Disney has beautiful gardens that amaze visitors for days but for a combination of beauty and diversity of plants, The Harry P. Leu Gardens is the crown jewel of Orlando and Central Florida.

Just as you wouldn’t miss the Chicago Botanical Gardens in the windy city, you shouldn’t miss this Botanical Mecca if you visit our state. Allow plenty of time, wear comfortable shoes and bring extra batteries for your camera.

Robert Bowden is the director and fellow committee member who showed the FNGLA marketing team the highlights and stunning views and garden rooms.

Click this link to our Facebook Album for more Leu Garden Images.

Leu Gardens features many potted specimens and combination planters. They use the Thriller-Filler-Spiller concept to demonstrate how to make a beautiful container garden you would be happy to have on your porch or patio.

Profusion Zinnias are a disease resistant type on display throughout many sunny spots in the garden. The butterflies were plentiful and highly attracted to these zinnias.

Weddings are a big thing at Leu Gardens. They are booked over a year out. They have excellent facilities for multiple weddings and are located near downtown and near I-4 for easy access.

The largest formal rose garden in the south is a central feature of Leu Gardens.

Photographers flock to this garden to take images of plants and flowers that are used in magazines and books published all over the world. Fashion photographers find many beautiful settings at this garden.

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We purchased these plastic containers designed to plant and hang on the wall.

We didn’t have a suitable wall so we thought using posts with the trees as a backdrop would let us view them from our back porch and place them in enough light to make them thrive.

Much of my inspiration comes from 2 books by Debra Lee Baldwin that you too might enjoy.

I rooted the succulents directly in this container in April for this early June hanging.

With the rainy season starting we are more worried about too much water than too little. We considered a drip system for the dry season to water them. Succulents need little so little water and can go for weeks without it. I think we will determine if drip irrigation is needed before we install it. There are plenty of succulent varieties to make your own vertical garden project. Using succulents would mean the wall container doesn’t need to be very elaborate. I  think you could hang pots close together and create some interesting effects.

The Spanish Moss hides the posts and blends in well with the moss covered plant stand holding the bromeliad planter. They are attached with 2 screws so I can take them down if we get a frost in the winter. It will be fun to watch them grow.

Below is an inspiring video of vertical garden images to get you thinking if this is something that will help you decorate your own space.

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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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In the words from the city’s website …Discover the Beauty

Sunken Gardens is a botanical paradise in the midst of a bustling city. As St. Petersburg's oldest living museum, this 100 year old garden is home to some of the oldest tropical plants in the region.

Unwind as you stroll through meandering paths, lush with exotic plants from around the world. Explore cascading waterfalls, beautiful demonstration gardens, more than 50,000 tropical plants and flowers.

Sunken Gardens provides garden tours, horticultural programs, special events, field trips, weddings, private and corporate rentals. Call 727.551.3102.

Just a stroll through these images gives you ideas of how to add Florida Friendly tropical color to your home garden. Extensive use of butterfly attractive plants make this a haven for the flying flowers. I highly recommend a visit and you ca refuel at one of our favorite restaurants just up the street, Red Mesa.

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Persian Shield – Strobilanthes dyerianus, is native to Myanmar and survives as a long lived easy to care for perennial in the right place in your garden. It is one of the Top 20 Florida Perennials and very suited to our subtropical climate and usually pest and problem free. It is nearly always available at Florida Home Depot Garden centers in the south and after freezing weather chances pass in north Florida. Not more than 3 hours of direct sun and less if you can fit it in a shady place. It likes Florida’s heat and humidity. Too much moisture and shade and it will stretch tall and tend to fall over in the heavy summer winds we get with afternoon storms. Pinch and the plant will stay full and bushy. To Pinch or Not to Pinch…

In South Florida, this Persian Shield barely noticed the few frosty nights. In central Florida, 80-90% of the tops were frozen and in North Florida I have not heard that so many survived this unusually cold winter.

Persian Shield is a dependable THRILLER component to containers designed to accent a shady part of your garden or patio.

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If you are planning your garden and imagining wonderful gardens you have seen you will enjoy some of the knot garden images in the slideshow below. Perhaps you just want to get a little formal and add and edge to your garden. SausEdgeTM is the perfect choice for a cost effective border that is easy and quick to install and maintain. They are available at these Florida Home Depots. 

See this Knot Garden Pruning Video. 

and the SausEdgeTM video…

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If you want to change your annuals in your containers with the season or change them with Easter Lilies and maybe hardy mums in the fall and poinsettias at Christmas try this method.

Reasons to use this method:

1. where you have container perennials and want to add seasonal annuals
2. where you have container perennials and want to add holiday poinsettias
3. where you have container perennials and don’t want disturb the root systems
4. where you have container perennials and want move them to a different location and change the color theme with a different annual
5. where you want to save time in refreshing your containers
6. where you want to add a tender annual before the last frost free date and have the option to lift and protect it
7. where you need the ability to experiment with color in the design

Here is the link to the earlier Pot-in-Pot for Container Gardening post with more images and ideas.

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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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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.

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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