Fairchild Tropical Garden in Spring 2009

March 20, 2010 by Rick

There is always something special happening at Fairchild. Last spring I took these images. I always get ideas of how to use Florida Friendly Plants when I visit the gardens. New species and hybrids on display in unique combinations get my design mind in gear. They display plants in colorful arrangements that are interesting to the viewer at all levels. Groundcovers and foreground plants draw your eyes forward and down the path. There is a picture of a new vignette with every few steps you take so don’t go without your camera. I wonder what new plants I will find on my visit at the end of March? Look for them here or plan your own trip.

 

 

Go through these Power Points to see some flowering trees at Fairchild Gardens and some new and interesting plants that will be coming to a Florida nursery near you soon.

 

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Florida Friendly Landscaping TM 101 April 24

March 17, 2010 by Rick
This years program moves to The Hillsborough Community College Plant City Campus to accommodate more participants and to see the University of Florida Teaching Gardens. Excellent speakers will answer all your gardening questions. Learn the latest on safe insect control from the Dr. Jim Price and ask him about the Jerry Baker and snake oil formulas that make extravagant claims.
Florida Friendly Landscaping TM 101 Program
8:30 – 9:00 am Registration and refreshments
9:00 – 9:30 am Recent Landscape Regulations - State Bill 2080 (Lynn Barber)
9:30 – 10:15 am Alternative Vegetable Gardening (Dr. Sydney Park Brown)
10:15 – 10:30 am Break
10:30 – 11:15 am Bats and Snakes (Dr. Steve Johnson)
11:15 – 12:00 pm Safe Solutions for Insect management (Dr. Jim Price)
12:00 – 12:15 pm Green Learning – Local Educational Opportunities
(Lynn Barber, Erin Givens & Matt Freedman, Dr. Sydney Park Brown)
12:15 pm Questions & Answers

 

Last years pictures of the Teaching Garden.

 

Growing Green- April 24, 2010 Click to see who is going and sign up.

Time:8:30AM Saturday, April 24th

Location:Hillsborough Community College Plant City Campus

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Use Contrast to Catch the Eye

March 14, 2010 by Rick

Yellow and Violet like Red and Green and Orange and Blue are Opposites.

Opposites attract attention. You can brighten up your patio, entrance way or garden with interesting  colorful plants.

 

 

 

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AfricanBushDaisyc

 

Paper Daisy

 

Delphinium

 

Pentas Dwarf Red

Some plants and things to look for on your next trip to your Florida Home Depot Garden Center where you can find most of these plants and many more today. Also look for the amazing Ray Petunias and Littletunias in the Premium Flowering white  Florida Friendly pots.

 

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The Outdoor Room with Jamie Drury or HGTV

March 11, 2010 by Rick

 

In this episode of The Outdoor Room Jamie and his team remake this backyard into useful and fun destination for the family. This is one of the best gardening series I have seen and this episode, Edible Garden, is my favorite so far.

 

The Outdoor Room engages you with the reality TV type conflicts through the design and installation phases and then of course there is the happy ending.

Monrovia Nursery sponsors this great series that kicks up the fun and gives you lots of ideas on how to transform parts of your outdoor spaces into rooms you can enjoy.

Check out Icee Blue Podocarpus from Monrovia Nursery.

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This plant has performed well in our Tampa area garden. It is about 9 feet tall now and busting out with new blue growth. The color works well with our bluish native Silver Palmettos.

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Garden Coaching in Florida

March 7, 2010 by Rick

Every day folks come in to shop at their Florida Home Depot Garden Centers and see beautiful flowers and wish they had some one to tell them how to get started. Many people would spend more time in their garden if they had a sense of what works where and why. The plant tags in the containers help but getting it right takes some trial and error. Gardeners of all levels use our Plant Database for details of where to place plants and how big they grow. When you see a neighbors garden flourishing you realize that that gardener has some real insight on how to select and cultivate plants. We call it Right Plant – Right Place to keep it simple as you learn how to select what will thrive and beautify your garden or patio.  If you don’t have time you may want to hire a Garden Designer to come in and draw a plan. purchase, plant and guarantee large and small plants. If you do have time and you want to get good advice and buy a few plants at a time, check out this link to a Florida Garden Coach. As I said, every day gardeners walk into Home Depot expressing a desire for some level of help with their garden.

Right Plant – Right Place color contrast & bright colors for shade

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I don’t hesitate to recommend Cynthia. This is what she offers:

Scope of Services
Serving the Tampa Bay Area
813-417-4546~~ Call today to set up your consultation.
Contact: CynthiaCay@floridagardencoach.com

There are many reasons to hire a garden coach.
It is my goal to help you achieve the garden you dream of having. Whether it is your landscape, a peaceful sitting area, an entry way, or even a vegetable garden I will work with you to make it a success.

There are many possible and fairly easy steps you can learn to help you overcome the obstacles many gardeners often experience with gardening in Florida.
Think of coaching as having your very own personal, private tutor. As your coach, I will personally teach you best practices and simple techniques for nurturing and enjoying your gardening space you desire.

Engaging me as your 'Florida Garden Coach' and mentor will give you the increased confidence you need to become a better Florida gardener.

Initial Consultation

  • Initial consultation will last between 1 and 1.5 hours.
  • A flat fee applies for up to 1.5 hours.
  • An hourly rate will be applied beyond 1.5 hours.
  • I come to your garden and listen to your thoughts about what you would like to accomplish in your garden.
  • Photos will be taken of the specific area(s) you desire to begin working on.
  • Using the photos and notes I've made,
    I will summarize our meeting and add my design suggestions and ideas and give those to you approximately a week later.

Follow-up Coaching Sessions

  • An hourly rate applies.
  • There is a 2 hour minimum rate for each session.
  • I work with you in each session teaching you as we work together. Each mentoring session will last 2-3 hours. (Possible exceptions could apply for longer sessions.)

Services Available
Cynthia will help you with just about anything you can think of that is garden related. A list of common requests includes:

  • Create focal points for interest in the garden
  • Create gardens specifically to attract butterflies and wildlife
  • Create herb or kitchen gardens
  • Create beautiful, long-lasting container gardens
  • Increase your garden's curb appeal
  • Grow a vegetable garden
  • Assist you with design for specific areas in the garden
  • Starter ideas and fresh design tips
  • Learn what grows well in sun and shade; and when to plant what in our Florida climate
  • Learn how to combine plants with best results for visual appeal
  • Learn best practices for organic gardening  and eco-friendly habits
  • Learn how to compost making the most of your garden waste
  • Low-maintenance gardening and xeriscaping options
  • Specializing in Florida friendly and native plant selections for easy care

Some helpful questions to ask yourself in determining the scope of service which interests you.

  • Would you like to spruce up a focal point in your garden or increase your curb appeal?
  • Would you like to create a butterfly garden or an herb garden but need a little guidance to get you started?
  • Do you enjoy gardening but need some help with design in specific areas in your current garden?
  • Do you have a desire to grow your own vegetables but aren’t sure how?
  • Do you need some starter ideas or fresh design tips?
  • Do you want to learn what grows well in the sun, what thrives in the shade, and what plants in general do well in our Florida climate?
  • Are you looking for a low-maintenance garden but aren't confident which plants will work?
  • Have you thought about incorporating more Florida-friendly or native plants into your landscaping?
  • Do you need some inspiration with designing seasonal plantings or container gardens?
  • Would you like to identify some existing plants and learn what best compliments what you have growing?

Contact me: CynthiaCay@floridagardencoach.com

 

Right Plant – Right Place hot colors for sun – low water requiring plants

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If you know of other Garden Coaches in Florida that I can recommend please comment below.

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Succulent Success part 3

March 4, 2010 by Rick

Debra Lee Baldwin demonstrates how to make a beautiful container garden with succulents. Watch how she selects the component plants using what Debra Lee says are the most important design features - contrast and repetition. You are sure to enjoy her books Designing with Succulents and her latest book, Succulent Container Gardens. Check out her sites Debra Lee Baldwin and Succulent Chic where you can get information about her books and much more inspiration. Visit Debra Lee’s blog, Gardening Gone Wild, for updates on what she is doing and her thoughts on garden design.

 

 

In most Florida Home Depot stores you will find an assortment of succulents and all the materials to begin a creative adventure in succulent gardening. Remember to ensure you have a well drained site and add perlite to your containers for success. Succulents are long lived and they multiply and propagate easily making them the ideal plants to share with friends.

See also Succulent Success part 1 and part 2

 

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Landscape Design: Ten Important Things to Consider

March 1, 2010 by Rick

Dr. Gail Hansen and the folks at U of F Extension have produced many great documents at their Solutions for Your Life Website. If you want to evaluate your landscape take a look at this Publication.

Consider adding a border to tie your landscape together and give it a finished look. At most Florida Home Depot stores you will find SausEdgeTM. You can use this innovative tube to cut your work and cost in half and get an edge on your beds.

 

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The Incredible Journey of the Butterflies

February 25, 2010 by Rick

 

From NOVA watch The Incredible Journey of the Butterflies online.

This one-hour program is divided into six chapters. Choose any chapter and select QuickTime or Windows Media Player to begin viewing the video at this NOVA link.

The videography is as amazing as the story. If you think you have heard this story before you are in for a pleasant surprise.

ScarletMilkweed&Monarch&QueenButterflies

Monarchs in Florida are not part of the same population that migrates from Mexico’s mild winter resting sites to Canada each summer. Because we have warm winters, Florida monarchs can continue to feed and develop through their life cycles all year. Much of the Florida monarch population migrates north to mid south states is what is currently believed. Many Florida monarchs starved this year when the milkweed plants froze in this unusually cold winter. Sales for milkweed plants have been brisk at the Home Depot where we keep the plants stocked year round. Journey North is a site filled with monarch butterfly information and resources. The Florida monarchs are not as widely studied as the Canada to Mexico population that is the subject of The Incredible Journey of the Butterflies.

 

 

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2009 Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival

February 21, 2010 by Rick

Looking back at 2009’s Flower Festival helps us get more great ideas we can enjoy in our own gardens. Check out the Ornamental Sweet Potatoes used in this cleaver display as a pumpkin patch

 

 

This year we will have new Ornamental Sweet Potato varieties called “Bright Ideas”. They will be available with Lime (chartreuse), Black and Rusty Red foliage. Plant them in the spring or summer and then place your pumpkins in the foliage for a fall pumpkin patch display. They will be available in April at most Florida Home Depot garden centers.

 

 Bright Ideas

Ornamental Sweet Potatoes make great container and hanging basket plants. They are a SPILLER element in combination planters. Use the colors to echo colors in flowers or as contrast elements to make them pop.

 

2010 will surely be a great year at EPCOT for the Flowers. They just get better every year. Penny and Kim are talking a lot about the upcoming EPCOT Flower and Garden Festival on their blog over at The Dirt and in the Getaway section of the Tampa Tribune next Sunday.

 

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Spring is Coming to The Home Depot Garden Centers

February 19, 2010 by Rick

Over the last 3 weeks I have traveled around the state and met with 600 Home Depot garden associates spreading news and knowledge about great Florida Friendly Plants. This excited team is chomping at the bit for good weather after all the freezes we have had. We did have a little sleet and snow on January 10th in parts of Florida. What an El Nino winter this has been! With climate change we know winter and summer precipitation will be greater as there will be much more water vapor in the atmosphere as the planet warms yet droughts in drought prone areas are worsening. Poor Australia! We gardeners will just have to take what mother nature sends our way.

Home Depot Associates

 

 

A good percentage of associates are Florida Certified Horticulture Professionals (FCHP). Much of what I shared with the long time Home Depot garden associates (some as much as 20 year vets) is in the post  Successful Gardening in 2010.

Home Depot Delivery

New shipments of Florida Friendly Plants are arriving daily at most

Florida Home Depot garden centers.

 

Duranta Depot

 

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