February flew past in a writing frenzy with WINDSWEPT’s story now taking place on Big Pine Key. What is a key? Why not an Island? By definition, an island is a piece of land surrounded by water. A key is a small low-lying coral reef.
Over the past twenty-six years I spent many winters (and some summer months) at our house on Big Pine Key. I love the diversity the Keys offer to someone who has spent her whole life living in northern Ohio. Well, except for the six years that I lived in Toronto, Ontario, and the winters up there were even more brutal. Living in the Keys, you learn that there are major differences even between mainland Florida. Like not having dirt! If you want to plant something you first need to go to your local garden centers and buy the soil by the bag or have it delivered in a truck, if you are really ambitious. What about digging a hole for that bush, tree or flower––you can’t––you are living on a rock! When I first moved to Big Pine, I thought how wonderful it would be to live on an island surrounded by beaches. Right!! You must drive to Bahia Honda State Park for a sandy beach. Thousands of years ago the Florida Keys were nothing more than coral reefs.
My first year on Big Pine, and wanting to create a tropical oasis, I made my raised flower beds, filled my SUV with bags of soil and bought all the beautiful flowering plants that grow so well in South Florida. My piece of paradise was fenced in, so I didn’t need to worry about the marauding little deer, unless someone left the gate open––which did happen on more than one occasion. I planted several Hibiscus in shades of pink, yellow and red in soil-filled rings of garden edging.
Bougainvillea bushes were planted in raised beds in the front corners of the fencing to add curb appeal. Over the next couple of weeks, the deer had eaten the Bougainvillea petals that they could reach, the Hibiscus flowers had all disappeared and I walked outside one morning to see a giant iguana sitting on top of the last bush eating the red flowers.
After twenty-six years I got pretty good at gardening on Big Pine, I now have very large and healthy cactus!