OKAY, ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. Here is the beginning of the endless edible landscape info....YOU GUYS NEED IT!!!

Consider using Grapes to create shade on your pergola structure!

Edibles for Height and Verticality

Espalier a dwarf apple, pear, or peach to soften and add interest to a flat, sunny wall. Embrace native elderberry, blackberry, gooseberry, and currants along a brambly nature trail. Train juicy table grapes over a garden gate arbor or patio pergola. For a quick, eight-foot screen, grow some sweet corn or pole beans. The great Native American planting trio taught to settlers can be honored with sweet corn, pole beans, and 

This is a good start.  Another winner is the banana trees. These things were the only survivor that lived in the 1990's real "BIO DOME"--not the one with Pauly Shore...google it. They are a tough as nails type of plant and should be a first in the landscape--anyone can do it.  Be ready to prune dead leaves regularly and also purne new pups or let them grow into a larger tree.

These trees can be planted in a full sun location to recieve optimum conditions.  Shade can never kill them, but it can limit the chances of new fruit.  Mid-day to afternoon sun is optimum.  Fertilizer can be given to these things at anytime. Fertilizer is anything, btw.  Grass clippings?---YES...old food?--duh....purchased fertilzer works just fine too.  I'm one of those orgaic kind of people so, I buy poop.  But, the poop I get is so expensive that I don't give that to my bannans.  They are one of the biggest eaters, which means it's hard to 'burn' them with fert.  Give it whatever you got--it's allllll good, Sampson.

Use your gorgeous bananas as an accent plant shown in the pic above.  They can also be used as a background feature or a screen between unwanted sights. As said orginially, prune new 'pups' off of root system right at ground level if you do not want  them to get thicker.  You can focus all energy on a few stalks.  However, after they flower your stalk will die, so make sure and have at least one new pup come up to produce new fruit and offspring!!

IRRIGATION IN ORLANDO...sprinklers---we all want them, most of us need them.

Building a great irrigation system is by far the most important issue effecting your Central Florida landscape.  Even if you want drought tolerant material, you will need to first get the plants established.  How long does it take?  A lot longer than you think.  Some plants can take up to years before they are established.  But normal plants take about 3-6 months.  Pain in the rear? yes. Worth it? Oh yea.

Because lets face it, without a great ingratiation system what is the point of loading up a gorgeous landscape.  I have seen all to often poorly guided homeowners spending thousands on plants and then all fails simply because of one major life element.  We all need it people!!

In Orlando, sprinklers and sprinkler repair are common culprits of ruining lawns and landscape.  Please repair leaky heads asap and stop the gushers.  They will ruin your lawn!!!

Using pop-up heads are the best option to retaining a great system.  This is because they dissappear back into the ground or hedge which they reside and thus......NO BREAKS!! Without pop-ups thought out the landscape, the neighbors kid--Timmy, or your even your own family--Fido, can cause major breaks which can create major chaos in the landscape.

To learn more about an amazing irrgation system in our own Central Florida landscapes, reasearch in our own links.

Landscaping in Central Florida...

time to get started!!!!

Landscaping in the Orlando area can be an amazing opportunity to create to create amazingly unique themes that can be taken from differnt parts of the world.  Central Florida has a rare climate that can take both tropical plants and northern plants to use on the same pallet of material.  When choosing a landscaper contractor for the Zone 9a or 9b (Central Florida) climates, make sure they are fully knowledged of seasonal fluctuations in weather.  For instance, the -28C we get from time to time...

The common type of sod for Florida is St. Augustine Floratam.  This can be purchased around the entire state and is recommend for is insect resistance and full sun loving turf. That doesn't mean you can get away without putting down insecticedes/ fertilizer/ or water!!! If you want a roadside turf, choose Pensacola or Argentine Bahia.  Don't expect great golf course like grass, though.  Drive out to any of our lovely Central Flordia expressways and pull over to inspect the turf.

TIPS ON AN AWESOME CENTRAL FLORIDA LANDSCAPE:

1.  Make sure all landscaped/sodded areas are getting excellent "Grade A" sprinkler coverage.  Is Florida a wet/humid climate? Your damn right, it's brutal....However, we have had droughts that extended 4-5 months!!! If you wait until then to fix your sprinklers, in Orlando, your too late.  Because the sod has already become weak and it can take double the time to get it healthy again.

2.  Choose ideal sod for your growing conditions.  Is there shade? Full sun? Partial? 
Lots of areas around us have very old trees.  This would included Winter Park, Conway, parts of Windermere/ Isleworth, Winter Springs....  Shade plays one of the most important factors when choosing sod.  I've seen way to many people waste money by placing sun loving grass in the shade.:(

3. Don't try and be too bold when choosing plants, if you want new ideas--hire a professional!
Landscaping in Florida is an art that is constantly evolving and learning.  Even after 10 years of studies, it seems there is so much more to learn.  Make sure to hire a designer if you want to have an exciting, updated landscape.   If you want to try yourself, just be sure and choose plants growing in your own lawn(they like it there) or something your immediate neighbors have--make sure the existing plants are well established(i,e, old!!) P.S> new ones look way better and easier to maintain.