2. WATER EFFICIENCY

Water resources are precious and can be easily contaminated by excessive use of fertilizers and pesticides. Here are some tips that can help you to conserve water and reduce or eliminate pollutants entering waterways from your yard:

Grass: Some varieties of lawn grass require excessive amounts of water and fertilizers in order to achieve desired results. By reducing the amount of lawn space in your yard, or by choosing a drought tolerant grass species such as Bahia grass, Bermuda grass or centipede grass, you can maintain a fertilizer/pesticide free lawn that requires minimal irrigation.

Ground covers: Depending on your planting zone, there are several groundcovers, such as sunshine mimosa or twinflower, that can provide an attractive alternative to grass,.

Rain barrels: Florida’s lengthy rainy season offers an excellent opportunity to collect water! Water accumulated in a rain barrel can fulfill considerable plant watering needs. To learn more about rain barrels visit: http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/conservation/rainbarrel/

Grouping: Landscaping plants together, according to their watering requirements, allows irrigation to be regulated so that it provides only the amount of water necessary for healthy plant maintenance. In this way water is not wasted on plants that don’t need it.

Mulch: Mulching plant beds helps to retain moisture and prevent weeds from sprouting.

Drought tolerant: Depending on your zone, consider choosing more drought tolerant plants such as beach sunflower, gaillardia, bromeliads or cycads such as the Florida coontie.

Information on plant species that are drought tolerant can be found at: http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/waterres/drought/articles/tough-plants.htm

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!