To sit in the shade on a fine day and look upon verdure is the most perfect refreshment.

~ Jane Austen

“Mansfield Park”, 1814, p. 85

Our spring has been rough. Summertime temperatures teasingly near the 90’s with nary a drop of rainfall last month. Usually in April, Central Florida receives 3.78 inches of rain, but last month, Orlando only received .37 inches. Since the beginning of 2025, our rainfall is down 7 inches for the year. Fortunately, this month, in the first two weeks of May, we should catch up with the rainfall. We can hope for 6” to 7” just this week.

What does drought stress look like in the landscape?

Drought stressed blueberries, podocarpus, and viburnum.

So what should you do if you find your shrubs?

• Handwater your plants on the days you cannot irrigate. Make sure you saturate rootball.

• Make sure irrigation system is hitting the base of the plant. Remember its the rootball that needs water, not the leaves.

• Hold off on fertilizing till rains arrive.

• Cut the brown fronds or foliage out.

• Do not spray pesticides.

Two ways to help prevent drought-stress in Spring and WInter:

• Right Plant, Right Place based on your soil conditions, either xeric, mesic, or hydric soils.

• Add organic amendments to your soil. One bag of topsoil or compost, one bag of peat, and one bag of manure for every 10 square feet of area.

Here is a great chart for building healthy Soil with organic amendments:

Find out how to have a great landscape in May, despite the heat and lack of rain. Check it out!

In April, our Art in Bloom Garden Tour traveled to Savannah, Georgia, and Charleston, South Carolina. We visited hidden gardens in Savannah, toured historic homes and plantations, learned how to propagate beautiful irises, and enjoyed a delicious cooking lesson of classic Southern cuisine, and dining in style with a night dinner cruise!  Don’t miss another garden adventure. Go to Art in Bloom Garden Tours!  Tony and I would love to have you join us!

Lizzie’s showing off her amaryllis and warns about being a jive turkey! Her life experience with a bird in the hand and two in the bushes is real. Lizzie talks turkey in her post this month.

Savannah and Charleston have beautiful, shade-tolerant pocket gardens in nearly every landscape. They use dwarf mondo grass as turf, Confederate jasmine on wrought iron fences, and this fun ornamental plant survives Zone 7 winters, and Zone 11 hot temperatures. My Plant of the Month also has yellow Asteraceae flowers. In the shade! Find out what it is and try it! Its architectural foliage is perfect for elegant, whimsical, or classic gardens.

When I go to the theme parks, I admire their instant landscapes that provide that ‘Wow’ factor around every corner. The designs, plant selections, and colors are inspiring. But usually, the theme park attraction landscapes are used as seasonal plantings and expensive. They are designed to be short-term, and believe me; we pay for it in every ticket. City and county landscapes on the other hand, should be examples of sustainable landscapes. My Landscape Malpractice this month was beautiful but not sustainable or cheap, and the location was on a rarely used avenue. It will be interesting to watch it over the next year and see how these new hybrid perennials will do.

My design tip this month is a creative exercise for a landscape that has great bones and potential. Let me know what you would do with an empty slate landscape with a beautiful fountain.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the women who are Moms! Moms with children, Stepmoms, Moms of fur babies and reptiles, Frat Moms, and teachers who serve as Moms in the classroom. My Mom loved roses. Our family consisted of six children in nine years, so she was running from morning till night. She only had one rose bush at a time. But it was always a beautiful rose when it bloomed. Great memories.

If you don’t want to get up early to listen to Better Lawns and Gardens, you can always listen to our podcast here.

Take it easy this month in the landscape, try not to stress out your lawn with excessive chemical treatments. The rainy season will be here shortly.

City beautification is an important part of a community’s aesthetics. Beautiful garden beds in medians, along main thoroughfares, and streets add to the ambiance and sense of place in a city. Attractive municipal landscapes can help educate the city’s residents and provide support for environmental programs, like “protecting and providing resources for pollinators”. Correct landscape municipal garden beds can also be inspirational

At first when I turned onto this street and saw the bright explosion of this colorful red and orange groundcover. I was pleased and appreciated the effort. As I drove down the street though, it was evident that these landscape beds were not sustainable and will eventually be chaotic, likely to stress, and become high maintenance. And the cost was on an attraction park’s instant landscape level, meaning very tightly packed and 2x the cost and labor necessary. What’s wrong?

The groundcover plants, Lantana camera. ‘Bloomify Red’ were planted two 1-gallon plants every foot in the 12” wide bed. The three individual beds measured 750’ in length with a total amount of plants numbering approximately 800+ plants.

The problem is that each of these plants will get to be 11: wide and 10” tall. This instant landscape has double the number of plants it actually needs. To be sustainable, there is only room for 450 - 500 plants.

When assessing plants for your landscape bed, space plants according to their mature width, not the initial size when plants are installed. I’ll be watching this “Bloomify Red” lantana lining this street to see how the flowers do, how many survive, and how they look after a year. 7

Source: Deng, Zhanao, and Sandra Barbour Wilson. ““BloomifyTM Red” and “BloomifyTM Rose”, Two Infertile Lantana Camara Cultivars for Production and Use in Florida.” EDIS, vol. 2017, no. 5, 30 Oct. 2017, edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/EP544, https://doi.org/10.32473/edis-ep544-2017. Accessed April 2025.

In my daily travels, I see yards that have potential. Would I love to have a crack at designing this landscape! Great bones, easy slope, full sun, and wonderful accoutrements, like a Spanish tile, water fountain, statues, and plants that enhance the Mediterranean-style home. But in its current state, it’s not positioned to enhance the home. The property is a large enough to expand the landscape with a classic pergola that welcomes guests graciously into their home. What would I do?

1. Move the water fountain closer to the home.

2. Add and transplant the bougainvillea.

3. Add a flagstone patio. Install a rectangular pergola that runs lengthway i

4. Add three 6’ x 6’ or 10’ x 10’ cement paver steps where each one goes down 8” down the slope with smaller steps further down the slope to road. On each side of three pavers plant perennial lantana or drift roses.

5. Transplant Yucca to succulent and agave landscape bed in front of house on each side.

6. Add 4’ x 2’ cement pavers to side of house.

7. Add Live oak and Olive trees on sides of front yard.

My design incorporates Florida-friendly principles with low-maintenance plants. My plan could be done in phases. I would plant the oak and olive tree first. Install the flagstone pathway, then move the water fountain. Transplant the yucca, add the arbor, transplant the bougainvillea, then add the walkway, finally add the succulent and agave landscape beds. Remember to retrofit the irrigation system.

Now, how would you design the yard to utilize the immense sloped front yard and create a welcoming landscaped entrance?

A warning and a sad lesson if you are thinking of purchasing a turkey poult.  

Broad breasted turkeys are not suitable as lifetime pets. They are for meat production due to their rapid growth and large size. Once they reach 14 to 18 weeks of age, it's crucial to butcher them to avoid health, mobility issues and self-inflicted injuries.   

On a positive note. My onions are thriving and are ready to be harvested and my Amaryllis ‘Sunshine Superstar’ Teresa gave me last year has survived! It has produced the most beautiful blooms (after I killed it 3x).

Updates through “Lizzie Said What” Facebook and Instagram social media.  Remember, life can be a joyful journey. Enjoying all moments is up to YOU! 

Begonias, Boxwoods, Caladiums, and Cypress, Oh My!

Begonias, Japanese Boxwoods, Caladiums, and Japanese Cypress, (Cryptomeria japonica ‘Globosa’)

What to Do in Your Backyard in May

Average temperatures in May: High 87 Low 62

Rainfall 3.47 inches

What to Plant:

Vegetables:

Amaranth, boniato, calabaza, cassava, chayote, cherry tomato, collards, dasheen, Everglades tomato, ginger, lima bean, longevity spinach, Long-squash, Luffa, snap bean, Malabar spinach, malanga, New Zealand spinach, Okinawa spinach, okra, papaya, hot pepper, peanuts, pigeon pea, pineapple, roselle, Seminole pumpkin, Southern pea, sugarcane, sweet potato, Swiss chard, tamarillo, yam, and yard-long bean.

Annual and Perennial Flowers:

African iris, ageratum, angelonia, Apostle iris, balsam, beach sunflower, begonias, black-eyed-Susan, blue daze, blue sage, bromeliads, browallia, bulbine, bush daisy, butterfly weed, cat's whiskers, celosia, cigar flower, coleus, coneflowers, coreopsis, cosmos, crossandra, Dahlberg daisy, dusty miller, gaillardia, gazania, gerbera, goldenrod, gomphrena, impatiens, Jacobina, Jewels of Opar, lantana, Justicia, leopard plant, liatris, lion’s tail, marigolds, melampodium, Mexican heather, milkweed, moon vine, New Guinea impatiens, nicotiana, nierembergia, Nun’s orchid, ornamental sweet potato, pentas, periwinkle, phlox, Porter weed, portulaca, purslane, salvia, scorpion tail, Stoke’s aster, sunflowers, terrestrial orchids, toad lily, torenia, verbena, whirling butterflies, yellow alder, and zinnias.

Herbs:

Anise, basil, bay laurel, cardamom, chives, coriander, dill, fennel, lemon balm, oregano, rosemary, sage, savory, sweet marjoram, mint, tarragon, and thyme.

Bulbs:

Achimenes, agapanthus, Alocasia, amaryllis, blackberry lilies, blood lilies, bulbine, caladiums, calla lilies, cannas, crinums, crocosmia, Colocasia, day lilies, eucharis lily, gladiolus, gloriosa lilies, hurricane lilies, lily of the Nile, peacock ginger, society garlic, rain lilies, spider lilies, St. Bernard’s lilies.

Shrubs and Trees:

In Florida, most shrubs and tree species can be planted year-round.

Lawn Maintenance:

• May is still our dry season. Set irrigation for 1.15 inches two times a week if there is no rainfall.

• Check rain sensors are working.

• Rake out brown leaf blades in turf that declined from winter.

• Some areas of lawns may have died during the winter or with the drought; add new sod or plugs.

• Make sure lawns and shrubs are watered thoroughly with rainfall or irrigation before final spring feedings with slow-release no-phosphorus fertilizers.

• Retrofit irrigation systems to separate turf zone and landscape bed zone.

• If needed, apply an iron-only or minor nutrient fertilizer to regreen yellow lawns.

• Check for chinch bugs in yellowing areas of St. Augustine grass; treat at needed

• Walk yards on weekly basis to look for sod webworm moths flying up from turf.

• For low maintenance, reduce lawns areas needed for family and pet areas.

• May is a good month to seed Bahia lawns.

• Avoid mowing with dull blades; sharpen blades every five mowings.

• Measure leaf blades to make sure the lawn it being cut at the proper height – remember the height of the blades is typically the depth of the roots.

• Take a new route at each mowing to avoid ruts in the lawn.

• Dig out or spot kill weeds and replace with plugs of grass or sod.

• Aerate older compacted and hard to wet lawns.

• Turf needs at least 5 hours of sunlight a day. Select shade-tolerant grasses or an ornamental ground cover for difficult shady spots.

Landscape care:

• Plant Easter lilies, amaryllis, and poinsettias in the landscape.

• Put declining tulips, hyacinths, and other forced bulbs into the compost pile.

• Walk yards on a weekly basis to catch pest issues promptly.

• Look under the foliage and move hand over shrub foliage to notice any pests flying up.

• All winter-damaged ornamental grass fronds should be removed.

• Reshape and prune shrubs with dieback or winter damage.

• Avoid shearing across the tops of shrubs and perennials unnecessarily; remove out of bound shoots with hand pruners.

• Have older trees checked by certified arborists before hurricane season and prices go up.

• Look for sap-stained bark, hollow areas, oozing, in twin trunks as signs of tree problems.

• Shape young shade trees to have one central leader with evenly spaced branches.

• Maintain a 3” mulch layer under trees, shrubs, and garden beds to help conserve moisture, reduce weeds, and enhance landscape.

• Older shade trees seldom need fertilization.

• Lift up and remove tree limbs affecting traffic along walkways.

• Keep new trees and shrub plantings moist with additional hand-watering if there is not enough rainfall.

• Use low-volume irrigation to conserve water.

• Create rain gardens to redirect excess water from home..

• Correct drainage problems before the rainy season arrives.

• Make sure new plant selections have adequate room to grow.

• Select plants for pool and patio areas that do not drop messy flowers or foliage.

• One application of a slow-release fertilizer could feed your plants through summer.

• Feed palms with an 8-2-12-4 or similar slow-release palm fertilizer according to label.

• Fertilize all flower beds and shrub plantings with slow-release fertilizer as the rainy season returns.

• Deadhead spent flowers from annuals to encourage new blooms.

• Plant shady gardens with shade-tolerant flowers, shrubs, bulbs and foliage plants.

• Cut back perennials finishing their spring bloom.

• Complete pruning of azaleas and camellias this month.

• Transplant palms when the rainy season returns.

• Feed container gardens weekly or use a slow-release fertilizer as labeled.

• Control rose pests by using systemic products for insects, only water the roots, not the foliage, and providing good air circulation.

• Kill adult lubber grasshoppers by stepping on them or cutting them. Look for pairs.

• Turn compost piles every two weeks. They may need to be watered 2x – 3x this month.

• Feed water lilies and lotus monthly.

• Begin rooting cuttings of favorite shrubs and perennials.

• Collect and sow seeds from your favorite plants or save them until the proper time.

• Pull or spot kill weeds among shrubs and flower beds.

• Reapply mulch if not 3” thick.

Vegetable and fruit plantings:

• Check your herbs and vegetables every day. Check for insects and soil moisture.  

• Feed vegetable plantings monthly.

• It’s too late for most tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants; select summer tolerant vegetables.

• Maintain 3” mulch in the garden and use low-volume irrigation to conserve water.

• Keep bananas and papaya moist and feed monthly to have flowers by late summer.

• Give citrus, grapes, and other fruit trees a late spring feeding.

• Prune blackberries and blueberries when fruiting is over.

• Harvest maturing crops to keep the plants producing.

• Remove declining fruit plantings and add new varieties.

• Trellis vine crops to save space and prevent diseases.

• Use soil solarization treatments to control nematodes and diseases.

• Control fruit worms and leaf spots on vegetables with natural sprays as needed.

• Control aphids feeding in new shoots with an insecticidal soap spray.

• Incorporate aged compost with planting sites to improve sandy soil.

• Purchase seeds now for planting in August; seed displays are often removed from stores during summer.

Foliage & houseplants:

• Give weak and thinning foliage plants a spot in the shade outdoors to recover.

• Check water needs daily.

• Plants that are wilting often need to be checked for overgrown root system and not enough soil. If root bound, water plants well, then next day, cut a third of the roots off, and add more soil. Replant in same pot or move to larger pot.

• Remove yellow leaves and faded flowers.

• Reshape taller tree-form foliage plants and remove declining limbs.

• Move orchids outdoor under trees for the summer.

• Divide African violets, bromeliads, and orchids.

• Place plants in bathtub or sink, wash pests and dust away with soapy water.

• If you go on vacation, move plants to bathtub or sinks and fill with several inches of water to keep them watered while you’re away.

• Feed outdoor foliage plants with a slow-release fertilizer.

1. Daylilies, Hemerocallis spp.

2. Osteospermum spp.

3. Calla lilies, Zantedeschia spp.

4. Angelonia angustifolia,

5. Rain lilies, Zephyranthes spp.

A welcome to April with joy for the year,
The winter has gone, the spring-time is here…

~Phebe A. Holder, "An April Song"

I’ve been working on my garden. I had a new horizontal fence put up in the front yard, Planted roses, spirea, Dianella ‘Clarity Blue’, crocosmias, and lots of tomatoes, onions, and peppers. My blueberries have flushed out with their leaves. I think my Blueberry Gnome inspired them. My granddaughter took my faded light sky-blue capped gnome and repainted him. Bella did a great job, don’t you think?

Florida has two ideal seasons to garden. In the Spring we wake up with cool mornings and end with hot high 80-degree days. At the end of March, North Florida had temperatures in the high 20’s. Wow! Then in the Fall we get glimpses of cooler mornings and end with hot afternoons, yearning for winter. Maybe the heat is not ideal but at least we get two seasons to grow tomatoes! Check out what else you can grow and what you can do in April.

Have you ever seen a garden gate and wanted to go right in? Gates can create a welcoming invitation into a garden. And you don’t need a fence! I give you the details in this month’s design tips.

“Going out to the garden is to go on a holiday; when you travel amongst the flowers; your body touches heaven and your mind tastes the secrets of ataraxia*.

 ~ Mehmet Murat ildan

Seeing beautiful gardens is the secret to knowing what you would like in your garden. It’s how I get inspired and know what to design for my clients’ landscapes. Art in Bloom Garden Tours has three upcoming captivating destinations for inspiration: The Newport Flower Show and Historic Blithewold Mansion, and Block Island, June `9th - June 23rd, 2025, The Buffalo Garden Walk and Niagara Falls, Canada, July 16th - July 21st, 2025, and the Gardens of Scotland, August 13th - 23rd, 2025. For more information: Art in Bloom Garden Tours

*Ataxaria: tranquility of the mind.

National Arbor Day is April 25th, 2025. Before you plant a tree, make sure you don’t make this big mistake. It’s one of the most common landscape malpractices.

Speaking of trees, my Plant of the Month fills in nicely for a showy Spring display for a woodland look. It’s fragrant, has Fall color, and no pest problems. It’s a shrub that will give you a Northern feel in your landscape. Have you ever grown one? Teresa’s Plant of the Month.

Let me know if you are enjoying my newsletter so far, if it helps you. If you have any garden questions, you can call into Better Lawns and Gardens Saturday mornings 7am to 9am 1.888.455.2967 or text 23680.

Have a lovely April in your garden.

This oak tree is planted only 3 feet from the foundation of the home. How far away should it have been planted?

Canopy tree shall mean a species of tree  that  which  normally grows to a mature height of  forty (40) feet or more.   (Florida ordinance)

Builders and developers are mandated by municipal building codes to plant a determined amount of canopy trees per property. The builder documents on submitted landscape plans where the trees are to be planted. The plan is approved. Why are builders allowed to plant canopy trees in the wrong location?

This oak tree, depending on the species, will grow 40’ to 60’ high and 60’ to 120’ wide. The tree in the photo above is planted 3’ from the foundation of the home. This very common practice is landscape malpractice to the ultimate degree. It puts the onus of the unknowing homeowner to pay for the cost to remove or transplant the tree to a proper location.

April 25th is National Arbor Day and everyone is encouraged to plant a tree. Please research to find out the mature width of your tree and plant it where it can grow to be its healthiest and live a long life.

Despite its cute little conical-shaped canopy, the oak tree above should be planted at least 30’ away from the home just like the oak trees in the background.

Who’s to blame? Whoever in the building code department who is signing off on the submitted landscape plans of new communities. They should know better - they write the rules.

I love the fragile looking and twiggy Bridal Wreath Spirea. The beautiful white flowers of Bridal Wreath Spirea are fragrant and last for a long time in March and April. Spirea is a must for woodland gardens, cottage, and butterfly gardens. This ethereal shrub is deciduous with bright gold, burgundy, or orange leaves in Fall.

Very low maintenance, plant this old-fashioned beauty in the back of your garden where it can bend and hang carefree. While it doesn’t need a lot of water, Spirea does thrive better with organic-rich soil amendments in sandy soils.