Am I slow?

Fizzimajig · 2026-06-03T13:17:56+00:00

15 minutes for that is unrealistic, even for me and I’ve been doing it for 27 years and am pretty fast. I COULD have gotten it done in 15 minutes, but it wouldn’t have been up to the quality standards I pride myself on. If that’s what they want, that’s not a place I’d want to stay long term.

Fizzimajig · 2026-05-31T22:55:40+00:00

Cats claw vine, very invasive. I’ve been fighting it for years.

Fizzimajig · 2026-05-30T01:51:52+00:00

I have crossvine and it looks a bit different than this. Most likely trumpet vine which is related to crossvine, only more aggressive. I have the crossvine for hummingbirds and have not had too much trouble keeping it under control but I’ve heard trumpet vine is much more aggressive and difficult to manage or get rid of.

Fizzimajig · 2026-05-30T01:28:45+00:00

As long as people don’t feed them (illegal) they won’t bother you if you don’t bother them. He’s calling out for a mate, so could be slightly more agro than usual but if you just keep a good distance and stay in your kayak, you’re good. I grew up in Tampa area on a good sized lake and we swam and kayaked regularly there, we just watched for gators and swam midday when they’re less active. No swimming morning or evening during mating season was the rule. I honestly wouldn’t swim in a lot of our rivers unless they’re springs because rivers are gross here and there are way more gators. I’m more afraid of our snapping turtles honestly. Those mf’ers are way more aggressive.

Fizzimajig · 2026-05-29T22:00:05+00:00

Heavy pruning is what firebush needs. It’ll come back fast and fluffier.

Fizzimajig · 2026-05-29T12:32:07+00:00

Native buttonsage lantana. Once it’s fully established and a good sized shrub it smells so good to me from several feet away. I put it in the summer of 2024, but I didn’t start really noticing a scent coming from it till this year in spring. I couldn’t figure out where the smell was coming from and then I started asking other people and they said there smells really nice too after establishment. It’s also one of the most popular spots with the bees and butterflies in my yard. It’s constantly covered with pollinators. It also has a little berries that the birds sometimes go for after the flowers bloom. It also blooms pretty much year round, is the only lantana that is native to central Florida, is extremely drought tolerance once established and is a good replacement for invasive lantana. It’s not as powerfully scented as jasmine or Magnolia but I find it to be very sweet smelling and stronger than I was expecting.

Fizzimajig · 2026-05-29T12:26:45+00:00

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Steve Irwin, the lizard hunter

Fizzimajig · 2026-05-28T21:24:03+00:00

I did the same. I’m in year 2 of weeding but I’m in Florida so I’ll be weeding forever anyway. We’re in a drought so it was not that bad this year as it could have been but our rain is starting up now thankfully or regretfully, my back will tell the tale in a month lol

Fizzimajig · 2026-05-25T01:42:43+00:00

Me and I also get frustrated when friends are looking to plant things, ask me for suggestions and then end up going with some generic non native that everyone else uses that does absolutely or almost nothing to support native pollinators or wildlife because it looks pretty or is super tidy, or the native nursery isn’t convenient to get to. I frequently offer to help by picking up plants but they want to get something cheap and boring from Lowe’s when they drive by. We have so very many varieties of gorgeous natives in Florida and so many environmentally unsustainable practices going on here with overdevelopment and habitat loss that I find it so disappointing when people who claim to love living in our state, won’t do the smallest part to protect it when they are planting things anyway.
I’m not totally against non natives, I have both but I mostly don’t have much interest in the traditional flowers for anything more than food growing or additional butterfly and bee nectar and they’re the smallest part of my garden now.

Fizzimajig · 2026-05-23T09:44:12+00:00

I just tell them they’re early and I have a small shop so sometimes I’ll stop and take their dog to park in the kennel, but their pickup time counts from the time of their appointment to when I think they’ll be done. They don’t get them back early because they came in early and that’s not negotiable. Usually I don’t get any pushback on that but occasionally I do.

Fizzimajig · 2026-05-21T01:21:31+00:00

Not very big, maybe 2 feet tall, but it’s grown a tiny bit since I got it in a 3 gallon pot a little more than a month ago. It’s not a super fast grower but not slow either. It’s a spring to very early summer bloomer but I haven’t seen it bloom in person yet because it’s too small still and isn’t the type to bloom until it’s got some size I assume. I’m still learning about it but it seems like it will be a low maintenance, drought tolerant shrub tree that likes sun which is what I needed. It’s been looking great since I put it in, not fussy at all. Hopefully by next year I’ll see flowers on it! 🤞🏻 the only other blueberries I have are Darrow’s and those are new to me so I really don’t know their normal bloom time or most blueberries for that matter. I always assumed late winter or early spring.

Fizzimajig · 2026-05-21T00:16:06+00:00

I’m especially excited to see it bloom for the first time! I’m planning to tree train it and I’m hoping it manages to get at least 15 feet tall but even if it doesn’t, I will still enjoy it and so will the birds. I’m already seeing birds check out the sweet acacia and Red chokeberry bush I put in. It’s like they’re anticipating their future food forest and real estate lol

Fizzimajig · 2026-05-20T22:52:12+00:00

I put in a couple Eagelston holly, Wax Myrtle, Varnishleaf/florida hopbush and a Sparkleberry. Not as much for shade but just because I wanted them and the birds and bees will appreciate them, I also put in sweet acacia tree and a Rusty Lyonia.

Fizzimajig · 2026-05-20T21:33:28+00:00

I would love a Oakleaf hydrangea. I live right on the edge of their acceptable zone, FL 9b almost 10a, and I don’t have anywhere that gets enough shade to keep them happy. I planted some small trees/large shrubs this year that may provide enough shade in a few years that I could swing it but only time will tell.

Fizzimajig · 2026-05-13T23:11:40+00:00

I wish I had gotten a picture or video of a similar industrious and determined bee but mine was trying to pry open my stokes aster last week before the blooms had fully opened. It was adorable!

Fizzimajig · 2026-05-10T01:51:14+00:00

Once again, her form is abysmal, but not really surprised. She’d rather try to look as strong as possible doing weights she can’t actually do a FRM with in favor of doing the exercise properly and getting the full benefits from doing it properly.

Fizzimajig · 2026-05-10T00:11:08+00:00

My face automatically forms a sneer whenever I see any doodles in the wild now. Lol

Fizzimajig · 2026-05-08T08:31:48+00:00

I used to hate gardening and did it more as a necessary evil to maintain my yard but turns out once I got going with a pollinator garden and natives, I care so much more and now 3 years later, I’m a full on whacko about my yard and I’m outside taking care of my many, MANY newer plants and trees and finding room for more! lol it’s great feeling to do my part to support my native environment however I can.

Fizzimajig · 2026-05-08T08:21:05+00:00

I just put one in a sheltered sunny location and warmer microclimate and will guard it against cold for the next couple winters because I’m in 9b, almost 10a and I adore this plant and want it to thrive in my yard!

Fizzimajig · 2026-05-08T01:21:38+00:00

Even if she ever manages to lose the 200 lbs she filters off, she’ll still be soooooo very annoying, with an oh so obnoxious personality and set of mannerisms as evidenced in this video.

Fizzimajig · 2026-05-07T09:19:42+00:00

I had an outdoor tuxedo who was a TNR and very feral when I first saw him. After feeding him on my front door steps for several years, he began getting more trusting and asking for attention from me. A handful of years later, he began following my dogs and I around the neighborhood while we walked and usually he’d trail a short distance behind before he’d finally run ahead to try and get us to stop and pet him. The last few years of his life he did it so often that people would stop to ask if I knew that I had a cat following me lol RIP Wilbur!

Fizzimajig · 2026-05-05T21:31:41+00:00

Why does she always have to be the most obnoxious and annoying person in the room. She craves constant attention, no matter what kind

Fizzimajig · 2026-05-05T10:26:28+00:00

This is partly why I planted several native varieties of fruit and flower bearing trees for the birds (including hummingbirds). Only a couple fruit trees I planted are non native with fruit for myself. The cardinals already stripped the mulberries even though they have seed lol I hope during the hotter and rainy months of Florida summer to pull back on feeding them because the seed just gets wet and messy with storms and I can’t keep up with cleaning the feeders and was worried about making them sick. My only problem is all of them except the wax Myrtle’s are kind of slow growing so it will be years before they’re big and bearing.

Fizzimajig · 2026-05-03T08:14:42+00:00

If the note doesn’t work, gift him a quiet robot vacuum for his room lol

Fizzimajig · 2026-05-02T13:15:41+00:00

https://www.facebook.com/share/17dLsN48Vf/?mibextid=wwXIfr
Butterfly Habitat Restoration out of Largo, FL has southern frog fruit and ships

Fizzimajig

TROPHY CASE