We move in 10 days to Vero Beach.

Tell me something. Is there any use for coconut palms? If there are varieties of them, I have no clue what mine are. I have several and they are perhaps 30' tall and loaded with green coconuts. There are perhaps 4-5 varieties of palms on the property, but only one cluster of them have coconuts.

Ken, years ago I was sitting at an outdoor table in Bal Harbor when I actually felt something drop down right behind me. It was a very heavy coconut and it missed me by inches. I have been afraid of being around those trees ever since. Jim is the palm expert.

You do have to be very careful around coconut palms ... those fruits can be quite heavy and they can do major damage to a vehicle, outdoor furniture ... or especially a human head!

I'm too lazy to crack open a coconut for the milk or fruit; but I might consider doing it for plants. Coconut shells are great for use with orchids, bromeliads or other plants. I used to have a bird feeder carved from a coconut, in the shape of a pair of woodpeckers ... it was a gift from neighbors that took a cruise to the Caribbean because I took care of their kitties while they were away.

That cluster of trees is not near anything that could be damaged - I guess that's why. I mount orchids on coconut husks, husks sent to me from some of you (soon to be "us") Floridians. Here is one of my babies and her roots are beginning to attach to the coir.

I love the idea of you using your own coconuts to mount orchids.

Nothing beats "FREE"!

Hope you enjoy living in Florida, Ken. I've been here 18 years and wouldn't go anywhere else!

LOL, I've been here 51 years and I can't imagine living anywhere else either ... well, actually I wouldn't mind being a snowbird and living somewhere that has little humidity during the summer months!

Do irises grow well in the Vero Beach area? I have a nice, large pond near the house and thought colorful clumps of irises would look great along the edges of the pond.

Vero Beach has zones of 9b - 10a and Dietes should do well there:
Butterfly Iris (Dietes grandiflora)
African Iris (Dietes bicolor)
African iris (Dietes iridioides)

I had Dutch Iris (Iris 'Miss Saigon') grow and return here in zone 9b but after a few years they just disappeared, never to return.

I don't know anything about this web page that I found when googling; it lists Irises that supposedly grow here in zones 9 and 10 but I kinda wonder if they would be long-lived: http://www.floridagardener.com...

Hopefully someone here in Florida has grown Irises and will be able to offer suggestions and information on which might do well for your Vero Beach garden.

Thanks, Lin. I have made a note of those Dietes. I grow irises (all gifted to me over the years), but other than enjoying them when in bloom, I pay no attention to them. Now with the pond, I need to find bog-loving plants, or at least plants that love to have readily available water. I have been told that the pond water is far better quality than the Vero Beach city water. That's what the automatic sprinkler system draws from, the pond.

Ken, I think Louisiana Iris will love your pond, they can take the heat they would look fantastic along the edges of your pond. They spread rapidly creating masses of color. I don't think Dietes like moist locations but they might do well in other areas of your property.

OK, thanks, Alice. I will do some research when I get settled and see what would work.

Ken, that is such a beautiful setting! Just be aware ... more than likely, there are Gators in that lake/pond. If you have a small dog, take care when you are out walking.

I have a Yellow Flag Iris that performs well along the lake.





If you like Cannas they are also at home along the lake.

Lin, I have been assured there are no gators and was even told there are no snakes. I took a good, leisurely walk around the pond when we were down there last month and couldn't even find a turtle. I thought that was pretty weird. I have feeling there is a teen in the neighborhood that does some "target-practice" around the pond (there are only 8 houses in the entire neighborhood).

You have a lovely setting, Ken. Traveling gators might come by. I've known people without pool houses who had them in their swimming pools.

Were there any frogs in your pond? Are there fish to eat the mosquito larva?

I am amazed at how few gators there are in neighborhood ponds near my son's present and previous homes in the Jacksonville area. Surely there must be some but I have never seen any. I know FL has a longer gator hunting season than we do and perhaps they take out more but our ponds here are always chock full of gators. We do see the gators moving from pond to pond, usually at night. No one here walks their dogs in the dark.

Just had a call from our realtor, she wants to bring someone by but this person does not like snakes or gators. Hmmm, I think she is looking in the wrong neighborhood.

She ought to be looking in MN, Alice, not coastal SC.

Um Ken, whoever told you there are no snakes? Well........ all I can say to that is This is FL, there is nowhere in FL that doesn't have snakes! They may not have seen any but I guarantee they are there.
Bearded irises will not grow where you are --- not cold enough in winter. Stick with the ones Lin named for you. Those will do well. I think the Louisiana irises might do for you too. Those are the ones Scott posted -- they come in blue too, but you may actually be too far south for those. Wouldn't hurt to try them though.
Coconut trees..... other than being beautiful or eating the fruit or using the shells? That's the beauty of them. As long as humans & animals, cars & roofs & greenhouses aren't beneath them when the nuts fall then you're good to go.