Do you ever wonder what your garden says about you? I think our gardens reflect our personality ... from neat and tidy and trimmed to wild and exuberant and overgrown. Kevin and I have been enjoying some early morning and late evening bike rides recently, and we've been exploring nearby neighborhoods. We love seeing the glorious variety of personalities expressed in people's gardens. Mostly we love seeing families in their gardens, enjoying their "outdoor rooms" together on these luxurious long days of summer!

While our afternoon showers are very welcome for the most part, in areas that don't drain well you might start to see some some fungus issues in your lawn and shrubs. Not to worry ... there are many fungicides that can quickly control any issues you might experience. One of our favorites is Actinovate, a biological control that we used at The Farm this spring. It's not only effective for vegetables, but for lawns and shrubs as well. 

Bring in samples if you're in doubt, and we can recommend the right fungicide for your particular problem. See more July "to do's" on our website.

Celebrate Our Favorite Summer Fruit: Mango Madness Day is July 21!

One of the joys of living in this part of Florida is the local availability of mangoes. These tropical treats are in full production now, and we are planning our Mango Madness Day for July 21. The event will include a talk on "condo mangoes" (varieties that are suitable for small spaces), a mango tasting, 20% off all of our mango trees, and a mango recipe contest. 

Bring in a sample of a recipe that includes mangoes (enough to share, please) along with a copy of the recipe. Our presenter, Joe Stegner, will judge the best recipe and the winner will receive a $25 Rockledge Gardens gift certificate. Mangoes from South Tropical Trail will also be available for sale during the event. Here's more information about the event.

This past Saturday we had a really good time when Friends of the Farm joined us for a "pick your own" day. The happy "farmers for the day" quickly filled bags with peppers, okra, and herbs. 

We still have quite a few hot peppers (habeneros, jalepenos, hatch, ancho, Thai hots and serranos), sweet peppers (flexum, lipstick pimento, sweet bananas and bells), herbs (sage, thyme, oregano, rosemary, Thai basil, mint and lemon grass), and okra! For the next few weeks these items will be available upon request. Just send an e-mail to jm@rockledgegardens.com and we'll have your produce ready for you the following day for pick up in the check-out area.

We are currently searching for just the right person to be our Annual and Perennial area leader. Many of you know Merrideth who has done an awesome job in this position for the past seven years. Well, Merrideth is getting ready for an exciting new venture for Rockledge Gardens ... growing! She will be moving over to our production area, where she will be creating beautiful flowering hanging baskets as well as mixed-flower container gardens. The Flower Farm at Rockledge Gardens will be located right behind The Farm's hydroponic towers area.

The Annual and Perennial area leader job description includes merchandising, caring for plant material, and helping customers in our annual and perennial department. We are looking for someone with a passion for plants and people and a good knowledge of annuals and perennials for our Brevard County environment. Garden center experience is a big plus, but it's not a requirement. If you or anyone you know might be interested, please just e-mail us a resume or stop by for an application.

A friend of ours who writes a garden blog shared one of her recent entries that featured five truths about gardening. These are sure to make you smile!