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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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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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

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

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

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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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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.

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.

New shipments of Florida Friendly Plants are arriving daily at most

Florida Home Depot garden centers.

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1. Hardy Perennials – Gardeners are asking what plants thrive both frost and hot summer temperatures. These plants tolerate frost quickly recover after cold weather. These popular plants are what customers will have the most success with and will remove some fear of planting. Plant success!

                           Sedum Florida Friendly Gold

                                             Blue Eyed Grass

                                 Bulbine – Jelly Burn Plant 

                                            Dianthus Firewitch

2. Drought Tolerant Grass and Accent Plants – Gardeners looking for long lived, easy care plants that will survive the typically dry spring and fall growing seasons will be successful with these plants. For the Top 20 Drought Tolerant Florida Perennials go to http://floridafriendlyplants.com/

                  Purple Showers                                       Purple Queen               

                                              Variegated Flax Lily

3. Butterfly Plants – For success in attracting butterflies to your garden you can use both the nectar host plants and the larval host plants. Plant them in a sunny site them in the landscape. Refer to the Home Depot tag information for suitable planting conditions.

                Lantana                              Pentas                               Milkweed

For the Top 20 Drought Tolerant Perennials and the Top 20 Florida Butterfly Plants go to http://floridafriendlyplants.com/

SausEdge^TM is an innovative way to save money and time and get instant results in your garden. Several popular varieties make an instant border in your garden.

http://floridafriendlyplants.com/Sausedge.asp

See the video at http://www.youtube.com/profile?edit=1#p/u/5/E1MObn0HqQc

or search Sausedge on Youtube

                              Cuban Gold Duranta from SausEdge^TM

                                          Lantana from SausEdge^TM

Classic Selections are an economical way to plant perennials and use less plastic.

Classic Creations give instant results for combinations in your own containers.

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The weather outside is frightful… By Florida standards anyway. At the nursery, we cover acres of plant with Frost Cloth every time a freeze threatens. This works very well except when the wind blows the cloth off your plants. At home I use a different method I developed called Pot-in-Pot Landscaping.

I use an empty pot as a sleeve. It is the same size pot as the pot of the plant I am installing

and I drop it in for a finished job. When the frost threatens, I lift the plants and park them in my garage for the evening.

The method has many reason for you to consider using it in Florida. Follow this link to 21 reasons for Pot-in-Pot Gardening. This works also well for larger containers and combinations too.

Using this method in combination with a drip irrigation system save water and improves plant quality and longevity. Pot-in-Pot is also ideal for using tender plants within large containers as shown here.

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Temple Terrace, located on the East Side of Tampa,  is designated by the Arbor Day Foundation as a Tree City USA. Some of our Florida Native Trees are the best choice for longevity and structure.

Trees make gardening in Florida much more enjoyable. I can’t imagine gardening without the partial shade of trees. Plants growing in the full sun all day require so much more water to look their tropical best.

Trees create a micro climate as we see on days like today after a freezing night like last night. Trees prevent some radiation heat loss. As you look around your neighborhood this week you will see how much better plants growing under the trees survived this extreme cold snap of 2010.

The Temple Terrace Garden Club, the city of Temple Terrace and Tampa Electric Co. have produced a full-color Temple Terrace Tree Guide That is available with in formation on how to select the right tree for the right spot.

The guides are at the Temple Terrace Public Library, 202 Bullard Park way, and Temple Terrace City Hall, 11250 N. 56th St. Similar information can be found on the web at:

Tampa Electrics Florida Tree Planting Guide

TECO also has information about tree trimming. Learn much more about all the Florida Trees at this University of Florida Extension Service site.

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The Christmas flower history is an American story that has fascinated more than just gardeners and has propelled poinsettias into a significant part of our seasonal traditions. Below is a slide show from what could be considered a living museum dedicated to the poinsettia in Carlsbad California. This is brought to by The Ecke Family and The Ecke Ranch.

With Christmas behind us the big question always asked by Florida gardeners is what do you do with these beautiful symbols of this joyous season. Here in Florida we can enjoy Poinsettias in the landscape as lush growing tropical bushes that flower in the fall with bracts that last until spring.

There are several things to keep in mind when planting poinsettias. They like a compost rich soil with at least 50% organic matter and a well drained site. Organic matter is home to beneficial organisms like good fungus, good nematodes and bacteria that feed on harmful parasitic nematodes and fungi. Poinsettias need moderate fertilizer and water. Keep them mulched with oak leaves or a sustainable renewable  farmed mulch like eucalyptus mulch. Pinching until September helps keep them short but is not required with the new modern dwarf self branching varieties.

They like a bright sunny location that gets at least 5 hours of nearly direct sun. They need to be planted where they can get uninterrupted nights. Nights without light from street lights, porch lights or cars. Night lights that interrupt continuous regular nighttime darkness from late September until mid October will prevent or delay blooming. 

The poinsettia history museum is located at The Flower Fields® in Carlsbad California an is open in the spring. The 2010 season begins March 1st. For over sixty years, Mother Nature has transformed the rolling hills of North San Diego County into one of the most spectacular and coordinated displays of natural color and beauty anywhere in the world. The nearly fifty acres of Giant Tecolote Ranunculus flowers that make up The Flower Fields® at Carlsbad Ranch are in a full bloom for approximately six to eight weeks each year - from early March through early May - literally bringing the famous fields back to life.

This annual burst of color, which has become part of the area's local heritage, is also one of nature's official ways of announcing the arrival of spring here in Southern California.

Season: Spring (March 1st through May 9th, 2010)

Hours: Open to the public seven days a week
from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM

You probably heard it incorrectly over and over again that poinsettias are poisonous. Well, THEY ARE NOT POSIONOUS! Here is a video that proves it and a link to the official government statement.

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In the past on a visit to Busch Gardens, celebrating 50 years of gardens, you would have seen ten thousand thirsty azaleas in magnificent displays of color. Most prominently in the spring but there were fall and winter blooming azaleas too. Flash forward to today and we have millions of residents and visitors competing for a limited amount of springtime dry season water in our coastal communities. The amazing gardeners and planners at Busch Gardens have transformed this theme park into a paradise of color using Florida Friendly Landscaping techniques and Florida Friendly Plants. Gone are the big brass rainbird sprinklers going clack-clack-clack as they sprayed millions of gallons of water into the air with only 50% hitting targeted thirsty azaleas. Today you see drip and micro irrigation. Well targeted sprays and extensive areas that rely on only rainfall. Annuals are used judiciously for color impact. Containers are planted and placed where they use less water and put on spectacular displays of color. Rain water is collected and reused. Busch Gardens recycles and follows the 9 principles of Florida Friendly Landscaping. Enjoy this slideshow and see if you can get any ideas to help you beautify your own garden with long lasting and efficient colorful plants.

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