9 Landscape Design Principles for Sarasota and Manatee Friendly Yards
In part 3, the final post of this 3 part blog we are going to delve in to, and elaborate on the 9 principles of landscaping a Florida Friendly Yard.
Sarasota and Bradenton, Florida are popular places to live because of their appealing climate, unique beauty, and great quality of life. However, 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.
These 9 principles will give you some ideas on how to make your Sarasota/Manatee yard Florida-Friendly. Plant-It Landscape conforms to these principles, and every day we do our part to create a more sustainable Florida!
7. Recycle
It’s easier than you think to recycle yard waste. Landscape maintenance activities such as mowing, pruning, and raking generate yard waste that you can compost or mulch, recycling valuable nutrients.
Here are some helpful tips for you:
- Leave clippings on the lawn so they will decompose and return nutrients to the turf. Using a mulching mower blade to cut grass into smaller pieces will speed up the decomposition rate. You can also use clippings as mulch or compost.
- Rake up leaves and pine needles and use them as mulch under trees and shrubs or add them to a compost pile. Leaves add nutrients to soil as they decompose.
- Create a compost pile in your yard. Compost is both an easy way to reduce the amount of waste you send to the landfill and a cheap way to get nutrients for your garden.
8. Reduce Storm Water Runoff
Filtering rain through your landscape protects waterways and replenishes the aquifer which is so critical when we go through periods of drought in Sarasota and Bradenton.
A rainstorm can wash exposed soil, landscape debris, oil, fertilizers, and pesticides off your landscape, which then becomes part of storm water runoff. In some form or another, every yard and neighborhood is connected to water resources. This connection may be immediate and obvious, like in a waterfront community, or gradual and unnoticed, through the flow of storm drains, ditches, streams, creeks, rivers, and groundwater.
To reduce the amount of Storm Water runoff in your Sarasota and Bradenton yard, follow these simple tips:
- Make sure grass clippings, soil, and fertilizer is swept off pathways and driveways onto your lawn, so they do not get washed in to storm drains.
- Frequently pick up pet waste from your yard to help reduce bacterial and nutrient pollution.
- If your home has rain gutters, aim the downspouts at a porous surface so water can soak into soil. If the soil is compacted, you can improve drainage by periodically aerating it. To prevent water from pooling next to your home’s foundation, extend downspouts further out into the yard and create a depressed area to collect storm-water for infiltration.
- Instead of conventional concrete or asphalt pathways, patios, and driveways, try using when possible, bricks, gravel, mulch, or other porous products. These types of materials allow rainwater to seep into the ground, helping to recharge groundwater and filter pollutants and reduce the amount of runoff from your yard.
9. Protect the Waterfront
Florida is covered with water. The state boasts over 10,000 miles of rivers and streams, about 7,800 lakes, more than 700 freshwater springs, and the second-longest coastline in the United States. Even if you do not reside on a waterfront, the land you live on is directly connected to a nearby body of water. Since bays and waterways contribute to the quality of life in Sarasota and Manatee, here are some tips to help you do you part in protecting Florida’s waters.
- Create shoreline vegetation. Most of the land along the water’s edge in Sarasota and Manatee County is called the riparian zone and is often a wetland. Some cities and counties require homeowners to establish a buffer zone to protect this area. If there is no buffer zone along your waterfront, add Florida-Friendly, low-maintenance plantings to help filter out pesticide and fertilizer runoff from adjacent lawns and landscaped areas.
- Create a maintenance-free zone in your yard. Whether you live on a natural or man-made body of water, it is important to designate a “maintenance-free zone”. This area helps to protect the water from runoff. Do not mow, fertilize, or apply pesticides in the maintenance-free zone. Select plants that will do well without fertilization or irrigation after establishment.
- Do not let grass clippings get washed into the body of water that adjoins your property, their high nutrient content can cause pollution. Frequently pick up all pet waste from your yard since this contains a lot of harmful bacteria.
Information contained in this blog post was obtained in part from the University of Florida IFAS Extension. www.FloridaYards.org
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