How it all started…

5/1/22: My little man always wanted a small piece of land to plant his flowers. It took some years to make it happen. There was a useless and problematic oak tree growing in a 4-foot wide median in the city right of way in front of my house. The only way the city would take the tree out is if the tree is sick and diseased because they don’t take out healthy oak trees.

Note: There are many sick and diseased oak trees in my neighborhood. When people do not request their sick oak trees to be inspected, the negligence over time allows the fungal spores to spread through air to nearby healthy oak trees and make them sick and eventually diseased as well. Well, after three years, God finally answered my prayer and made that tree to be sick and diseased enough for the city to take it out. Symptoms were fallen broken branches, dried dead branches, and root knot nematode hosting on the sick oak tree’s roots. Spanish moss only host on stressed and sick oak trees.

The city took about two months later for to come and grind the stump of the oak tree. They did not do a good job grinding the oak roots so I had to hire a stump grinder to grind 12 inches deep in the 4×6 feet area. The city also dumped in at least six inches of some nasty compact construction debris and dirt with a lot of broken glasses. I had to hired someone to come dig the bad dirt and debris out and hauled it away. I amended the top six inches with potting mix, organic compost, peat moss, and worm casting. The city median is now like a large pot of potting mix for my little man to plant his heart out. He was so happy and excited to have a space where he can plant any annual flowers he likes.

Four-years-old little Ethan likes shopping for flowers at Lukas Nursery in Oviedo where every little kid gets one free small potted plant whenever they visit the nursery. What a bonus!

I realized the annuals will die eventually. So I had to pitch in to plant some perennial plants in the center strip so that the area doesn’t look bare and empty when his annual flowers die.

I planted lemongrass Citratus, a (yellow) banana shrub, and a Dwarf Tibouchina. Ethan picked out a variegated lantana.

Little Ethan loves picking flowers to rearrange or gift to me.