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What is a Florida-Friendly Landscape?

Florida is a popular place to live because of its appealing climate, unique beauty, and great quality of life. But gardening here can be tough! Florida soils are typically sandy, summers are hot, and insects are abundant. As a gardener, you know how hard it can be to keep your plants alive, your lawn green, and your flowers blooming.  

That’s where University of Florida/IFAS Extension’s Florida Yards & Neighborhoods program can help. It makes creating and maintaining a quality landscape both easier and more Florida-Friendly through numerous helpful concepts, tools, and techniques.

Our tips on cost-saving, efficient landscapes will help you reduce water, fertilizer, and pesticide use. Plus, a Florida-Friendly Landscape can be designed to suit your tastes, community, and lifestyle. Whether you’re establishing a new landscape or making changes to an existing one, this book will guide you through the process.  

A Florida-Friendly Landscape is not only beautiful, it is also environmentally friendly. It stabilizes soil, prevents erosion, filters pollutants, and reduces harmful runoff—all of which contribute to preserving Florida’s unique natural resources. From the fertilizers you apply to the water you use, your gardening choices can have an impact on land, water, and wildlife. What you do in your landscape matters. 

Start creating your Florida-Friendly Landscape with the help of nine key principles:

  1. Right Plant, Right Place
  2. Water Efficiently
  3. Fertilize Appropriately
  4. Mulch
  5. Attract Wildlife
  6. Manage Yard Pests Responsibly
  7. Recycle
  8. Reduce Stormwater Runoff
  9. Protect the Waterfront

Services

Florida Yards & Neighborhoods is brought to Floridians by the University of Florida/IFAS Extension Service, which has offices in every county in the state. UF/IFAS Extension offers the public the following services at either no charge or for a minimal fee:

  • Workshops and classes
  • Plant and landscape advice based on current University of Florida research
  • Official yard recognition program
  • Certification program for new communities and developments

The program also offers online resources, including numerous publications, a tutorial for custom landscape design, and a plant database.

 

Florida-Friendly Landscaping Program Office
htt://fyn.ifas.ufl.edu
Phone: (352) 273-4517

A Florida-Friendly recognition yard sign