A Small South Florida Garden

These pages were last updated on 7-3-08.
 
 
"Let me bring you love from the fields --
Poppies red, and roses filled with summer rain."
-- Jethro Tull, "Songs from the Wood"

 

My husband and I live in an unassuming neighborhood in South Florida, on a long street of tract houses, all the same distance from the street.  We are busy people and don't have a lot of time to garden.  We have a sprinkler system and a lawn man that comes twice a month to cut the grass and use the weedeater for the lowest possible price.  Every couple of months I work in spurts to prune and feed, and I walk through often to just look around.  Our garden has to be able to survive and look good on this feast or famine care schedule, which may be a lot to ask.  But we have learned many lessons in ten years on the same property and things are coming together well because of it. 

What follows here are the areas of the garden, their plans and current states, what has worked and what hasn't - in short, a story of the development of a small, suburban South Florida garden.  Throughout, you will notice a strong emphasis on edible and other useful plants. 

This website is still under construction, and many more pages are in the works.  The Potager page is unfinished, but still linked, as the information is all there, just not edited to look pretty yet. Check out the Plant Index, the newest feature here.

** What's New? **  If you have been here before, you will notice several new things - mainly the pictures and diagrams, which some have asked about.  They are scattered throughout the pages.  Please read the new note on Pennyroyal!  Changes have been made in a few descriptions, notably Birch, Brugmansia, Chayote, Mint, Rattail Radish (with pictures!), some notes on rose pruning (with more on this to come), Sea Lettuce, and Tansy.  There are also updates on the Rose and Perennial Court and Behind the Wall.  For a page of all the pictures on the site, including a few that did not get put on any pages, see the Gallery.

For an idea of the proportions of the property and where the different areas are, see the overall property plan.

Feedback of any kind is welcome - please email me at info@stonepylon.com!
 
 


 

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Home  ** What's New? ** How It All Started * Garden Update October 2004 * Rose and Perennial Court * Rose Update Feb 2003 * Behind the Wall * Herb Circle * Tropical Edibles Area * Potager  * Potager Update Fall 2004 * Warm Season Planting 2005 * Succulent Beds * Wild Edibles * Caterpillars to Butterflies ** New! Building Healthy Soil ** Ecological Gardening * Index of Plants and Techniques Featured * Annual Vegetable Chart * Long Lasting Markers: Jewelry for Your Plants * Build a Gardening Notebook