Specific information on the wildlife value of approximately 150 native trees and shrubs with direction on how to incorporate each into your garden.

Many counties in Florida now require that new commercial landscapes contain a percentage of native plants. Native landscapes are easier to maintain, use less water and thrive without chemical pesticides and fertilizers. Native Florida Plants describes every type of regional flora—-from seaside foliage and wildflowers to grassy meadows, shrubs, vines, and aquatic gardens—-in 301 profiles and accompanying color photographs.

Florida is home to an entire library of native plants that evolved to thrive in its range of climate regions. Native Plants for Florida Gardens profiles 100 Florida native wildflowers, shrubs, vines and trees that can transform typical Florida landscapes. Striking color photography showcases species and flowering characteristics. With the expertise of the Florida Wildlife Foundation, anyone can create lovely, low-maintenance gardens that will tolerate Florida’s roughest conditions, resist disease, and support biodiversity.

Descriptions and photographs for 70 native plants that will thrive with little care in the yards of most Florida homeowners. Covers the peninsula south of Marion, Levy, and Volusia counties through the Keys.

More and more Florida residents are deciding to replace highly fertilized, over-watered, pesticide-dependent lawns with native plants. They want to reduce their carbon footprints; save time, water, and money; and attract birds and butterflies. But where to begin? This illustrated guide will help you create new outdoor spaces that are both sustainable and beautiful. Taking the common ⅓-acre lot as an example, Ginny Stibolt and Marjorie Shropshire provide a sample layout for a basic native plant landscape. They use a grid system that allows gardeners to work on their yards in small sections instead of trying to revamp the entire landscape at once. The grid system can also be reduced or expanded for yards of varying size. By breaking down the process into individual steps, creating a Florida garden is achievable for beginners and experts alike. The first step is assessing your property and choosing which plants to keep and which to remove. Then, design your landscape to soak up more stormwater through the use of rain barrels, rain gardens, or ponds. The next steps involve planting trees, understory plants, and installing butterfly gardens. There are additional instructions for building wild areas into your landscape to provide habitat for birds and pollinators; creating a flexible outdoor room perfect for your family's needs today and into the future; and using plants to cool the air, provide screening for privacy, buffer incoming winds, and reduce noise. By following these methods, anyone can convert all or part of their yard into a more natural area without using pesticides or artificial fertilizers, which will save money, reduce pollution, and help support wildlife. Complete with detailed diagrams, a timeline for growth and maintenance, and lists of suggested plants for each step, this guide will help readers set up an environmentally friendly habitat and give them the time and peace of mind to enjoy it.

As Florida is developed the native flora is often replaced with non-native plants. Wildlife habitat is reduced; water, fertilizer and pesticide usage increases; and the appearance of Florida is altered. But you can help reduce the damage being done to our ecosystems by viewing your yard as part of the natural system. This book will help you make a plan that will work for your yard and choose the native plants that will thrive there. You will have the joy of creating an aesthetically pleasing, life-supporting, and environmentally sensitive landscape. Methods for a small fruit and vegetable garden are also covered.

In this eloquent plea for compassion and respect for all species, journalist and gardener Nancy Lawson describes why and how to welcome wildlife to our backyards. Through engaging anecdotes and inspired advice, profiles of home gardeners throughout the country, and interviews with scientists and horticulturalists, Lawson applies the broader lessons of ecology to our own outdoor spaces. Detailed chapters address planting for wildlife by choosing native species; providing habitats that shelter baby animals, as well as birds, bees, and butterflies; creating safe zones in the garden; cohabiting with creatures often regarded as pests; letting nature be your garden designer; and encouraging natural processes and evolution in the garden. The Humane Gardener fills a unique niche in describing simple principles for both attracting wildlife and peacefully resolving conflicts with all the creatures that share our world.