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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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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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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Many of us want to continue our education and on-line learning is a great way to do so. I am sure you will find this a value if you are an avid gardener and like the details about growing plants to high quality standards. You might even want to learn more about commercial plant production. My friend, Dr Charlie Hall, has this information for us.

COLLEGE STATION – A self-directed online course is being offered for greenhouse employees nationwide, according to Dr. Charlie Hall, Texas A&M University Ellison Chair in International Floriculture.

The course provides introductory-level information about the greenhouse industry plus learning models on greenhouse crop production from beginning to end, controlling insects and diseases, and shipping and handling procedures, Hall noted.

"One of the unique features of this training is that it is offered in English and Spanish," Hall said. "With the increased number of Hispanic workers in the green industry, this training series provides a valuable service to the industry by providing employees who are new to the industry with an overview of what greenhouse production of floral crops is all about."

Videos are used throughout the course sections, and the instruction is available in both languages with transcripts available for downloading.

The course costs $55 and is available through eXtension, an online collaboration among the Cooperative Extension System which includes the Texas AgriLife Extension Service. People can enroll at any time and receive a “key” to the site which is valid for 90 days.

The course is located at http://campus.extension.org under the gardening and horticulture section. Registration for the course may be completed at http://agrilifevents.tamu.edu under "Online Courses."

"We are excited about our partnership with eXtension because it enables us to provide these materials nationwide, with support from over 70 land-grant institutions," Hall added.

"The eXtension website is a space where university content providers can gather and produce new educational and information resources on wide-ranging topics."

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Start with a Piece of permeable ground cloth in a sunny spot near a water source.

The Easy Garden Box assembles in minutes and lasts for years.

Add your compost or planting mix.

Wet it down and you are ready to fertilize and plant.

Make sure you plant Varieties for Florida and at the right time for success.

2 by 4 lumber can be stacked and bracketed for a similar garden.

 

Community Gardens are a great place to see examples of Raised Gardens.

Kids love to learn and do when it comes to growing anything. Get outside and have some fun!

 

 

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Experience 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 and Kim, The Dirt girls, organized a trip to see Riverview Flower Farm in operation today as we planted and packed orders to go to 144 of The Home Depot stores throughout most of Florida. All of our plants go to Home Depot and we couldn't sell any at the farm even though many folks asked.

Penny and Rick get 190 Friends of the Dirt Field-trippers organized in groups for the tours.

Enthusiastic FODies learned how we grow Florida Friendly Plants using a blend of local yard waste compost and drip irrigation to use the least amount of water and fertilizer while growing the best plants. This cuts waste and eliminates irrigation runoff and reduces the need to spray because the leaves and flowers stay dry.

They also learned how to save the most amount of water and fertilizer while maximizing growth and health of their own plants in their home gardens by using the Pot-in-Pot method.

 

 

 

 

The succulents FODies saw today can be identified using these links:

Virtual Plant Tags        The Cactus Collection     Cactus & Succulent Id

and this image..

 

Hawaiian Portulaca         Portulaca in Maui              A new species 1987

 

A field of blooming Muhly Grass and another of Butterfly Cassia about to explode were also highlights as well as detailed information about new and existing varieties of Florida Friendly Plants.

 

FODies learned how to recycle The Tampa Tribune by making paper pots and planting milkweed and sunflower seeds. Paper Pots are a big part of growing better starter plants and the method is very sustainable.

 

This is a great idea and a fun way for introducing children to gardening as we did last week at A Kids Place in Brandon.

 

From all of us at Riverview Flower Farm, thank you Penny and Kim and we hope you plan another field trip to our farm next year.

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Pamela Crawford's Water-Wise Garden in Georgia is going to be featured in a spring issue of Southern Living.

Pamela wrote several Florida books while living in south Florida. Here is a link to her special containers, videos, books and designs.

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Today we are preparing a garden for foster children at A Kids Garden in Brandon. Exposing youngsters to growing vegetables is something we all can do. Community Gardens are making a big comeback in America. Plants some herbs or cool season vegetables and share your knowledge.

Exposing young folks to eating better is the message for us all in this video.

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