The Summer Floral Beauty and Fruit Abundance on My Florida Farm ~ Sweetgrass Farm Garden

Summertime in Florida is a time of immense floral beauty and tropical fruit abundance. Many folks who only visit the sunshine state during the winter months are missing out on the explosion of beautiful blossoms and the delectable treats from the fruit trees. While we Floridians look forward to the winter months during which we plant and grow our herbs and vegetables, we eagerly await the return of summer’s natural beauty and bounty that helps us deal with the accompanying heat and humidity.

After seven years of hard work on this Florida farm planting fruit trees and building gardens, the fruits of my labor at last delivered great satisfaction this past summer. I feasted on bowls of grapes and made rosé wine, alternated between fresh mango and banana smoothies each morning, clocked hours in the kitchen making mango jam, ate fresh figs and avocados on sandwiches, in omelets and in salads, made fresh ginger lemonade and learned how to store lemons in a jar, savored each guava and pineapple and went over the moon each time I witnessed a magnificent, new dragon fruit blossom that would deliver in thirty days the most delicious, exotic fruit ever. Summer days brought a steady unveiling of blossoms on the trees until colors were splashed everywhere. Summer evenings by the pool or on the patio were filled with the sweet scents of plumeria and jasmine. Life on the Florida farm was truly becoming a paradise.

Here are some images by which to share with you some of this beauty and abundance that happens in summer on my Florida farm. Their bounty has inspired me to create more…more flowering native trees and shrubs, more tropical fruit trees and fragrant flowers. It is a marvelous thing to watch nature as she responds to our visions and dreams. With just a bit of permaculture or biodynamic wisdom on our part, we can co-create beauty and abundance for years to come.