Alex Calamia was 7 years old when he was smitten. The object of his desire was a fledgling parlor palm for sale at Orlando International Airport when he flew in with his family.
“I still have it,” he said. “Every summer, I go down to Florida with my parents for vacation. That’s where I fell in love with weather and plants.”
You can find Emmy Award-winning Calamia as the weekend morning News 12 meteorologist. Still, he also hosts a network-wide garden segment, Garden Guide, offering tips that take the local climate into account. Last month, he charmed 230 Sayville Garden Club attendees at their Spring Luncheon fundraiser at Land’s End with his talk, Bringing the Tropics to Long Island. He spoke for 45 minutes, took questions, sat for lunch, and took selfies with guests. He even snapped a picture of the audience!
“It was a hobby that became a career. The garden was a way to learn about plants through the weather,” he said.
A gorgeous montage of his garden appeared on the screen as he went through the program. A profusion of color, shape, and variety came into view. He doesn’t have a patio – the plants have taken over. They even intrude on his driveway.
“Nothing is spared,” he jokes when it comes to providing space.
But he does have a deck and a pond at his house in Huntington. The interior of his house resembles a lush sultan’s courtyard garden. There was a bird of paradise plant peeking out among the array. So, who were his first plant influencers?
“My mom and grandmother both loved flowers. I loved tropical plants and they were supportive,” he said.
When he worked as a weekday morning meteorologist and garden expert at WLTX in Columbia, SC, he created a gardening club and then grew an edible garden outside the station during the pandemic.
“Then I incorporated it into the show.”
He shared results from his garden efforts along with his meteorology forecasts. Does he gift News 12 colleagues with plants?
“We have a vegetable exchange,” he answered. “This year it’s okra. (Reporter) Antoinette Biordi gave me a cucuzza.” (That’s a summer squash-like vegetable similar to zucchini.)
During his talk, he shared that people are currently looking for plants that bloom longer; native and nearly native plants are a positive trend. Hardy hibiscus has the largest blooms you can grow. Pansies can survive the winter, gardenias need to be covered or brought into the garage when it gets cold. Calamia clicked on photos of all these babies.
“So, given the number of plants he cares for, how do you water all of them?” a member of the audience asked.
“It’s like children, Fred doesn’t like his sister Barbara,” he said to laughter. “I make sure the bottom of the pot is well drained. Don’t use rocks at the bottom. The water pools up and causes rot, especially on the top of the soil.”
The dog Leni in his videos belongs to his sister.
“Does she eat your plants?” (We wanted to know.)
“We put up barriers in the winter,” he said. “But she sometimes gets to them. She loves her greens. So far, she hasn’t gotten sick.”
Alex Calamia posts regularly on Instagram. You can also follow him on Twitter and his Facebook page. For more information, visit alexcalamia.com.
