Zinnias and South Walton Sustainable Living

We try to be good stewards of our little piece of Northwest Florida. We really do. We had a vegetable garden this summer, we are active participants in a group called SWELL (South Walton Environmental Low Impact Living), politically we lean green, we try to buy our produce locally and we keep the thermostat at a reasonable temperature. Our yard is mostly wild, and I hang our sheets on the line outside to dry (they really smell fresh doing that and I have the clothes line in a place no one can see but maybe our neighbor to the east of us if she really tries). Bruce even has an ECO-Broker certification which means he has had special training to help people find environmentally sensitive homes. However, we would starve quickly if we tried living off our garden and the local candidates we supported recently lost. I balance buying local produce with buying whatever is at the Watercolor Publix with the gas consumption involved. And Bruce sells more ECOnomy minded homes than ECO-sensitive. But eventually we all learn from our mistakes and try to continually improve. So next years garden will be better, I'll be a more enlightened cook, maybe I'll have a motor scooter for more efficient shopping or I'll get even better at planning my shopping trips. Homes will be just as eco-sensitive as economically feasible to own. Anyhow, what the Zinnias have to do with this is that at one of the SWELL meetings we had a seed exchange which is why we have had colorful cut Zinnias in our living room all summer. As noted earlier, the plants went crazy in the garden and so this weekend I had to trim back the "drunken chorus girls" trying to get a little order out there. It was hard to cut them back. I am like my father in that I love working really hard outside but I'm like my mother in that I really think all the plants have something special to say and I don't like the idea of pruning until I really have to. I stare at each plant for far too long wondering if it will become a beauty if I just leave it alone for another week or month. Our walks in the woods have taught me that what looks scroungy one season might be spectacular the next. I feel absolutely guilty when as I'm taking in a bouquet of just cut flowers, a butterfly comes into the garden searching around so I have become careful to take less than I'd like to and leave some bright blooms leftover for them. I am leading to something here...if anyone reads this and wants to learn a little more about sustainable living, come to Seaside October 10th. SWELL is hosting a Family Day during the SWCC's Back To Nature days this year and we will have exhibits on rain barrels, composting, and permaculture and generally make a fun day of it.