Beginner Gardening: Up date Florida Yard, 1 by NancyGroutsis

NancyGroutsis wrote:
Birder17, thanks for providing the hardiness zone for the region! If you have a moment please look at the map at the following link and tell us if it’s zone 9a or 9b:

http://www.garden.bsewall.com/topics/hardiness/zones/zones3....

I’m surprised they ration water in Florida, but with about 50 inches of rain it’s probably mild rationing so nothing to worry about. I assume the house has an outdoor faucet? I recommend installing a drip irrigation system because most water from sprinklers goes into the atmosphere. For the front yard you can get a black or brown hose with holes in it for $20-$40 and it’s incredibly easy to install by just placing it directly on the ground. Don’t put it underground because the holes will eventually clog. You can even get a timer for $40 and the whole setup can be done in an hour.

The only problem areas would be the beds next to the garage, because it’s unsafe to place the hose over the walkway, and also the bed across the sidewalk. However, if you don’t mind the look of a tree ring irrigation systems you can still have a crape myrtle in the rectangle area next to the driveway and the ring will water surrounding plants as well which will cover the ring so it won’t be very noticeable. As for the right of way bed next to the road I would choose the Juniperus Good Vibrations instead of the buddleja because the juniperus is drought tolerant once the roots are established and it does well in hot dry conditions and sandy soil, as well as rich loam where I have planted one at home that is very attractive and provides color changes all year.

I have updated my attached drawing to replace the Persian Shield (zone 9 too cool for evergreen) and buddleja (juniperus needs less water). I created the drawing using Photoshop but a very similar drawing can be done using Microsoft Word’s drawing features as it’s basically just rectangles and starbursts. I checked the plants I had suggested to see if they will thrive in zone 9 and all of these do:

NARROW FRONT BED NEXT TO STREET: Juniperus Good Vibrations (1.5 foot hardy, drought-tolerant evergreen providing year-round color changes and does not have to be watered with 50 inch annual rainfall)

RECTANGLE BED NEXT TO DRIVEWAY: crape myrtle is drought resistant and thrives in full sun and sandy soil, so it’s a perfect tree for this area that has no irrigation. When it is young the first year place an irrigation tree ring around it. Cover the ring with Muhlenbergia capillaries (Pink Muhly grass) which is drought tolerant and thrives in sandy soil so it will do well when the ring is removed.

L-SHAPED BED BORDERING THE WALKWAY: Many celosias are evergreen in zone 9 providing lush greenery all year and fabulous bright flowers half the year in Florida! This plant thrives in hot blazing sunlight so it will do well with little care in the strong Western sun, but it needs fertile soil so I recommend fertilizing with manure 4 x a year and cover the ground with mulch/compost once a year (1 hour of work every year). The Clematis Snowdrift in the corner of this border will also appreciate the compost/manure but cover the ground in the circle border with stones instead of bark mulch because in my experience stone mulch is healthiest for clematis. Or you can just fill the area with more Pink Muhly grass to match the crape myrtle border.

COVERED AREA NEAR DOOR: Sansiveria Moonshine is drought and heat tolerant and can grow will in sandy soil, so the shade area is perfect for it and rarely needs to be watered so it’s no problem that the irrigation hose doesn’t cross to the side of the walkway next to the garage.

BORDER NEXT TO WINDOWS: Blue Storm agapanthus can thrive in sandy soil and tolerates drought once established. It’s right next to the door so it will be easy to water it once a week when there’s no rain the first year that it is becoming established. The Pink Muhly grass on the other side will do well there requiring little care as described above.

I have designed a beautiful landscape that’s easy to install and easy to care for. Hardscaping and irrigation (edging, irrigation hose, timer) will be no more than $200 and can all be done in one day. You will need a wheelbarrow ($100) and I suggest immediately moving the pile of compost next to the driveway as the first project. Find an area behind the house to put the compost including the turf you will remove.

I recommend hiding the compost pile with a reed fence supported by cinder blocks or stakes ($100). Price for plants depends on whether your brother wants an instant garden or wouldn’t mind waiting for seedlings to grow. Since you are visiting the house at this point I recommend that your brother waits till he moves in before adding the plants in the dry beds (near driveway and street) because they will need to be watered with a hose during droughts till established. However, with a timer irrigation system the other new plants do not need human care.

I really enjoyed helping out with this project because I love gardening. I don’t mind if you choose a completely different landscape, but please send photos if you have the time. I think with plants and hardscaping my design would cost less than $1,000, but they say a house with curb appeal is worth 10% more so financially it’s a very good investment. I used to spend a lot on gardening but as the years go by gardening has become less and less expensive, and I’ve learned I can have a fabulous garden with little cost in time and resources.