A great place for Bromeliad enthusiasts.

Instead of thirsty lawns, Audubon advocates landscaping with native Florida plants that can get by on less water.

Half of South Florida’s public drinking water supply ends up getting used for landscape watering. Smarter landscaping could save more water for drinking water supplies and wildlife habitat, according to Audubon.

“By modifying the way we design backyard landscapes and use water indoors, we can dramatically reduce water consumption while providing food, water and shelter for birds,” according to water conservation recommendations issued this month by Audubon of Florida.

South Florida remains under year-round watering restrictions, which limit most of Broward and Miami-Dade counties to twice-a-week watering and allow watering three times per week in most of Palm Beach County.

Relief for local water supplies could be coming soon. The summer rainy season typically starts in mid May or by early June.

via South Florida water conservation tips pushed at peak of dry season – South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com.

Hoffmannia sp. – Tropical Flowering Plants.

Here are some really neat ways to reuse those old mulch pallets. I’m going to build one of the vertical planters below in my back yard. Check out the rest of these great ideas at:

20 Creative Ways to Upcycle Pallets in your Garden | The Micro Gardener.

Inspiring Pallet Gardening Ideas

Inspiring Pallet Gardening Ideas

Recently I upcycled a pallet and large square wooden crate lying around a local landscaping yard into a mini garden shed for $7. I was so pleased with the result it made me consider other ways to reuse materials for my garden needs. With more of us conscious of repurposing rather than impacting on landfill with unnecessary waste, I thought I’d share these DIY creative ideas to upcycle free wood pallets. You may be amazed at the possibilities!

 

Broward County is the leader in the National Wildlife Federation’s program, offering more registered sites — about 2,600 so far, most of them homes — than any other county in the United States. Miami-Dade has about 435 sites. Nationwide, about 146,000 yards are registered as Certified Wildlife Habitats.To qualify, a yard needs to provide several elements for wildlife — food, water, cover and a place to raise their young. From there, there’s plenty of latitude so that even patios and balconies may suffice.

via The wildlife is in the backyard – Home & Garden – MiamiHerald.com.

A great website dedicated to birding in Florida.

The Great Florida Birding and Wildlife Trail (GFBWT) is a program of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. At its core is a network of nearly 500 sites throughout Florida selected for their excellent birdwatching, wildlife viewing or educational opportunities. This 2,000-mile, self-guided highway trail is designed to conserve and enhance Florida’s wildlife habitats by promoting birding and wildlife viewing activities, conservation education and economic opportunity. 

Fig ivy can be a mixed blessing in landscape.

Many years back, my neighbor brought a small container of fig ivy from a local nursery. It was growing on a wooden stake and presented a rather attractive set of contrasting dark and light green leaves.

I knew it to be fig ivy but was not prepared for the battle I would become engaged in trying to keep the vine from trespassing onto my property line. First, the vine took over the wood fence and became top heavy as the vine’s growth soon reached the top of the fence.

Apparently, fig ivy does not understand nor respect property rights as it managed to nose dive below ground only to send up stems along my home’s foundation and brick wall a few feet away from the wood fence.

The fig ivy managed to grow up to the top of the chimney. The straw that broke the camel’s back came when fig ivy vines reached the Hardie plank siding. I had just painted the siding and the fig ivy was positioning itself to undo all the paint work since each stem produces a maze of roots that spell trouble for paint jobs if you try to remove the growth.

A soggy start to March is helping bolster South Florida water supplies as the peak of the dry season approaches.

 

South Florida this month has averaged almost 1 1/2 inches of rainfall through Tuesday, which is on pace to bring above-normal rainfall for March.

 

That’s welcome relief for a region dealing with an otherwise drier than normal winter-to-spring dry season, blamed on La Nina weather patterns.

 

March rainfall has delivered a “short-term reprieve from declining water levels,” according to a water supply update issued this week by the South Florida Water Management District.

Call me delusional, but I really believe that people are beginning to understand that designing a yard adapted to Florida’s fickle climate and sensitive environment makes sense.