Native Plants

Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?

A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.

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Saturday - November 03, 2007

From: Sunrise, FL
Region: Southeast
Topic: Seed and Plant Sources
Title: Resources for designing a landscape in Florida
Answered by: Nan Hampton

QUESTION:

I have a large backyard that was devastated by Hurricane Wilma 2 years ago. I am tired of looking at bare grass. Is there a good lanscaping resource that I can design a rather large landscape. I really do not have the resources to pay a landscape arcitect and still have money to actually construct the garden.

ANSWER:

Fortunately, there are lots of resources to help you:

1. You can visit our Recommended Species page to find a list of "commercially available native plant species suitable for planned landscapes in Florida". You can then customize your search for plants by using the "Narrow Your Search" option.

2. Additionally, the Florida Native Plant Society under the menu option "Landscaping" has a feature called "Plants for Your Area" where you can select your county (which Mr. Smarty Plants believes is Broward County) and find a list of native plants suitable for landscaping there. They also have an excellent page called "Getting Started with Natives" that gives helpful advice, a list of books, and links to other sites (e.g., Florida Landscape, Association of Florida Native Nurseries and "Designing the Natural Garden").

3. In addition to the Association of Florida Native Nurseries list, you can see our list of nurseries specializing in native plants in your area on our National Suppliers Directory.

4. You should also check the online publications of the University of Florida/IFAS Extension Service and check out the page for the local office of UF/IFAS nearest you.

Good luck with your project!