Florida Garden and Landscape Ideas

Since the Ancient Greeks, front yards of homes have held significant value. A well-landscaped yard creates a beautiful outdoor space full of warmth and elegance that welcomes guests and makes them feel at home. Moreover, having an attractivelandscape is about more than aesthetics. It is estimated that a well-landscaped home can see a 15-20% increase in its value.

Creating an inviting space can be tricky. So, where should you start, and what are some things you can try? This guide will tell you about various creative garden projects, so read on.

Determine How You Want to Use the Space

The first step is determining your space and how you want to use it. The key to creating a beautiful garden is the architect's ability to use a tiny patch of land efficiently and design it in an appealing way. Since the outdoor area is not very large, you have to set your priorities straight by asking some critical questions:

• Do you want to extend your living area through the landscape?
• Are you designing the landscape only for aesthetics?
• Is sustainability something you care about, or can you do without it?
• Do you intend it to be a place where your children can play?

Discuss these considerations with your landscape designer to maximize the effectiveness of your limited outdoor space.

Ideas for Your Landscape and Garden

Let's discuss some of the ideas you can implement to create an appealing landscape or garden, including plants, creative lighting, and more.

Types of Plants to Pick

1. American beautyberry (Callicarpa americana)

This flowering plant has floppy branches with bright green leaves that captivate the visitors. It's one of the native plants and blooms from late summer to early fall, with purple berries popping on it in clusters. Since it is found everywhere in the State, Floridians usually include it as a specimen plant in their landscape.

Its usual height is 3-8 ft, growing 4-8 wide at most. While it can grow in sandy soils, its best growth happens in loam soil with high quantities of organic matter. When there's no rain, it only requires 1 inch of water per week and can go without water for weeks if there is a drizzle.

2. Azaleas (Rhododendron spp.)

Springtime is the time of the Azaleas, which bloom everywhere in Central and Northern Florida. You can see them covered with pink and white blossoms during April or the less common varieties with red, blue, yellow, and other colors. One downside to Azaleas is that South Floridians cannot enjoy them as they cannot survive high heat.

It is usually 10 feet tall and 8 feet wide. Some species of Azaleas are evergreen, while others are deciduous. Azaleas require watering thrice a month in cooler weather and twice a week in the summer.

3. Crape myrtles (Lagerstroemia indica)

Crape myrtles come in a wide variety of sizes, from large trees reaching up to 30 feet to dwarf varieties that resemble small shrubs . Their fluffy flowers are loved by many and are usually pink, but they can occasionally be shades of purple or red. Their blooming season is roughly between July and early winter.

Crape myrtles grow between 2 and 30 feet tall and 2 and 15 feet wide. As long as the soil has good drainage, Crape myrtles experience excellent growth. If the soil dries up quickly in the summer, they need watering twice a week. Otherwise, once a week is more than enough

4. Blue Salvia

You can also plant Blue Salvia, which comes in its signature blue, white, or violet. However, new varieties are constantly being developed to get other colors. It is famous for its bloom, making it a favorite among bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies. With its 18- to 36-inch growth, it is well-suited to growing in dry and warm Florida weather. However, due to humidity, Blue Salvia requires full sunlight for proper development.

5. Junipers (Juniperus spp.)

Junipers are amongst the most resilient plants that can keep their leaves all year round. Moreover, they can thrive in all Florida weather conditions, making them a no-nonsense pick for many. Although their foliage is needle-like initially, maturity makes them flat and scale-like in the long run.

Today, you can choose from 50 types of junipers, ranging from 6 to 100 feet in height and 1 to 25 feet in width. They can tolerate any soil but prefer slightly acidic soil with a significant presence of organic matter. Moreover, outside the natural rainfall, they hardly require watering.

Create a Multilevel Space

When you have limited space in your lawn or backyard, you must use it to its full potential. Mixing different materials with varying heights and depths creates an illusion of separate dining and playing areas. Moreover, you can use different materials at each level or zone to define it distinctively.

Look After Your Lawn and Plants

The lawn is the first thing visitors encounter in your home. They won't be impressed if it's untidy, unkempt, and has dead grass. Keep your lawn watered and fertilized to keep it bright, green, and healthy. Moreover, use a lawnmower and trim the excess grass to give your lawn a streamlined and slick look.

Your garden's trees, flowers, and bushes need proper maintenance to look good and thrive. You must water and trim them regularly to ensure they grow well and make your garden pleasing to the eyes. Look after flowers because they can get damaged easily if weeds or dead plants are near them. The best way to cover the flower bed is by using mulch, which prevents weed growth and insulates water in plants in a harsh South Florida environment.

Light and Color Matter

Some people use the same-colored plants in their gardens, making everything look monotonous. As part of your creative garden project, you should introduce several colors to the garden. Moreover, you can enhance the overall appearance by using lights.

For instance, you can have a light near the mailbox, smaller lights on the pathways, and some holiday lights near the fence. You can go one step ahead and light the place according to seasons.

Don't Skip Fertilization and Irrigation

Irrigation is what keeps your garden thriving and blossoming. If you have an irrigation system, use it regularly. If not, purchase one immediately from a reputable seller and start caring for your garden.

You also need effective fertilization of the outdoor space. It's important to remember that Florida soil is sandy, so use it frequently but in smaller amounts so that it reaches the roots of your plants instead of draining away with the groundwater.

If you have a drip irrigation system, you can fertigate it, ensuring that your garden gets the nutrients it needs.

Irrigate Your Landscape or Garden with DripWorks

As mentioned, irrigation is critical to maintaining your landscape and cannot be taken for granted. However, irrigation should be effective and efficient, which is only possible if you get your drip irrigation system from a reliable name like DripWorks. Using our technology, you can save 30-50% of water and make irrigation much more efficient.

We offer everything from mainline tubing to drip emitters and sprinklers for complete irrigation systems. You can build an irrigation system yourself by acquiring all the parts from us and assembling them yourself.

Our customer service representatives are available via phone or chat from Monday to Friday.