Garden Club of Cape Coral | Building a ‘Florida Friendly’ garden, part 2
By MERYL O’ROURKE
news@breezenewspapers.com
Hello fellow gardener, welcome back!
Last month, I left off with the removal of the Norfolk pine (Araucaria heterophylla) from my front yard. The arborist cut a large section of the tree, approximately 7 feet long, to be used as a “snag” somewhere in the garden. A snag is typically a dead tree that is left standing that is allowed to decompose naturally. It also provides shelter for birds and insects. This piece of tree will be installed in a corner of my backyard, underneath the royal palm (Roystonea Regia). The plan is to install it in a vertical position, with a birdbath next to it, providing shelter and water for whomever wishes to make it their home. Personally, I’m hoping for bees, they’re great pollinators!
During all the time I was removing plants, I was also doing research into what I wanted to put into the new gardens. I knew I didn’t want any more palms — just not my kind of plant. Not to entirely give up my northern ideas, I knew I wanted some plants that were green all year long, had beautiful flowers or bracts and could withstand full sun. As I’m a visual person, I decided the best thing to do would be to buy large graph paper, plot my house and shed in place, leaving plenty of room to place future plants where I thought they would work.
Research. This was the fun part. Attending seminars given by the UF/IFAS Extension program, talking to every person who worked at a garden nursery, taking photos of plants I would see everywhere, and finally becoming a Master Gardener Volunteer. I would drive around to see what other people were planting in their gardens. It showed me what looked pleasing to the eye, and well as what didn’t.
There’s a small area (6 feet x 9 feet) on the right side of my garage that is surrounded by concrete on three sides, the garage on the fourth. This is where I decided to start the front garden. I figured it was a manageable size that I could tackle quickly and get some gratification to inspire me further. (I should mention that every area of the former landscape had pea gravel). My thought was to remove the layer of pea gravel, amend the soil with topsoil and peat, plant, finishing up with approximately 4 inches of mulch.
As I dug (for two days!) into the pea gravel, it occurred to me that the previous owners had continuously added to their pea gravel over the years. Forty-seven years, to be exact. The good thing is that this is the only area that I was digging up. Everything else would be a raised bed.
After making the amendments to the soil, I planted (three) crotons (Codiaeum variegatum ‘Mammy’), some dwarf ginger (Costus woodsonii), and curcuma (Curcuma Caesia). While none of these are true Florida natives, they are all considered Florida Friendly plants.
Next month, we’ll start working on the north side of my property that borders my neighbor. Think black bamboo, plumeria, pink muhly grass and black bat lily!
Meryl O’Rourke, a UF/IFAS Master Gardener, volunteers at the Berne Davis Botanical Garden and the Goodwill Pathways To Opportunity Program