and bit hard! I'm ready to get out there and work in the garden. Sink my fingers into the soil. Drop to my knees in the beds and pull those pesky weeds. Okay, I'm getting a little carried away but you get the idea. My husband and I were at Lowe's the other day. I was looking for a palm tree or two to start landscaping around the pool now that it's almost finished (that's another long, long story since it's only been under construction since 2003!). I saw a few but since I wasn't familiar with all the names, decided it would make sense to come home and do some research before purchasing any. In the meantime, I was itching to buy plants. As I told my husband, "I need instant gratification and I need it now (sorta like deja vu all over again)." Tolerantly nodding his head, he suggested we look at the other trees instead. We found a juniper torulosa and an arizona cypress.

Now those of you who have been reading my rantings for awhile know how enamored I am with blue plants so of course I was in heaven when I saw the arizona cypress. It is a gorgeous tree blue-green in color with a red bark. It is very tolerant of hot, dry conditions and grows up to 50 feet high, 25 feet wide. The cypress does well in sandy soil, which we have, and full sun, which we also have lots of. It's a native of Mexico and should grow well here in zone 9-10.

The juniper torulosa also grows well in full sun, sandy soil and tolerates salt environments. It is susceptible to root rot, but with our lack of rain I don't think we have much to worry about. This tree grows about a foot a year to approximately 15 feet.

I have to confess we also picked up a flame honeysuckle that blooms a brilliant orange-red color, and a small tomato plant. Ok - I cheated. The tomato plant already has some small fruit and is loaded with buds but I'll still swear that I grew it myself. After all, that's what gardening is all about isn't it? Happy Florida Gardening.