The Neighborhood Gardener – June
Happy gardening!
Personalizing Your Florida-Friendly Landscape
Florida-Friendly Landscapes are all based on the same Nine Principles. But Florida-Friendly Landscaping encourages individual expression of beauty. As long as you apply the principles described in the FYN Handbook, your landscape can be Florida-Friendly and as individual as you want. More...
Plant of the Month: Torenia
Need a great flowering plant for your summer beds or hanging baskets? Check out the new torenia varieties that tolerate heat and humidity and bloom for months. More...
June in Your Garden
Annuals that can take full sun during the increasingly hot summer months include celosia, portulacas, vinca, and some coleus. Plant heat loving herbs, including basil, Mexican tarragon, and rosemary.
For more month-by-month gardening tips, check out the Florida Gardening Calendar. Three different editions of the calendar provide specific tips for each of Florida's gardening regions—North, Central, and South. More...
Friend or Foe? Foe: Fire Ants
Fire ants are notorious for their painful, burning stings that result in pustules and intense itching, which can persist for up to 10 days. There are several strategies that you can use to control them in your yard. More...
Master Gardener volunteers Return from Costa Rica
By: Tom Wichman, Statewide Master Gardener Program Coordinator
Along with 22 Master Gardener volunteers, I spent 12 days in Costa Rica, visiting both private and public gardens, enjoying the incredibly beautiful tropical foliage and flowers.
We also toured two volcanoes, Volcano Irazu and Volcano Arenal, and took a boat tour down the Caño Negro river, where there was plenty of wildlife to be seen. There was also a walking tour in the cloud rain forest. More...