Gardening
The Kerby's Nursery E-Newsletter
January 24, 2019   
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Houseplant Care  |   New Arrivals    |  2019 Workshops

Kim and Joey, 2005

I was going to tell you about the tropical plant show that we went to last week in Fort Lauderdale. We saw cool and gorgeous plants of all shapes and sizes. But, since I'm a bit of a plant nerd, I would just tell you horticultural details of specific varieties of plants and probably bore your socks off. So as I thought about the newsletter for this week, I just couldn't get the inspiration to write. And then as I sat down at my computer on Tuesday, I realized that I have the perfect story for the week.

It's about a boy and a girl who met 27 and a half years ago in an economics class at Hillsborough High School. The boy annoyed the girl in class, but for some reason the next year, when he asked her to go out with him, she said yes. The actual details of their first date are a little unclear. There was a trip to Brandon Skateland that was supposed to involve a few friends but ended up being just the two of them. And even though the girl's father picked them up in a beat up Toyota minivan filled with the aroma of plants and dirt, they still ended up at movies together the next week. To get to the movies, the girl drove with her mother in the passenger seat (she wasn't 16 yet) and the boy definitely had to grab the door handle a few times as the car navigated the curves on Windhorst. Through three years of high school and four years of college they managed to find a way to stay together. One studied international business and spent a semester in Paris. One went off to Georgia Tech, majoring in artificial intelligence.

And somehow we ended up running a garden center. That boy and that girl are Kim and I. And this week, we celebrated two anniversaries. Our 14th wedding anniversary and the 26th anniversary of our first date. 26 years ago, I had no idea that we would end up together, but apparently Kim did. When we chose the date for our wedding, we both thought it was near the actual date of our first date. So Kim checked her diary and she found this line: 'January 22, 1993: Joey Bokor (my future husband by the way) asked me out today.' I think once we read that, we realized how meant-to-be our relationship was. Not only had we inadvertently selected the exact same date for our wedding as our first date, but I hadn't realized that I'd been selected as husband all those years before.

We are definitely lucky. To have a friendship and a relationship that has spanned more than half our lives isn't something that everyone gets to experience. And now, 26 years later, we have two beautiful girls and a flock of hens. Who could ask for anything more.

And while I won't bore you with the details, we did see some cool plants at the trade show, and now we are working on orders to get some fun houseplants and new cactus and succulents in for the spring season (Keep an eye on instagram and facebook, we'll post pictures as soon as new plants come in). And that's not all the fun we have planned for the season. This Saturday is our first seminar of 2019: Caring for Houseplants. Note that it is at two o'clock instead of our usual ten in the morning. We figure we'll let the greenhouse warm up a little, since we've had some colder mornings lately. Plus this week we are launching Kerby's Culinary Corner, where each month, we'll feature a different herb, veggie or fruit tree and share weekly recipes with you. Whether you are in the kitchen, staying inside or you love to get outdoors, there isn't anywhere you can't have fun with plants.

Happy Gardening,
The Kerby's Nursery Family

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Houseplants clean the air you breathe.

Garden Tip
Houseplant Care
When you can't be outside in the garden, be inside! Houseplants are a great way to clean the air you breathe and to add a touch of nature to indoor spaces. If you've tried houseplants and haven't been successful, try the tips below and don't forget that this Saturday, January 26th at 2pm is the Houseplants Seminar. For our full houseplant care sheet and a list of our favorite easy-care houseplants, click here.

Light - Houseplants don't need tons of sunlight, but they do need some. Pick a location in your home that has a bright sunny window so that plenty of natural light will reach the leaves of your plants. My rule of thumb is that the room should be bright with all of the lights off. That shows you that there is plenty of sunshine coming inside. 

Water - You know that we love to lecture you about watering. For outdoor plants, underwatering is usually the biggest issue. For indoor plants, overwatering is one of the most common problems that we see. So don't kill your new #plantbabies with kindness. For most houseplants, you only want to water when the plant has dried out. And don't forget that too wet can look like too dry. Check the soil for dampness before watering.  

Humidity - Most houseplants are native to humid, jungle climates (hence urban jungling). Our indoor spaces are constantly dehumidified to keep us comfortable. To increase the humidity for your indoor plants, either give them an occasional misting or keep a saucer with water underneath them.

Keep Leaves Clean - There is always dust settling on surfaces in your home, and that same dust settles on the leaves of your houseplants. Make sure that you occasionally wipe or brush the leaves clean to make sure they get all the sunlight that they need.

Bring Nature Indoors  with houseplants. There are so many to choose from that pretty soon, you'll have your own urban jungle.

New Houseplants
Trailing Peperomia

Dainty, trailing foliage
5" Pot - $7.99
Philodendron ilsemanii

We can't get over these cool leaves.
6" Pot - $21.99
Chinese Evergreen

Bright foliage for indoors.
6" Pot - $17.99

Kerby's Nursery

2311 S. Parsons Ave.

Seffner, FL 33584
(813) 685-3265
www.kerbysnursery.com


Store Hours

Monday - Saturday,  9am - 5pm
Sunday,  11am - 4pm