Flower Gardens

» misalo - Hello, I'm new here.

Hello, I'm new here. I LOVE cottage flower gardens and would like to plant a small (approx 10X10) garden by my front door. Only problem is, I live in South Florida (zone 10) and it's very hot here. Does anyone have any suggestions on what flowers will do well down here in sunny South Florida?

After much reading, I've noted the following native flowers that are drought-tolerant and might do well in sandy well-drained soil, full sun:

Blanketflower (all year)
Florida Greeneyes (all year)
Penny Royal (all year)
Trailing Lantana (all year)
Butterfly Weed (Spring - Fall)
Tropical Sage (all year)

Any other suggestions? Would love to have a GayFeather or something similar in the back, for some tall bursts of color, but not sure they'd do well in my location.

Thanks,

Michelle

-- posted by misalo

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» Cottage_Garden - Welcome to my Flower Gardens! :)

In response to Hello, I'm new here. posted by misalo:

Hi Michelle! Welcome! This is a great question.
I have a special place in my heart for cottage gardens and have grown and written about them extensively.

But, I had to do a little looking around because I have never gardened in south Florida. What an amazing climate to garden in!!

I did find some plant lists for south Florida and selected a few for full sun locations. There are a surprising number of plants that are widely grown in cottage gardens that should also grow for you. You'll have to treat some as cool season plants (meaning plant them in the fall so they bloom in the cooler months) and some may need frequent replacement, but they should grow for you.

I also found some nifty plants that will grow for you in Florida that will not grow in colder climates, but would be terrific in a cottage garden. The list gets really long for such a small space. But choices are good, right?!

Annuals

dahlia
digitalis (foxglove)
hollyhock
marguerite daisy
nicotiana
pansy/viola
snapdragon
sweet williams
strawflower
thunbergia (vine) Check before planting as I believe this plant may be considered invasive in FLorida.
Verbenas of all kinds (V. bonariensis is a great one for a cottage garden)

Perennials
Hemerocallis (daylilies, look for repeat bloomers)
Gaillardia
Gaura
Helianthus
Asclepias
Sedum
Tithonia
Salvia

Then add, since you are in Florida:
Limonium (perennial statice)
Amaryllis
Rain lilies
Dietes (African iris)
Lantana
Hibiscus sinensis
Ruellia
Pentas
Mandevilla on a trellis

and any other plant you admire! Personally I would have an angel's trumpet (Brugmansia), and probably a dwarf banana with pretty foliage, and I'd prolly try to stick in a little kumquat tree or something but that is just me. YOu may have some other plant you absolutely love and have to have.

Cottage gardens are really personal gardens. You might have memento plants that remind you of a person or place or experience, passalong plants from friends or relatives, home propagated plants that you grow yourself, and maybe one or two "fancy" plants you covet.

In such a small space you will need to be smart about how you use the square footage. A keyhole pattern, where you walk in from only one side, will give the most growing space. Basically, beds on three sides about three feet deep. A center aisle for access. Add a birdbath or little bench or birdhouse on a post for height and year round focus point. And maybe a tiny water feature to attract birds -- could be a simple little burbling jug with pebbles.

You'll find over time that certain plants thrive for you while others fade away or may even refuse to grow outright. Learn from that and fine tune as you go. You may even want to improve and enrich the soil in some areas and leave it basically as native soil in other spots in the garden; you may identify naturally wetter or drier spots in it as well. These can help you narrow down your plant choices.

Cottage gardens usually included herbs and edible plants so you could certainly add ornamental peppers or okra or anything else you enjoy looking at. Scented geraniums and basil and lemon grass might be good additions, too.

Since it is by your front door, you may want to add a short little picket fence or somesuch to help frame it and contain its exuberance ... flowers spilling out always look cottagey.

Here are links to the lists I found -- they have some helpful information on growing, too.

Annuals for Florida from University of Florida

and

Perennials for South Florida also from Univ. of Florida

I hope this helps - try to see the plants growing somewhere if you can, this really helps me decide if I "like" it enough to "want" it or not. (Actually I like anything that is blooming so sometimes that makes it harder.)

I noticed you mentioned natives, I am out of time this evening to check into natives for you. But, keep in mind they need to be suited to your location in addition to being native. Pennyroyal if it is a mint will need damp soil and in your climate may need some shade, for instance.

Several of the others you listed are ctually included in the lists I found. So definitely there is a place for them -- just make sure you love them all whatever you pick. It is your garden! And you can always rearrange them later if you need to.

-- posted by Cottage_Garden

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» misalo - Welcome to my Flower Gardens! :)

Thank you for your reply! I have my garden mostly planted, just need to find a few more things to balance out the colors. I gave up on finding natives that would work because - amazingly - natives are extremely hard to find here. You'd think they'd be among the easiest, being "native", but no - most nurseries around here carry 80-90% exotics. It's very frustrating.

Anyway, in my "cottage garden" so far I have lavender, snapdragon, butterfly plant, pentas, two kinds of mint, blue salvia, gayfeather, lantana and one Lamb's Ear. I have a couple other plants, but can't remember the name (they have pale orange & pink flower spikes and smell like lemon mint). I just need to find a few more small-med plants for the front of the bed. Hoping to find a sprawling flower in white or pink. Any ideas?

Thanks again.

Michelle

-- posted by misalo

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» Cottage_Garden - More Florida Cottage Gardening!

In response to Welcome to my Flower Gardens! posted by misalo:

You've done a lot! Maybe zinnea linnearis in white -- it sprawls nicely? Or maybe a tiny sedum, some are spreaders like carpeting? or the native twinflower -- pale purple flowers, not quite pink but a pastel(Dyschoriste oblongifolia)? Or moss verbena in white and pink (Glandularia puchella ) which tends to trail and spill nicely over the edge, a nice series is Tapien. Or maybe Kalanchoe -- there are pink ones out there, although not a trailer or spreader. Spicy globe basil is tiny in scale and makes a really cute edger, little green globes, although it might be too hot for it in full sun and sandy soil and it is not a spreader. And portulaca would be a classic sprawler spreader and you can find hot pink and soft pink, also white. Your garden sounds terrific! Make sure you let us know how it is doing as the season progresses.

ps It really can be difficult to find natives sometimes. If you ask at the nurseries, maybe that will encourage them to consider carrying some.

If you check with local botanic gardens and wildflower preserves they may have suggestions for sources or may even have their own native plant sales.

Or maybe your local county extension could suggest a source.

-- posted by Cottage_Garden

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» Cottage_Garden - Native Plants for S. FLorida

WooHoo. I have found a great resource for you. Native Plants for South Florida Landscapes -- the first one includes flowers PLUS a link to a list of sources for plants or, you can contact the authors for more information. It also includes the Florida Native Plant Society. Not sure how up to date it will be, but at least it's a start.

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/EP222

also for trees, shrubs and vines ...

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/EP011

The sweet little pinklet on their list sounds perfect ....

-- posted by Cottage_Garden

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» Gay_Klok - Native Plants for S. FLorida

In response to Native Plants for S. FLorida posted by Cottage_Garden:

Good morning Barbara. Your articles, as usual, are full of information.

I have lost your email address and it does not work in your profile [yahoo], I wonder if you have time to email me?

Our gardens are in their rest time, Autumn over and cold nights are calling halt to most movement.

Spring must have arrived for you.

-- posted by Gay_Klok

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» Cottage_Garden - Native Plants for S. FLorida

In response to Native Plants for S. FLorida posted by Gay_Klok:

Hello Gay! It is always spring in Los Angeles, or something like that. But yes, spring to almost early summer. The address in my profile should work, although yahoo can be a bit blippy sometimes. Not sure I have a current one for you, though. LOL.

-- posted by Cottage_Garden

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» Cottage_Garden - Cottage Garden in FL with Soul

I happened across this article about cottage gardening in Florida -- Gardening with Soul.

-- posted by Cottage_Garden

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