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Monday, February 20, 2012

Do you have a Florida-Friendly Landscape?

Have your gardening practices changed in recent years so that you're more conscious of the Florida environment and your impact on it?

The University of Florida Extension Service has worked diligently in the past decade to educate gardeners through The Florida Yards & Neighborhoods (FYN) Homeowner Program on good sound practices that can help all of us lessen our impact on Florida's environment and beautiful waterways.

So, let's see how you're doing. Do you follow the 9 Florida-Friendly Landscaping Principles?

1) Right plant, right place
2) Water efficiently
3) Fertilize appropriately
4) Mulch
5) Attract Wildlife
6) Control Yard Pests Responsible
7) Recycle
8) Reduce Stormwater Runoff
9) Protect the Waterfront

Not sure? Well, you can find out by using the FYN Official Yard Recognition Checklist to see how you're doing. And, if you'd like you can even have a county FYN agent or Yard Advisor visit your home to determine if your garden is eligible for Gold or Standard recognition. And, if your garden qualifies as a "Florida-Friendly Yard" you'll receive a certificate and a sign to display in your yard.

To get started explore their interactive 'home' for to learn more about the 9 Florida-Friendly Landscaping Principles.

Nanette O'Hara's yard in the Tampa Bay area has been recognized as a Florida-Friendly Landscape. You can read more about  the transition of her small yard on her blog Bay-Friendly Landscaping.  If anyone else has had their yard recognized or should it be recognized in the future, please contact me so I can add a link to your blog to inspire others to work towards this goal.


For more inspiration enjoy the U of F photo gallery of "Florida-Friendly Landscapes."

Other Florida gardeners who have "Certified Florida Yards" are:

Hoe & Shovel
at

12 comments:

  1. Danielle2:12 PM

    Thank you for all this wonderful information!!!

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  2. Berta3:52 AM

    That is sooo cool! What a great incentive. Thank you for putting this in place. I hope to work towards this "gold seal". I just love Florida gardening but have moved so much We haven't been able to make much headway towards this. This give me the extra boost to do it anyway if only in containers :-)

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  3. Nanette6:08 AM

    I sure wish more people would have their yards certified. It would really help boost the visibility of the program and show "unbelievers" just how beautiful Florida-Friendly Yards can be. I see so many landscapes that I feel would be good candidates for the yard recognition, and really appreciate your efforts to promote the program.

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  4. Susan8:40 AM

    Danielle and Berta...Fortunately the Florida Extension Service has done a great job providing Florida gardeners with the information they need to create beautiful Florida-Friendly gardens.

    Nanette...Thank you for being such a wonderful resource on how we can all make our gardens more Florida-Friendly. I look forward to and enjoy each of your posts. Keep up the good work!

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  5. garden tours7:17 PM

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Meems4:22 AM

    This is a great article to raise awareness of the principles of Florida-Friendly gardening. My yard is certified also. It is a simple process I wish more folks would do. Thanks for this, Susan.

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  7. Anonymous4:57 PM

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Susan4:33 PM

    Hi Meems...Thanks for letting me know. I'll include a link to your blog, too.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Jamie8:53 AM

    Gardening can also be enhanced by placing statues of people and animals. Moreover, mini fountains with LED lights can beautify gardens and as part of patio design ideas

    ReplyDelete
  10. Mary Smith12:23 PM

    Thanks for the info. I'll have to check out getting certified.

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  11. Peel Fencing2:39 AM

    Hi, good day! You have a nice and great article. It has a lot of information to build a wonderful backyard. Thank u for sharing a wonderful post.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Charles4:03 AM

    Nice initiative of U of F to educate gardeners!

    ReplyDelete

Welcome and thank you for visiting Central Florida Gardener. This blog was created as a resource for Florida gardeners, and as a forum where we can communicate with our neighbors...offering comments and advice.

Please feel free to join in on the conversation, and if you have a Florida garden blog, please email me ( see profile page) with your URL, so I can include you on our blogroll. Thanks again for visiting, and for leaving your comments.