Abby's test subjects

'Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and sorry I could not travel both' . . . is the first line of one of our favorite poems. I'm pretty sure I wrote it at the start of a travel journal that I gave Kim on our wedding day. And that first line is almost always applicable to life. We are always faced with diverging roads and often wish that we could pick both paths.

I was reminded of this poem last week when we traveled to Gainesville to get Abby a new violin. Or at least we thought we were going to Gainesville. The shop we were going to is called Gainesville Violins and we were heading there on the recommendation of Abby's violin teacher. I think Kim and I both assumed that it would be in Gainesville proper and we figured we'd be able to check out the shop and then show Abby around our old college town a little bit. But then we realized that the directions took us quite a ways outside of Gainesville.

As we took a turn onto Highway 27, we realized we were heading right towards Mayo, Florida. That's the little town that Great-Grandma Kerby was from and our most recent visit there was for her funeral back in February. And here is the crazy thing. As we traveled that road in February, we were talking about Abby needing a new violin soon. We passed this little sign on the side of the road that said 'Violins: Sales and Rentals' and I distinctly remember saying to Kim, 'Look, we can just hop off the side of the road here and get Abby a new violin.' Little did we know that was exactly where our directions were taking us. As we came up on the turnoff, we were still thinking that we would find a storefront or a cluster of shops. Nope. It was just a turnoff onto a dirt road, through a green wood. We drove right past it the first time, thinking that can't be it. But sure enough it was. We u-turned and headed down the road and around to a house on a little bit of farmland. Chickens greeted us, making a mess out of the home's landscape. And when we entered the shop's main room, we were surrounded by walls of violins, violas and cellos.

Joey trying out a violin.

And then the real fun began. Abby and I took turns playing from a group of violins that were her size and the three of us tried to pick out exactly which one sounded the best. It took a little time, but we made a choice and Abby is very happy with her new violin. It is a gorgeous color and has a unique wood grain that really makes it stand out. The name of the violin is 'Panis Angelica' or Bread of Angels.

I couldn't leave the shop without trying a few of the full-sized violins that were on the wall. There were some beautiful ones for sure! The one I am playing in the picture is a French violin that was way out of my price range. (I'll admit I was a little nervous taking it off of its hook.) The sound from it was gorgeous and I enjoyed playing through a few songs on it.

Since I'm not joining an orchestra anytime soon, I should probably stick to my day job and tell you what's going on this week at the nursery. We've got a great sale on beautiful 3 Gallon Hibiscus Trees at just 2 for $40, and this Saturday is the Rose Seminar. If anyone has told you that roses are too finicky for Florida, they haven't attended this seminar. I'll make sure you know just how to plant, prune and care for your roses to get beautiful bouquets throughout the year. Hope to see you in the garden, it looks like another weekend of perfect gardening weather.

The Weekly Special
Hibiscus Trees
2 for $40
10" Pot, Regular Price - $29.99
Offer valid through 4/4/19

When you hear the word tropical, I'll bet hibiscus flowers are the first thing you picure. Hibiscus and the tropics just go together. Start your backyard tropical retreat with two lovely hibiscus trees, for just forty bucks. That's a twenty dollar savings when you buy two.

A rose by any other name, can grow in your garden.

Garden Tip
Growing Roses in Florida

1) Pick the correct spot - There are three keys to a good location for roses. The first is full sun. Roses won't grow in shade, so you need a spot with at least six hours of full, direct sunlight. The second is well-drained. Roses want water, but then want it to drain away from their roots. Don't plant in an area where water accumulates or stands for extended periods of time. Finally, make sure the area has good air circulation. Roses don't always like our high humidity, so making sure they are planted in an area that gets a nice breeze helps to move the humid air around and helps them thrive in Florida.

2) Use Rich Soil - Rose thrive in rich soil. That's probably not what you have in your backyard naturally. So whenever you plant roses, use our Kerby's Pine Soil to create a rich acidic condition to help grow big, beautiful blooms.

3) Water Well - All care instructions have to include something about watering. It is the most important thing you can do for your new plants, but it can also be the easiest to forget.  Water daily for the first month, always in the morning with a deep soaking. In the second month, go to every other day and in month three, you can back down to twice weekly. This watering schedule slowly transitions plants away from their nursery watering schedule and allows them to grow a strong root system. Strong roots mean strong plants and the best blooms.

4) Prune and Deadhead - Come out to the workshop this Saturday for a little more in depth instruction on pruning. But here I can give you a few tips. First, sterilize your clippers. This keeps disease from spreading. Second, dead-head (or remove spent blooms) reguarly and prune offshoots and branches that are too long anytime throughout the year. Lastly, save a severe prune for the winter - late January to February is ideal.

4) Give your Roses Food - Monthly fertilizations with our Kerby's Special will give your roses everything they need to thrive. We have also had gotten really great growth and blooms from our roses when we use FoxFarms GrowBig liquid fertilizer weekly as an additional supplement. Roses need plenty of food to produce the large, healthy blooms. 

5) Watch for pests - Roses can get different insect pests as well as diseases. The best protection is prevention. Stop insects and disease from taking hold in the first place and you'll grow the strongest roses. To prevent both, do a soil drench on your rose bushes every two months with Fert-i-Lome's 2-n-1 Systemic Drench. We also like using Liquid System Fungicide in the humid months as a treatment for the dreaded, but common black spot fungus.

 6) Enjoy - We always say, why buy a bouquet of roses that will fizzle in a few weeks when you can plant a few rose bushes that will give you bouquets for years to come. It's ideal time of year for planting, so join us for the seminar this Saturday and get out and enjoy your garden. 

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