Sweetwater Style: Gardening in Florida

The Sweetwater Daughter, Grandboy and I spent last weekend visiting my mom and brother in Florida last week.

Mom has the sweetest little cottage in New Port Richey.

My brother lives just down the street in another little cottage.

Our trip was fun.....The Grandboy loved going barefoot and hanging out with "swingin'" GreatGrandma...

This post is actually not a travelogue....
It is all about the way that my brother gardens.

This is what a lot of yards in Florida look like in the winter.....

Keeping grass green is pretty difficult....

This is the front yard of Mom's cottage!

My brother is the force behind all of this gorgeousness!
He subscribes to an interesting philosophy of permaculture.
What is that...you might ask?
"Permaculture is a philosophy of working with, rather than against nature; of protracted & thoughtful observation rather than protracted & thoughtless labour; of looking at plants & animals in all their functions, rather than treating any area as a single-product system."

Jim is an "urban farmer". He grows over 300 different varieties of vegetables. He uses NO pesticides and lets nature take it's course.
He takes his harvest to the local Farmer's Markets and vends to restaurants in the area.
This is no "hobby" garden. It is a full time job. Just like any farmer, he is tied to his acreage and dependent on the whims of the Florida climate.

Pictures of all this goodness really tell the story the best!