Saint Bernard's Lily - Anthericum saundersiae. This grass-like plant has long, narrow leaves that are dark green forming a clump with upright arching leaves.
Showy white flowers with yellow stamens persist throughout the year. Give it well drained soil and it grows to 3 feet or less. We have found that if you cut it to the ground every other year it sprouts back rejuvenated and to a similar size quickly. Use it as a 'THRILLER' in the center of a large combination planter for a long lived and trouble free focal plant. Mass plantings are very attractive especially when they are flowering heavily.
Clumps are well behaved and dependable. St Bernard’s Lily can thrive on rainfall alone once it is established. It will grow rapidly and flower more with some irrigation and fertilizer if you feel the need.
Anthericum tolerates a fair amount of shade and will grow as a companion to shade lovers like Impatiens and Persian Shield. Here is a link to the Top 10 Florida Friendly Shade Tolerant Plants.
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February 19, 2010 by
RickOver 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/
SausEdgeTM 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 SausEdgeTM
Lantana from SausEdgeTM
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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December 18, 2009 by
Rick
November 14, 2009 by
RickExperience a beautiful garden and learn what grows well in Florida and how to grow it. Open 7 days a week for you to wander in and enjoy the park like setting while observing some very diverse garden and plant types.
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Penny Carnathan from the Tampa Tribune posted on her Blog, The Dirt, comments and pictures from her recent visit to our farm to view new and current production items. Here is a picture of St. Bernard's Lily that will give you a good look at why I like this plant so much and promoted it to Penny.
Saint Bernard's Lily - Anthericum saundersiae. This grass-like plant has long, narrow leaves that are dark green forming a clump with upright arching leaves. Showy white flowers with yellow stamens are produced throughout the year. Give it well drained soil and it grows to 3 feet. We have found that if you cut it to the ground every other year it sprouts back rejuvenated and to a similar size quickly. Use it as a 'THRILLER' in the center of a large combination planter for a long lived and trouble free focal plant. Mass plantings are very attractive especially when they are flowering heavily. You can check out a beautiful mass planting at The Bette S. Walker Discovery Garden that has been in place since the garden was first planted.
We recently visited my father in law, Dr Charlie Park, in Historic Sanford. Sanford has a very interesting history. You could easily spend a day driving around Sanford and visiting all the restored 1800 era homes, buildings, waterfront, park, zoo and the museum. Mayor Linda Kuhn is the driving force behind the efforts in this community and Linda is an enthusiastic gardener. Linda invites you to enjoy the efforts of an inspired community. As you drive around Sanford you will see beautiful plantings of flowers, trees and shrubs and flowering combination baskets hanging from ornate lightposts.
I can highly recommend the Stones Throw Bistro for lunch or dinner in downtown. Fried Green Tomato Crab Cake with White Wine Hollandaise might be the best appetizer I have ever eaten.
Bulbine is a very drought tolerant Florida Friendly Plant and used extensively in the Sanford landscapes. I will get some pictures of the city and how they use Bulbine for a future post.
Jelly Burn Plant - Bulbine frutescens 'Hallmark' - Orange Stalked Bulbine, similar to Aloe this plant also contains the same glycoprotiens that ease burns, rashes and itches but this variety blooms year round and is hardy down to 20 degrees. Bulbine is an FNGLA Plant of the Year and favored by gardeners wanting to replace thirsty turf areas with drought tolerant, carefree ground covers. Find it at your local Florida Home Depot.
The WOW price on perennials in the green Florida Friendly Plants containers continues until Memorial Day, Monday May 25 while supplies last. Tell a friend. Click the Pass it on Florida link at the top of the page. (See store for limits and details). Mexican Petunia 'Purple Showers' - Ruellia brittoniana 'Purple Showers' (AKA R. twedia) is one of the toughest, showiest and most widely used Florida Friendly perennials. This cultivar does not produce seed and was found to be sterile by University of Florida research published in 2002 that was sponsored by the Department of Environmental Protection. This is important because the non sterile wild Mexican type has exploded in Florida wetlands over the last century and they are impossible to eradicate. The wild type is listed as a category 1 invasive species by the Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council. Wading birds continue to spread the seeds far and wide making them a dominate species in many of our wetland areas. Purple Showers is a wonderful sterile Florida Friendly Plant. Your garden will have no impact on the wetlands using sterile Purple Showers which is an excellent choice as it grows well just about anywhere with little or no extra water or fertilizer thus reducing your environmental impact further. No wonder it is becoming one of the most popular perennials in the south.
Disney uses Mexican Petunia 'Purple Showers' extensively for it's year round color and durability in a very wide range of water and light conditions. Here it is growing as a permanent planting in the beautiful floral display beds in the Canada attraction at EPCOT. Mexican Petunia 'Purple Showers' grows in ponds or in dry sandy soils and even tolerates coastal Florida salt air well.
Laurentia axilaris 'Beth's Blue' - Star Flower is back in stock or coming real soon to a Florida Home Depot near you. This species selection is amazing. Surprisingly, this selection lasts as a perennial in north and central Florida where it will be in many Home Depot stores in April and May so you have time to get it established before the summer heat makes it difficult for what is typically a plant that thrives north of Florida. The blue color and amount of delicate star shaped flowers make it a great addition to a sunny garden or as a stand alone container specimen. In a mixed container it is a real 'FILLER' and can overwhelm weaker growing companion plants. 3 pots planted around a strong 'THRILLER' like Variegated Flax Lily in a 24 inch container will make an impressive display.
