Elected Collier
County Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisor 1990 Former Organic
Gardening magazine columnist and seed tester SPECIALIZING
IN FRAGRANT, HERBAL, EDIBLE, LOW-MAINTENANCE GARDENS THAT
CONSERVE WATER, MINIMIZE CHEMICAL USAGE AND ARE ENVIRONMENTALLY SOUND MIAMI SHORES
FLORIDA USA Zone 10 -- South
Florida my other webpages: HomeLand
PlanningMusic in word and photos Cats
What is a Certified Florida
Yard, aka a "Florida Friendly Yard" and why
is it something to be proud of?
It means that you are trying to
design a yard that conserves water by grouping plants according to water
needs (eliminating blanket irrigation, which wastes water), minimizing
grass area (eliminating the need for lots of irrigation, chemicals and
noise pollution from mowers and edgers), using lots of mulch to keep down
weeds and conserve water, and other environmentally-friendly measures.
This certification is in the Florida Yards and Neighborhoods (FYN)
program. From their website: Key focal areas include water conservation,
improved water quality, proper fertilizer and pesticide use, proper plant
selection, and other issues related to protecting water resources.
I removed every blade of grass
in my backyard when I moved in 10 years ago. I allow the leaves from my
heritage oaks to remain on the ground and supplement them with purchased
mulch (leaving yard 'waste' onsite is a factor that will get your points
in the FYN rating system :-)
On Monday, July 7, 2003, FYN
Agent Laura Vazquez toured my yard and gave it a passing grade of 61.5.
To become certified you only need 36, so I'm confident I'm doing my part
for the environment. I hope you will too. To read more about the Florida
Friendly yard program, and perhaps to call and get your yard certified,
visit: http://miami-dade.ifas.ufl.edu/programs/fyn.htm
or call 305-248-3311 x 245 or email mmbeckford@mail.ifas.ufl.edu
Angel Trumpets sweetly
scent the night air outside my front door.
I was
the Zone 10 columnist for Organic Gardening
magazine for years.
I
have been an organic gardener since childhood,
and
will share with you many tips I have gathered over the years.
What sort of garden
are you?
I took the test
and up popped a sunflower and the following message:
You
are a summery cottage garden! Lots of colorful flowers happily grow and
multiply, slightly
unkempt
and very well loved. You and your bird friends sing happy silly songs while
clipping
branches
of lavender to bring into your kitchen. You are optimistic, outgoing and
generous.
Yes,
that's pretty much me! What
sort of garden are you? Visit
Quizilla.com
to see what type of garden you are.
Pictures of some of my favorite
plants growing in my garden
Galangal is a root from Thailand, used in soups and to
flavor other food. It is similar to ginger, but hotter in flavor.
The large, tropical leaves provide a nice landscape accent. This
plant is one year old, and just flowered for the first time. This scanned
with a pinkish tone, the flower is actually white with red markings. You
can find the fresh roots in some Asian grocery stores, and plant it in
your garden or in a pot. D
CARDAMOM Eletteria cardamom
The fragrant seed pod from this plant is a staple
in Indian cuisine. It is a rough-textured plant that has good landscape
use in South Florida.
FRAGIPANI aka PLUMERIA
This is a photo of 3' cuttings I took from the Mother
tree. The blooms last all spring and summer. They smell like ripe peaches.
After you water in the cutting to establish the plant, you never need to
water it again!
A tropicana rose and mexican petunias frolic together
in a xeriscape bed.
LEMON HONEYSUCKLE Lonicera spp.
This purple-leaf Japanese honeysuckle is drought-tolerant
and a wonderful additon to a garden. The flowers cluster is so large, it
looks like a 5" dia. yellow rose from a distance, and is beautiful against
the dense foliage. The fragrance is fabulous, an identical combination
of lemon and honeysuckle.
COLLARDS Brassica oleracea
Every Southern garden -- and Northern ones, too, should
include these attractive, nutritious plants. Hardy even after a freeze,
they need lots of room.
The big leafed green plant (without the red flowers)
is Patchouli getting it's little bit of sun around noon. It is a shade-loving
plant and is grown in Indonesia and other S. Pacific countries under coconuts,
as it is here. Smells wonderful, light and soft and woodsy.
This is the rarely-seen lemongrass that is used in candy, sweet drinks
and sweet foods. It is Cymbopogon flexuosus, East Indian lemongrass. The
thick-stalked West Indian variety, C. citratus, is used in Thai and Vietnamese
and Asian cooking, as it is not as sweet as this variety.
Symphytum officinale, Comfrey, subdued growing in the
tropics. In colder climates its seeds would have propagated all over the
garden, as it is quite invasive. Here in Miami is sits quietly, for five
years now. It should be used sparingly in the tropics, as the PAs associated
with liver damage may be greater here due to lack of cold season.
Rosemary frolics along my front path, often flowering three times a
year.
The Great "Curry vs. Curry"
Controversy This plant is the subject of
many newsgroup posts beause of the confusion between them because they
share a common name. I believe these are the first-ever side-by-side webpage photos
of the two. Enjoy.
^^^^Helichrysum
angustifolium
The small grey mound in the foreground is
H. angustifolium. The fragrance is warm, exotic,
buttery. The taste is bitter although some do report using the leaves in
biscuits, rolls, etc. Next to it is rosemary. Behind it are garlic
chives, roses and Aztec tarragon.
This plant only grows1-2' tall.
Other Helis are taller.
Murraya koenigii This is the true curry plant of India. The leaves are
added to curry mixtures. The leaves smell almost repulsively pungent (to
me). It is not related at all to powdered 'curry spice mix.' Instead, the
Indian people quickly fly the leaves of this plant in oil, and them remove
them before making a curry.
Update: Summer 2002 - this tiny
plant has grown into a 5'tree. I believe this is the dwarf variety, by
the size of the leaves
The purple flowers in front are
'tropical petunias',
When it blooms, I will add a photo
of its cousin,
Murraya paniculata,Orange
Jasmine, that has a beautiful fragrance.
Well, I finally remembered to take a photo of this wonderful,
fragrant plant in bloom, August, 2002. You can see why Murraya
paniculata is called orange jasmine -- the flower looks very
similar to an orange flowers. I would say the scent is more like night-blooming
jasmine (Cestrum nocturnum) than Jasminum officinalis, or an other Jasmine
specie (if anyone disagrees, please email me, somethimes I think my nose
plays tricks on me when many jasmine-type plants are blooming, which they
are now.
The leaves are also 'kinda' like citrus -- dark, leathery,
shiny. For perfumery, I stripped my plant of flowers right after this photo
was taken, and I macerated half in jojoba oil, half in alcohol. I add more
flowers every day as they appear.
Here in Miami, this plant can be used as a hedge, but
my plant is a standard, i.e, a single trunk about 4' high, with foliage
on top.
This is the tropical Caribbean and Latin American plant,
Culantro,
Eryngium foetidum. It smells and tastes just like Cilantro. Note the spikey,
painful seed heads. This variety has broader leaves than the more common
variety. The biggest leaf in this pic is slightly damaged and light in
color, usually they are dark green like the lowest leaf.
This plant is erroneously called Vietnamese cilantro.
I don't see any resemblance to cilantro. It's botanical name is Pologonum
odoratum, its Vietnamese name is rau ram. It is very good in egg dishes,
soups and fresh, in salads.
I just tranplanted this patchouli plant, Pogostemon
patchouli (may be incorrect sp. name, I have to wait until it flowers.
It is about 15" x 15" at this time, it will grow to 4'x4' in the shade
with good moisture. Grown under my Brugsmansia on the north side of the
house, by the front door.
Dracena fragrans, the Fragrant Corn Plant with fragrant flower
e
Nothing
is better than homegrown pineapple- super sweet!
FRUITS I GROW
IN MY GARDEN
Please note: all of the citrus were destroyed by the Florida
Citrus Police constitution-busting teams.
See links above (under the Kumquat
photo) for links to read more about this.
I just can't stand to remove
the names of the destroyed trees from this page, as I planted them and
tended them for years, and they deserve a memorial.
ATEMOYA Annona cherimola x squamosa
BANANA Musa acuminata (four kinds of rare mini bananas)
BARBADOS CHERRY Malphigia
BUDDA’S HAND CITRUS Citrus medica var. sarcodactylus
CATTLEY GUAVA Psidium littorale (yellow fruited)
COCONUT PALMS Cocos nucifera var. Yellow
Malayan
FIG, BROWN TURKEY Ficus carica
THAI LIME LEAF Citrus hystrix
JABOTICABA Myrciaria cauliflora
KUMQUAT, MEIWA - sweet variety Fortunella crassifolia
LEMON, MEYER Citrus limon
LIME, KEY LIME Citrus aurantifolia
LIME, MEXICAN Citrus latifolia
LOQUAT Eriobotrya japonica
MANGO Mangifera indica var. "Julie" (dwarf)
MIRACLE FRUIT
ORANGE, NAVEL Citrus sinensis
ORANGE, VALENCIA Citrus sinensis
SWEETSOP Annona
SURINAM CHERRY Eugenia unifolia
TANGERINE Citrus reticulata
VARIEGATED CALAMONDIN Calamondin
HERBS
and SPICES I
GROW IN MY GARDEN I
also design as many as possible into the gardens of clients.....
Allspice tree
Basil
Basil, Cinnamon
Basil, Holy
Basil, Lemon
Bay leaf
Callaloo
Cardamon
Catnip
Chives
Chives, Garlic or Chinese
Cilantro
Coriander, Vietnamese
Culantro
Curry Leaf two kinds, see pics, above
Dill
Epazote (bean herb)
Galangal root
Ginger root
Jasmine (true Jasmine, Sambac, Night-blooming and Carolina)
Lemon Hyssop
Lemon Marigold
Lemongrass - East and West Indian varieties
Mint
Mint, Chocolate
Mint, Orange or Earl Grey
Oregano, Cuban, variegated
Oregano, Italian
(not all can be grown year-round due to heat and humidity)
Penta
hosting a butterfly ---"Turtle" sniffing Rose scented geraniums
Information
Resources for South Florida Gardeners
Cooperative Extension
Offices These folks can help you with
xeriscaping, plant ID, insect and disease problems. A great resource. USDA experts will answer your questions. They also have
pamphlets and reference material for the public.
Broward 954-370-3725
Click
here for the Miami -Dade IFAS homepage Dade 305-248-3311
Palm Beach 561-233-1700
