Florida is famous for all sorts of scenic sights, such as our sunrise and sunset beauty to our more tanned and colorful beach-bathing beauties. As I walk out my front door in the early morning sunlight, espying my garden with barely open eyes, I glimpse dew-touched petals and leaves wafting with their soft fragrances, unaffected by the heat of the day. Each afternoon as I pull into my driveway after a long day's work, my heart beams with pride and enthusiasm providing me with a burst of energy as I survey my front yard's explosion of beauty blooming from corner to corner. It entices me to walk for a few moments of peace and quiet, giving me time to adjust my attitude, which is suffering from a hectic day. I take the opportunity to gaze at each flower and shrub and just thank Mother Nature for having such a big and beautiful family of tropical beauties.
Colorful spring and summer perennials, that can handle our warmer, dry spring season with a questionable summer rain situation, are bountiful in Florida. Here are a few of my favorite, low-maintenance, "more-bang-for-your-buck" garden picks from my own garden.
Taking no grief from the sun or from skimpy rain or infrequent watering is the butterfly favorite, Trailing lantana Lantana montevidensis. This lovely, lavender-flowered, groundcover is an excellent choice for accenting a sunny corner or cascading over a cement or rock wall. Full grown, the mature lantana will cover a two-foot by six-foot area, needing only an occasional pruning.
Using groundcovers in the landscape, it's important to remember the basic landscape principles of different highs and lows to allow the eye to flow. An appropriate companion plant for the trailing lantana would be the tall, spiked, exotic flower of the African iris, Moraea iridioides. It's elegant white flowers, with petal splashes of yellow and purple held on long stems among green, firm leaves accentuate the differences in height while accepting the same sun and watering requirements as the lantana. Even though the blooms only last for a day, the African iris is so generous with its blossoms that you will not be disappointed.
Turning the corner of this imaginary garden bed, you could find some mass plantings of dark green, pittosporum tobira, an evergreen ornamental shrub with fragrant striking, white flowers. A favorite choice of the floral industry, I keep my pittosporum pruned to a height of two feet and use the cuttings for wonderful green foliage splashes for my flower arrangements. Not only does this plant handle the heat well, but also once established, it is very drought tolerant.
