the way he lived his life.

Lou passed away unexpectedly on October 18, 2009 and, as those who loved him, we want to continue sowing his O.A.K.s (Ordinary Acts of Kindness).

Our goal is to raise enough money to build Lou's Greenhouse. Lou's Greenhouse will be a part of the larger Cygnet House project - a group foster care home which will be built in Central Brevard.

Named after a baby swan, the Cygnet House will be a foster care group home for children ages 6-14 years old that have been placed in the protective services of the Department of Children & Families, District VII in Brevard County.

Plans for the Cygnet House include a butterfly garden and a vegetable garden where the children will learn the many benefits of working in a garden.

Our goal is to raise enough funds to build Lou's Greenhouse and Garden Shed - an on-site structure to further instill the love of gardening and plants into the children of Cygnet House.
We will be raising these funds through donations, plant sales and other means.

If you would like to find out how you can help us build Lou's Greenhouse, please email us.

HBCA Fall Parade of Homes

Looking for something fun to do to enjoy this fall weather? Why not browse through the model of the Home Builders and Contractors Association of Brevard Fall Parade of Homes.

Click here to download a 2 page printable map of the homes. (Map is in pdf format)

Or click here for link to view full color Parade of Homes Magazine.

My Mother's Giving Tree

It was probably around 1974 or 1975 that I first read the book, The Giving Tree, by Shel Silverstein. I worked in a public library back then, which to me was tantamount to making daily visits to one of the rooms of Heaven. I love books – both reading them and discussing them with others. It is a love that was instilled in me from an early age by a mother that taught us to read long before we learned to do much of anything else.

Although The Giving Tree is considered a children’s book, like many of Silverstein’s books, it has a powerful message for people of all ages. The message is about unconditional, lasting love and it is depicted through the relationship of a young boy and a tree.

I’m sure when I first discovered the book, I took it home to share it with my mother. She loved books as much as I did, and the message was one that I knew she would appreciate.

My mother, Ruth Lay Stabler, passed away on September 7, 2009. During the last ten years of her life, although her mind was slowly slipping away, she was still my constant giving tree. During those final years, I learned more about love and kindness and the power of laughter and importance of appreciating each moment of love than I have ever learned before. Like the tree in Silverstein’s book, she was my Giving Tree, teaching powerful lessons up until the end.

On October 13, 2009, Lou Poulos Landscaping of Malabar, Florida is very generously donating and planting a large oak in memory of my mother in Gleason Park in Indian Harbour Beach, Florida.

I wish that there were a way for me to encourage every person that sees that tree to read the book and appreciate its lessons. I wish I could just put a bench beneath the tree and always have the book there to encourage others to read it and absorb its wonderful story of lasting love. But of course, I can’t.

If you haven’t read The Giving Tree yet, I encourage you to do so. Why not check it out from your local library, and find a good tree to sit beneath and give it a read. I think it will make the tree very happy.

Biointensive Gardening Workshop II

Click on flyer to see larger version.

Our first rain barrel

Just created and installed our first rain barrel this weekend. We've had over 8 inches of rain since then. Very easy and fun project!

Rain barrel classes are available in Brevard County, Florida through Brevard County Natural Resources Management.

Email: mailto:elizabeth.melvin@brevardcounty.us

Spiders in Space and other neat Shuttle Passengers

One of the most exciting things about living in Brevard County, Florida is being able to proudly proclaim that we live on the Spacecoast of Florida - home of Cape Canaveral and the United States Space Shuttle.

In recognition of my love of nature and NASA, I have compiled this quiz about Critters that have been to space:

1) What species of arachnid (spider) spent some time on the International Space Station? Answer

2) This is the same type of spider that played a starring role in what popular children's book?Answer

3) What species of butterfly made the journey with them? Answer

4) What sort of larval host plant could be used by this butterfly? Answer

5) What kind of insect was sent along to feed the arachnids? Answer

For more information about the results of taking these critters to space, read this article.

To teach your kids a lot more about our space program, visit NASA Kids' Club

And to learn more about our friendly neighborhood insects, click here.

Here's a cute video of a spider crawling across a lens when someone was filming the space shuttle.

Beautiful Nude Nature Nerd - Alicia Silverstone

Alicia Silverstone Gardens Nude - Now THAT's a true Nature Nerd.

Post from Limelife.com, August 19, 2009.

Actress Alicia Silverstone has told how Woody Harrelson inspired her to become a nudist. The Clueless star said she first got into taking her clothes off while she was tending to her garden.

Read full post.

Alicia Silverstone’s Sexy Veggie PSA
Order a FREE vegetarian starter kit at GoVeg.com

Does the Obama Organic Garden help Make Him a Nature Nerd?

There used to be two distinct types of people: the cool people and the nerds. The cool people were the football players, the cheerleaders, and anyone in a rock band. The nerds were the ones who got good grades, wore black rimmed glasses and were much more likely to have a microscope or a telescope at home than they were to have a date on Friday night.

But times have changed. Protecting the planet and all of its creepy crawly inhabitants is not only sociably responsible AND socially acceptable but it is also suddenly cool. Yes, it's finally cool to be a Nature Nerd! Read full nature nerd post here.

So I guess I need to step up my research and see if I CAN find a celebrity that admits to their nerdiness.

What about our illustrious president, Barack Obama. He sounds pretty nerdish to me. And with his trips to our beautiful national parks, his new organic garden and his plan for a farmer's market, he must definitely love nature.

John Hodgman left no stone unturned when quizzing the president about his nerdiness.



So sure, our president might be a nerd. But is he a nature nerd?

Get to Know What Bugs You - 10 Websites to help ID Insects

Many people that really love the outdoors are still unreasonably "bugged" by bugs. And although mosquitoes, no-see-ums, deer flies and other biting insects can certainly make outdoor activities unpleasant, most other garden insects are relatively harmless and some are even beneficial insects.

So instead of trying to get rid of all of the bugs in your yard, why not get to know them, instead. You might find that the insects you have been chasing away are really quite beneficial.

1) What's that bug? Browse through photos or submit one of your own and they'll help you ID it.

2) Featured Creatures - Featured Creatures provides in-depth profiles of insects, nematodes, arachnids and other organisms.

3) North American Insects and Spiders - A catalog of over 7,000 high-resolution close-up pictures of live, wild insects and spiders with descriptions and natural history.

4) Bugguide - Identification, Images, & Information For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin For the United States & Canada

5) Bugbios - Shamelss promotion of Insect Appreciation

6) Picture Gallery of Insects - Iowa State University Entomology Image Gallery

7) Cornell University Entomology Fact Sheets

8) Amateur Entomologists' Society

9) ID Nature Guides

10) Butterflies and Moths of North America

For more information about controlling insects in your landscape, visit this site.

15 Sure Signs that You Are a Nature Nerd (Wait! That's a Good Thing!)

There used to be two distinct types of people: the cool people and the nerds. The cool people were the football players, the cheerleaders, and anyone in a rock band. The nerds were the ones who got good grades, wore black rimmed glasses and were much more likely to have a microscope or a telescope at home than they were to have a date on Friday night.

But times have changed. Protecting the planet and all of its creepy crawly inhabitants is not only sociably responsible AND socially acceptable but it is also suddenly cool. Yes, it's finally cool to be a Nature Nerd!

So whether you are a star studded celebrity, a prima ballerina or a single parent , it’s time to admit your nerdiness to the world. Go ahead and get excited about the tadpoles in your garden pond and the butterflies eating your herb garden! Grab the magnifying glass and a good nature guide and share the great outdoors with the ones you love.

And if you still aren’t sure whether you want to admit that you are a nerd or not, here are a few questions to help you decide:

You may be a nature nerd if:

1. 1. You monthly bill for birdseed is greater than your TV cable bill.


2. 2. You feel bad for the bugs that splatter on your windshield.


3. 3. You have ever stopped traffic and played crossing guard for turtles, squirrels, ducks or other critters who are trying to cross the road.


4. You have a birding Life List.


5. You don’t mind when caterpillars eat all of your plants and are even happy to buy them more.


6. You have funerals for the critters that die in your yard.


7. Your neighbors have ever reported you for having an overgrown yard because you have let your landscape “go native”.


8. You have visited at least one of the stops on a designated American Birding trail.


9. You know the difference between a lepidopterist and an ornithologist AND you know how to spell them both.


10. You have suddenly become the “eccentric” neighbor who wants everyone to keep their cat indoors.


11. The binoculars you keep by your back window are for bird watching, not people watching.


12. You have given first names to all of the various critters that come to your property and you recognize them by name.


13. You are one of the 100,000+ people who has had your yard certified as a National Wildlife Federation Certified Wildlife Habitat.


14. You’d rather capture a bug or spider and take it outside than squish it.
    
    And the number one way to tell whether you may be a Nature Nerd…..
    
    
15. You not only know what a chrysalis is but you have one in a jar in your bedroom.


©2009 Betsy S. Franz, To read the full article about Nature Nerds, click here.