Florida Gardening

Shade can make a Florida yard feel far more comfortable, but many shade trees come with a heavy…

By Aria Moore F · Oct 2

A butterfly garden needs more than colorful flowers. Caterpillars need the right leaves to eat, while adult butterflies…

By Aria Moore F · Oct 2

A dark snake streaks across your Florida yard, and your first thought may be to get rid of…

By Aria Moore F · Oct 2

Spotting a big green lizard on your fence or in your hibiscus can be a shock. In parts…

By Aria Moore F · Oct 2

A few small flowers in your Florida lawn might look like weeds to your HOA. To bees and…

By Aria Moore F · Oct 2

A flash of blue and a loud, scratchy call can make a fall morning in a Florida yard…

By Aria Moore F · Oct 1

Grass often thins out under Florida trees, even when you water it. Too much shade, thirsty roots, and…

By Aria Moore F · Oct 1

Pine straw looks tidy until a hard Florida rain sends it across the lawn. Living groundcovers can fill…

By Aria Moore F · Oct 1

Fall brings big bird movements across Florida, and kites are some of the most graceful fliers in the…

By Aria Moore F · Oct 1

A big, shiny black snake gliding across your Florida lawn can make your heart jump. But if it…

By Aria Moore F · Oct 1

A red-shouldered hawk can spot a rat moving through the grass or a snake crossing an open patch…

By Aria Moore F · Oct 1

A thick hedge can look beautiful while giving rats a place to hide. Leaves and mulch piled against…

By Aria Moore F · Sep 30

A lush bed beside your house can hide more than bare soil. In Florida, damp leaves and crowded…

By Aria Moore F · Sep 30

A bare, sandy bed can look tired by fall, but it does not need a sprinkler to come…

By Aria Moore F · Sep 30

A fruit tree can make a Florida yard feel like a little paradise, but fallen fruit can also…

By Aria Moore F · Sep 30

Some fruit trees demand constant spraying, pruning, and worry. A Japanese persimmon asks for much less once it…

By Aria Moore F · Sep 30

Whiteflies can turn a healthy Florida shrub into a sticky mess. Lacewing larvae eat whiteflies, and flowering native…

By Aria Moore F · Sep 30

A driveway border can look tidy without becoming another weekly chore. The trick is to choose Florida natives…

By Aria Moore F · Sep 29

A great blue heron can turn an ordinary Florida yard into a place worth watching. These tall birds…

By Aria Moore F · Sep 29

Summer in Florida can leave orchids looking rough, with droopy leaves, tired roots, and pots that never seem…

By Aria Moore F · Sep 29

No-see-ums can turn a Florida porch into a place nobody wants to sit. Fragrant plants make the space…

By Aria Moore F · Sep 29

Firebush is the shrub with fiery orange-red flowers that hummingbirds love to visit. Late September is when many…

By Aria Moore F · Sep 29

A big black-and-white bird gliding over your yard can stop you mid-step. If it was a Swallow-tailed Kite,…

By Aria Moore F · Sep 29

Some of Florida’s most useful native plants grow so low that people step right past them. Axilflower is…

By Aria Moore F · Sep 28

A few fireflies can make a Florida yard feel magical after sunset. But many fall cleanup habits remove…

By Aria Moore F · Sep 28

Mosquitoes can make a Florida yard feel unusable right when you want to be outside. Dragonflies help because…

By Aria Moore F · Sep 28

If you have spotted large, slow-moving yellow insects chewing through your garden beds or ornamental plants, you are…

By Aria Moore F · Sep 28

Painted buntings are among the most striking birds that visit Florida yards, but most homeowners never see one…

By Aria Moore F · Sep 28

Storm cleanup can make your yard look busy in more ways than one. As branches move, water drains,…

By Aria Moore F · Sep 28

Gardenias are one of North Florida’s most rewarding landscape shrubs, but they do need the right care at…

By Aria Moore F · Sep 27

Mosquitoes can turn a Florida evening into a race back indoors. Bats will not erase every mosquito, but…

By Aria Moore F · Sep 27

Fall migration is a hungry season for hummingbirds moving through Florida. Tiny birds burn energy fast, so a…

By Aria Moore F · Sep 27

Brown seed pods on a crape myrtle can make an otherwise tidy yard look like it needs attention,…

By Aria Moore F · Sep 27

Anoles are tiny backyard helpers with quick feet, bright eyes, and a big appetite for small insects. In…

By Aria Moore F · Sep 27

Florida gardeners are finding a startling surprise on their landscape plants: a bright green caterpillar covered in sharp,…

By Aria Moore F · Sep 27

A claim making the rounds says one common Florida porch plant can make rats and roaches stop visiting…

By Aria Moore F · Sep 26

Areca palms look soft and tropical when they are happy, but in many Florida yards their fronds turn…

By Aria Moore F · Sep 26

Mosquitoes can turn a nice Florida porch into a place you avoid after sunset. Plants will not replace…

By Aria Moore F · Sep 26

A messy corner can make the whole yard feel harder than it is. In Florida, that spot may…

By Aria Moore F · Sep 26

Every summer, Florida skies fill with the graceful, fork-tailed silhouettes of Swallow-tailed Kites swooping over yards, wetlands, and…

By Aria Moore F · Sep 26

Fall color in Florida is not a lost cause. You just need trees that understand sandy soil, warm…

By Aria Moore F · Sep 26

Walking out to find a spreading brown patch in your Florida lawn can send you straight for the…

By Aria Moore F · Sep 25

Mexican petunia can look pretty at first, but many Florida gardeners learn the hard way that it spreads…

By Aria Moore F · Sep 25

Every hurricane season, well-meaning Florida homeowners reach for the pruning saw and give their palms a severe haircut,…

By Aria Moore F · Sep 25

Bamboo can make a bare Florida fence line look private in a hurry. That fast growth is the…

By Aria Moore F · Sep 25

Mandevilla vines can turn from lush to leggy almost overnight during Florida’s warm growing season, sending long bare…

By Aria Moore F · Sep 25

Florida summer can make many hydrangeas look tired by lunchtime. Heat, sandy soil, sudden downpours, and bright sun…

By Aria Moore F · Sep 25

A low-growing plant called frogfruit has been quietly spreading through Florida yards, and some homeowners in deed-restricted communities…

By Aria Moore F · Sep 24

A butterfly garden can look full of flowers and still be missing the real nursery. Adult butterflies sip…

By Aria Moore F · Sep 24