I hope you saw the invite that all the bloggers in the Southern Blogs ring shared. "Southern Blogs Ring, the premier source on Southern culture, manner, missive and nostalgia will be holding a group blog to celebrate being alive, southern and free all at the same time." You may be asking yourself what the topic of discussion will be so here it is. The topic for the day is why I consider myself Southern.

I've talked about the Southern Blogs ring before and how being southern is for all those bloggers who take pride in the rich heritage of their southernness: the south side, south of France, south of the border, southpaws, South Bend, or just plain south of center. I fit in by being a southpaw and pretty south of center but that's a whole 'nother post. So I started thinking about what my contribution to the group post would be and here's what I came up with - it's definitely in the environment.

I mentioned on my other blog, The Garden's Gift, how being southern is in my genes. Well not only do I have southern in my genes, it's also in the environment. When I lived up north (even though it was considered the more southern state of the north) I remember thinking how winter was so gray and raw I just didn't know how long I could last. When my husband and I married and ultimately decided to move to Florida the reasons were pretty simple. We LOVE being outside enjoying nature, working in the garden and frankly just being warm. Other than getting married, moving to Florida was one of the best decisions we made and neither of us regret it. Every day we consider ourselves lucky to live here. Even in February we have windows open to sleep at night and marvel at the sound of the birds chirping at 4 AM. Yes 4 AM but that's ok. The ice and snow and gray, literally raw days of winter just were no longer tolerable and we both feel as though we died and have gone to heaven. Even with the hurricanes or threat thereof, there is nothing more enjoyable than the life we have now. The last time I wore a coat was the winter before we moved here when, oh by the way, we had 3 friggin' feet of snow to deal with and weeks of ice that never seemed to melt.

So here we are. We work hard but the difference is we work smarter now. We get up every day with a smile on our faces and enjoying our lives. (Driving is a pain in the caboose but there's no escaping that no matter where you live.) The grass is literally greener for us, the flowers are more vibrant, and the pool beckons. My wardrobe consists of crop pants and shorts most times and, when it really gets cold (based on our definition) I even pull out some sweats and socks. And you know what is even the best, best part (if there is such a thing)? Our family followed us here. My mom and dad live here now, my oldest sister and her husband came down from Maine, AND my sister is a PTFLP (part time FLA person) as is my husband's mom. What more could we ask. So, we are southern. Is it in the genes or is it in the environment? I think it's a little of both. If you are southern, feel southern or have any inkling of southern in your genes or environment join the ring. You'll be glad you did. Happy Florida Gardening.

I have always loved Nicotiana and, up north, added it to the landscape every spring. Also known as jasmine tobacco, nicotiana alata is considered an annual in cold climates and a tender perennial farther south. The plant grows to about 1 1/2' high and produces wonderfully fragrant blooms in white, pink, red or lime green.

As we were shopping for plants for the new semi-shade garden, I spied a table full of nicotiana in green. Thinking I would like a variety of colors I decided to get one and wait until the other colors were available before purchasing more. We placed the plant close to the deck and the fragrance was unbelievable so we decided to go back and get more. All the plants were gone. Thinking back to the stores we visited - Home Depot, Lowes and Beckett Lake Nursery - we diligently revisited each one every time thinking that was where we had purchased the plant. Ending at Beckett Lake, my husband asked the clerk where the nicotiana was located. Her reply was not expected. "We don't carry nicotiana and haven't done so for a few years. It has fallen out of favor." Fallen out of favor??!! I couldn't believe what I heard. Nicotiana is one of those old favorites that blooms all summer and smells so wonderful. How could it no longer be wanted by Florida gardeners? I still see it offered in all the garden catalogs I receive so it must only be here that folks don't grow it.

And so it goes. I guess it's true for many annuals - they are loved for a few years and then are forgotten for something new. But, if it's anything like the fashion industry they will be back in favor again. And I'll be ahead of the pack because I'll be growing it all along. Happy Florida Gardening.

Southern Blogs Ring, the premier source on Southern culture, manner, missive and nostalgia will be holding a group blog to celebrate being alive, southern and free all at the same time.

Y’all are cordially invited Saturday April 30th to attend our first neighborhood cotillion and brunch.

The menu will be a light repast of Southern classics and down home cooked tales served up with Southern style and taste by your hosts:

The Green Cutting Board
Animal Broadcast Network
Wacky Southern Housewife
The World According to Tish
The Garden's Gift
Which Blair Project
Florida Gardening
A Southern Belle's Musings
An American Housewife
Garden Stuff
Southern Porch

Guests will be offered words, photographs, entertainment and some surprises, to be sure. So plan to attend and spend some time with us in the South.

ZZ plant better known as zamioculcas zamiifolia. It comes from Tanzania, Zanzibar. Sounds pretty elegant, doesn't it? We were walking through the local Home Depot a few weeks ago and there were ZZ plants. Not knowing anything about them and not too happy with the price, we moved on to things we knew would grow in the new shade garden. On the way to check out, my husband found a zz plant leaf lying on the ground so placed it in our cart. We decided to put it in the garden and see if it would do anything. I frankly thought it would brown out and die but it hasn't. It keeps sitting there. The leaves remain green and supple, which makes me question how it propogates. According to the University of Connecticut extension service, a leaflet can fall to the ground and produce bulblets. Ah hah! Maybe it's producing bulblets and we just haven't seen anything yet. I'll let you know. Happy Florida Gardening.