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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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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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.

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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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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This garden is one of Florida’s treasures and one of the most beautiful places on the planet. Visitors have shared their images of this tropical south Florida paradise in the slide show below. The garden is home to thousands of palm species where research continues on their preservation and use. There is always something special happening at Fairchild.

There is a strong focus on Butterfly Gardens and plants that attract them. The plants are well attended and labeled by many volunteers. Native Florida Plants are featured here as well. Plants collected from around the world give you ideas of what you can use in designing your own colorful tropical settings in your patio and home landscape.

The garden is located just south of Coral Gables and Coconut Grove where you can walk the streets and enjoy the sounds, smells, tastes and sights of a happening culture. You can’t take your dog to the restaurants any more or the garden for that matter but they do have fun dog parks and dog friendly hotels. The streets of Coconut Grove are fun to walk. It is like walking through a tropical garden with exotic plants that grow to their full size in a non-jungle setting where you can get a real appreciation of their grandeur.

There are so many great places to eat in the area. The Red Fish Grill is an old coquina building sitting on the bay in Matheson Hammock Park. You will love the setting, seafood and the perfect weather. We like to go on a day between November until April when the weather is usually warm, sunny and such a change from northern parts of Florida.

The Vizcaya Museum and Gardens are close by on Biscayne Bay. The Gardens are in a coastal hardwood hammock. You can see Florida Friendly Plants that have been used for decades in all their glory. I will have much more on this in later posts.

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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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Polk County Florida Yards and Neighborhoods slideshow. Plan to add some flowers to your Florida Friendly Landscape in 2010. See all their images at http://www.flickr.com/photos/polkfyn/

Links to Help from FYN and The Cooperative Extension Service.

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Recently they had their grand opening of their new and extensive tropical habitat gardens. You will learn many things when you visit.  If you have not been to Naples in a while you will be impressed at how beautiful and colorful the city is now. The 2 Home Depot stores in Naples have some of the busiest and best stocked garden centers in Florida selling Florida Friendly Plants that brighten gardens with lasting color. Check out their butterfly pavilion at the Naples Botanical Garden.

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