Plant Selection & Landscape Design - Southwest Florida Water ...

Designing Your Florida-Friendly Landscape
Florida-Friendly Landscapes are all based on the same
nine principles. But Florida-Friendly Landscaping
encourages individual expression of beauty. As long as
you apply the principles described in The Florida Yards &
Neighborhoods Handbook, your landscape can be Florida-
Friendly and as individual as you want.
WHAT IF I LIVE IN A PLANNED COMMUNITY?
Check with your homeowner association before you make
changes to your landscape. HOAs, usually have a landscape
review board and can regulate the appearance and
types of plantings in your yard, as long as they do not
prohibit you from installing and maintaining Florida-
Friendly Landscapes.
If you live in a community with codes, covenants and
restrictions that could be more Florida-Friendly, encourage
your association to adopt all or part of the model
Florida-Friendly Landscaping restrictions, found at
http://fyn.ifas.ufl.edu/.
The Florida-Friendly Landscaping Program has a number
of “success stories” which highlight water and costs
savings for communities that adopt Florida-Friendly
Landscaping and maintenance practices. Visit the Web
site at http://fyn.ifas.ufl.edu/.
DESIGN SCENARIOS
The following eight design scenarios represent select
areas of your home landscape—front entry, under windows,
utility boxes, etc. Each of these scenarios was chosen
because of common landscape design issues that confront
a homeowner in these areas.
In each scenario, you will be shown a challenging landscape
situation and learn what could be done to design a
solution in a more Florida-Friendly manner. Be aware
that the graphics show the improved landscapes at an
early stage after plant installation. The plants will grow
and eventually fill in more of the mulched area.
A Florida-Friendly Landscaping TM Publication
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