The Neighborhood Gardener – November
Happy Fall Gardening!
Liatris Looks Luscious in the Landscape
Liatris is tough and beautiful at the same time; it’s native, drought tolerant, and has dramatic bottle-brush shaped flowers. There are at least 13 species of liatris and several hybrids that can be grown in zones 8 to 10B, so finding the right liatris for your landscape shouldn't be a problem. Plus, pollinators love these plants! (Photo: Beverly Turner; Jackson Minnesota; Bugwood.org) More
Window Box Basics
Window boxes add charm, character, and curb appeal to your house. The plant combinations are truly endless; no matter if your style is modern-minimalist, cottage, or artistic, you can likely find a window box and plants to match your aesthetic. When looking for plants, select low growing, colorful, cascading plants. Keep plant height in mind — you want to be able to see attractive plants out your window, but you don’t want them to obscure your view. (Photo: Jenny Trello) More
Seed Saving
Collecting seeds is one way to take your passion for gardening to the next level. You can collect seeds from annuals, perennials, vegetables, and fruits in your garden with varying degrees of ease. Just be aware that not all plants grown from seed will look exactly like the plants they are gathered from (their parent plants). Part of the fun of collecting seeds is growing your own low-cost plants and having extras to share with friends. More
Wendy's Wanderings
Oaks, elms, crapemyrtles, maples, and many other deciduous trees will soon be dropping their leaves on our lawns and landscapes. If you don’t know where your rake is you might want to locate it. Some gardeners see fallen leaves as a chore and others see them as free mulch, compost, and soil amendment. One of the 9 Florida-Friendly Landscaping™ principles is recycling so if you are stuffing leaves into a bag and setting them on the curb think about what you can do with those leaves to make your landscape more Florida-Friendly. More
Plant of the Month: European Fan Palm
Looking for a cold-hardy palm? Maybe something multi-trunked and compact? Well look no further than European fan palm, Chamaerops humilis. Its palmate leaves can add a tropical look to your landscape in a variety of ways, perhaps for poolside ambiance or as a landscape accent piece. And North Florida gardeners can rejoice at the hardiness of these palms which grow in zones 8 to 11. More
Common Landscape Pitfalls: Irrigation Edition
Landscapes with plants that match their preferred growing conditions require less water, fertilizer, pesticides, and maintenance than landscapes with plants growing in the wrong locations. When choosing the right plant for the right place, there are a number of factors to consider to ensure a long-lived, healthy landscape. Proper irrigation plays a huge role in the well-being of your landscape plants. More
November in Your Garden
With the growth of some plants slowing down, it’s time to cut back on your irrigation. Your plants may do best with watering only once a week during these (hopefully) cooler months. Consider brightening your planting beds with cool-season annuals like pansies, and of course there are many cool-season vegetables to plant this month.
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.
What's Going On?
If your Master Gardener program or Extension office is having an event, be sure to share it with us.