Our Little Piece of Paradise…Fort Myers, Florida Photographer
I have been asked to share some parts of OUR little world. SO without further ado…here are a few pictures of our piece of paradise. You will find that we LOVE shells, a girl can never have too many. I have them everywhere in and outside of the home. They are in our flower pot containers in the lanai, they are around some of our palm trees as shell gardens and they are inside our home, in many containers. It is the great hunt for my husband and myself to go to the beach on the weekends and see what we can bring back to beautify the home. One of the reasons we love them so much is the different textures they bring to the landscaping. They add dimension and are just so darn cute:) We are from Indiana originally, so naturally this is something we didn’t have up north and has become very special too us. 
This palm tree planter is in the corner inside our lanai. Our lounge chairs are off to the right side of this planter, which gives us a great view of this shell planter and makes for great conversation of our memories of collecting these beauties.
This is a Bismarck Palm, which is in our front yard. Bismarck Palm is a massive tropical palm with a stout trunk and a symmetric huge crown. It grows a single trunk that is smooth on mature specimens but young individuals retain old leaf bases. This palm may reach an ultimate height of 50-60 ft with a spread of 20 ft or more. Even young specimens that have yet to form a trunk sport full crowns of about 25 leaves with the maximum spread. Leaves are palmately lobe, bright light blue, waxy and are up to 10 ft across. They are supported on 6 ft stems that can be 10 inches in diameter. The leaf bases split where they attach to the trunk (like those of Sabal palmetto) and the leaf stems are armed with small sharp teeth. You wouldn’t believe how heavy one of the branches are! Once a month my husband will have to trim one the falling limbs, he literally has to drag it to the street. It is pretty funny to watch. Okay, probably only in my opinion…not the darling husbands:)
This looks like a birds nest but it is Spanish Moss. Spanish moss is not propagated by seeds but by fragments or festoons. These fragments are carried from tree to tree by birds and the winds. Birds frequently use strands of moss in building their nests, and in this way distribute the festoons. A moss which springs from a festoon or fragment grows to a great length, often reaching 10 to 20 feet. We never let the moss get this big or out of control. We really only like it, in the beginning stages as you can see here.
These cute little statues are very old. When we were first married, we found these in a garden store and were immediately smitten. You see…they represent my husband and me! I am the prissy little flower girl and he is a fisherman through and through. So when we saw these, we knew they had to be ours for the taking.
This Hibiscus Plant is by our little couple statues off to the right. The hue of Reddish-Orange color is our very favorite in the Hibiscus family. We love how they attract butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds to our yard.
Our lonely bird feeder…yes, we are bad…no bird feed is occupying the space. This feeder has traveled with us to all of our homes through the years. I still like it, even though it is showing its age…but we all have to show our age sooner or later right?
What is your favorite item in your yard that brings memories to you?
Well, the holiday is almost here!
I created this small bookmark with the Wacom Tablet.
What a dream to use!
Spend the time with your loved ones.
Laurie
XXOO
Pride in Photos 
Fun to see your piece of the world through your lens. Beautiful photos. Thanks so much for linking to our Summer Daze Party!
It is fun to see each others piece of the world. I totally agree.
Everything looks so green and lovely there. Not so here. Very nice photos. I’m loving the hibiscus.
Yes, everything is green right now. All it does is RAIN!!! Thank you for your kind comments.
This is a great post. Everything is so different there than here, even the birds nest. Details you don’t think about until you see it!
If you get a chance, stop by my blog and “Like” Hood Photography on Facebook! Thanks!
Nature is just a wonderful thing…so different everywhere you go. Thanks for visiting.
you captured some gorgeous photos here
Thanks so much for visiting my blog. I love your photos here. I wistfully recall my honeymoon in 2004 on Captiva Island. Yes, I live two miles from the beach here, but Florida weather and beaches are so different. Nice warm, crystal clear water on the gulf coast is hard to beat! You truly are in paradise there.
Yes, Captiva is VERY beautiful!!! I have a couple of posts coming up next week, that I think you will love. Stop on back by:)
I’m drooling over your new images – a tropical paradise!
Love that bird feeder and those shells! Gorgeous pictures!
We love our collection of shells too, thank you.
oh lovely, it looks so warm and sunny,here in the UK it’s just rain and guess what more rain lol x
I am so sorry you are having to go thru the gloom and doom. We had that for a week over here with Tropical Debbie.
Awesome shots! It looks so fabulous! =)
thank you…it is fabulous…when the humidity is striking.