10. BENEFITS OF A FLORIDA FRIENDLY YARD

A Florida-friendly yard is all about conservation and preservation. From conserving water and preventing pollutants entering precious water resources to providing vital corridors for wildlife, a Florida-friendly yard can be a win-win situation for everyone! Careful planning and choice of plants will help to minimize maintenance, while other benefits include:

Propagation: Choosing Florida-friendly or native plants that self-seed helps reduce the amount of new plantings needed. Plants like the Twinflower, Tickseed or Beach Sunflower and Sunshine Mimosa can provide an attractive and beneficial ground cover.

Shade: There are numerous benefits provided by trees everywhere, but in Florida, where heat is an almost year-round factor, it is useful to know that the temperature under the shade of a large live oak tree can be 10 degrees cooler than in the sun! If you are planning your yard from scratch, consider positioning trees where they will shade your south and west walls, thereby helping to reduce summer energy costs.

Pine Needles: Pine trees provide a yearly supply of pine needles, which can be transformed into beneficial mulch for your yard!

Wildlife Corridors: With urban development continuing to encroach into what remains of “wild” Florida, the wildlife corridors created by those who have Florida-friendly yards become extremely vital habitats for birds, beneficial insects and other wildlife. You will be rewarded for your efforts as many incredible species visit your yard to feed, shelter and play!


As the Florida Yards and Neighborhoods Program points out: Residential yards are the front line in the battle to protect our groundwater, reduce runoff of harmful fertilizers, and restore natural habitats. By choosing to include Florida-friendly and native plants in your landscaping you can actively participate in protecting this beautiful place we call Florida.

Right Plant, Right Place Important to the success of a Florida-friendly yard is planting the right plant, in the right place. For example, group plants that require more sunlight together.


Water Efficiency Planting Florida-friendly plants helps to conserving precious water resources. There are some other innovative ways in which we can help to conserve and reuse the water that falls in our yard!


Fertilize Appropriately Pollution from fertilizers and pesticides in storm water run off from yards, contributes to excessive levels of nitrogen and phosphates in our waterways, often resulting in harmful algal blooms.


Mulch Mulch is natural organic material that is laid down in your yard to help retain moisture in the soil and prevent weeds from growing. It’s decomposition helps to greatly enrich topsoil.


Attracting Wildlife Many of Florida’s birds and butterflies are intricately connected to the native flora. Including Florida native plants in your yard will most definitely attract them to come and visit!


Managing Pesticides Responsibly While there are some plants that are difficult to manage without pesticides and herbicides, most Florida native plants do not need applications of either.


Recycle Much of what is in our yard can be recycled and put to good use! Here is an innovative way in which to use up branches from a nuisance exotic tree.



Storm Water Runoff Tropical summer rains produce torrents of water that flow through urban neighborhoods absorbing chemicals from yards and driveways along the way. This toxic runoff pollutes all waterways, and needs to be reduced.


Protect the Waterfront Many homes in Florida are situated on a lake, canal, wetland or the ocean. Certain kinds of vegetation can help to minimize the effects of storm water runoff while providing important habitat for birds and small aquatic animals.


Benefits of a Florida-friendly Yard There are numerous benefits to planting Florida-friendly plants in your yard, from saving money to minimizing the amount of time spent on maintenance; not to mention the beauty of the birds and butterflies that come to visit!