Cape Coral Residents Find Mysterious Gardens After Hurricane Ian

Cape Coral residents are discovering a new kind of green thumb - one that mysteriously appears after a hurricane. Homeowners are finding gardens they never planted, and it's causing quite the buzz around town.

Sunflowers and corn stalks are sprouting up in unexpected places, like the middle of driveways or on top of roofs. It's like Mother Nature has decided to play a game of hide and seek with the citizens of Cape Coral.

Some speculate that seeds from Hurricane Ian are the culprits behind the green invasion. While others think it's just a sign that their lawns are secretly evolving into gardens.

According to NBC2, one resident was one of the lucky ones to stumble upon this bizarre phenomenon. After noticing new leaves growing on his front lawn, he used Google Lens to discover he was growing pumpkins. Who needs a pumpkin patch when you have a hurricane?

Now, he has more than half a dozen pumpkins thriving!  Who wouldn't want that? Pumpkin spice anyone?  Maybe the next hurricane can bring him some apple trees for homemade pies.

But this guy isn't the only one reaping the benefits of this strange gardening trend. Neighbors have found cilantro and tomatoes growing in their yards too. It's like the hurricane was a secret Santa for gardeners.

The sudden appearance of these mystery gardens has inspired most owners to tend to them. After all, who knows what else they could grow? Maybe a mango tree will pop up next to the mailbox, or a patch of strawberries will take over the sidewalk.

The only downside? Cape Coral residents may have to prepare themselves for a new wave of produce theft. It's not every day you get to steal cilantro from your neighbor's yard without getting arrested.

Overall, the mysterious plants sprouting up around Cape Coral are a welcome surprise in these uncertain times. It's like the universe is telling us to stop worrying and start gardening. Who knows what other surprises are lurking in our backyards?

If you thought the hurricane would slow down the migration to Southwest Florida, think again. Redfin just released new migration trends that include the month of October and Cape Coral and North Port are both high on the list. But why? The entire month of October was nothing but headlines about how much damage this area took. Could it be that the threat of a hurricane is still better than the idea of living in one of those cities? Of the top 10 migration cities, 5 are here in Florida, “That’s despite the fact that the state was hit by Hurricane Ian, one of the deadliest, most destructive storms in U.S. history, in September,” Redfin reported. “Coastal Florida is especially popular, even after getting pummeled by Hurricane Ian.”

The price of a strip of sand in Fort Myers beach shows this:

That's more than a million dollars to buy some sand where a house used to be. My friend Chris is still kicking himself.

The report states “an unprecedented portion are relocating to new metros. Many are seeking relative affordability as near-7% mortgage rates and persistently high home prices make expensive parts of the country even more expensive.” And Florida is high up on the list of where they want to move. Including North Port and Cape Coral.

There's another interesting part of the study. It shows not just where people are moving to, but also where they're moving from. Specifically, the largest block of people currently moving to Southwest Florida are coming from Chicago. I get it. I've been to Chicago. Amazing food, amazing night life, a great sports town, but.... High crime rate, rats the size of dogs, and the cold. Even in the June, the way the wind rips through downtown, I was freezing.

There was a similar study conducted before the hurricane,  "A Record Number Of California And New York Residents Moved To Florida Last Month." If it seems familiar, it was the study that Governor DeSantis kept referring to during the election.

The Redfin migration analysis is based on about two million Redfin.com users.  The data set is from August 2022 to October 2022. Here's Redfin's Top 10 Metros Homebuyers Are Moving Into, by Net Inflow. Net inflow = Number of Redfin.com home searchers looking to move into a metro area, minus the number of searchers looking to leave

A net inflow of 3,700 over the 3 month period. The top origin from relocation is New York. makes sense, Orlando still has a lot of that international feel that a New Yorker is used to. Plus they have the world's largest McDonald's.

A net inflow of 3,800 with the top origin of Los Angeles.

A net inflow of 4,300 and the top origin is Chicago. That's and area that took a direct hit from Ian. 4,300 families decided that a hurricane is still less scary than Chicago.

A net inflow of 4,600 and the top origin is also Chicago. We may need an additional study as to why SWFL is so popular with Chicago people. Chicago Pizza on 47th Terrace about to get even busier.

The 'Florida of the West' saw a net inflow 4,700 with the largest group coming from Los Angeles.

A net inflow of 5,600 with the top origin being New York.

The net inflow was 6,500 and people didn't come from far. The top origin was Los Angeles.

A net inflow of 6,700 with the top origin being New York. I'm not surprised by this, I think every New Yorker wishes they lived in Miami.

A net inflow of 7,100 and the top origin is Los Angeles.

A net inflow of 7,800 and the top origin being San Francisco.

In a simple answer, nope. Sure, I know there's people that want out, but there's even more people looking to replace them. I had friends that stayed with me for awhile after Ian demolished their home. They're buying a place further north. As in 'near Orlando'. Staying in Florida. Many people would rather live where there are hurricanes, then live in some of those northern cities and all of their problems.