In Your Backyard for August 2025

Photo credit: Teresa Watkins, Art in Bloom Garden Tours at Niagara Falls Botanical Garden, Canada.

It’s heating up this month. I can’t remember a hotter summer. But I’m glad to live in Florida. We are lucky to live on a peninsula that is surrounded by the Gulf and the Atlantic Ocean. We don’t reach 100 º. In fact, as Matt Devitt’s, weatherman at WINK, graphic shows, it’s very rare. While we may have hot temperatures, it’s been hotter around the country.

Graphic credit: Matt Devitt WINK

I have seen a lot of large patch disease in yards this summer. Large patch is caused by overwatering grass. It is a practice that is meant to be kind and attentive but it’s the worst thing a homeowner can do to their grass. That and using herbicides in this heat. Don’t.

Large Patch Disease

No matter the variety, established turfgrass only needs 1.5” a week at the most. Check your rain gauge, we have been getting enough rain in most parts of Central Florida although the South is seeing drought conditions.

How can you keep your grass unstressed in these dog-days of summer?

1. ·  Keep your grass mowed high at 3” – 4”.

2. ·  Make sure lawn mower blades are sharp.

3. Water deeply but infrequently.  Add 15 mins to your timer 2x a week   

4. Do not fertilize.

I have posted What to Do In Your Backyard for August.  Lots of pointers, but don’t overdo. It’s too hot!

Speaking of hot times. Check out my Landscape Design Tips and Landscape Malpractice Tip #39.  Both feature the same subject: Hellstrips.

My Plant of the Month is a pretty tropical with a fun name. Great for tropical gardens.

The scheduled tours for Art in Bloom Garden Tours for 2026 is up on our website. We have fantastic gardens for garden enthusiasts next year.  We are just finalizing up details to ensure the best prices and services. We already have waiting lists for most of our Spring destinations, so let us know if you want to be notified before the final itinerary get posted.  Email:  artinbloomgardentours@gmail.com

Have lots of photos to upload from our Garden Walk Buffalo, Niagara Falls, and the Newport Flower Show, and will include our trip this month from Scotland.

Let us hear from you about what you are doing to stay cool this summer!

Turning a Hellstrip Into a Pollinator’s Heaven.

Beyond our home’s property easement is a space owned by the city or county.  Property owners are required to maintain this area. The typical landscape choice is grass. It is easy to mow, and it is green, right? But it is also an opportunity to create a little bit of heaven.

This rectangular space along the front of your home is used for entering your yard, deliveries, and by the mailman to reach into your mailbox. But can it be useful for something else?

Depending on your landscaping style, and if you are not in an HOA-ruled community, what about turning that small strip into a pollinator garden?

Benefits of a Florida pollinator strip include colorful flowers seasonally and no need for mowing or pesticide use. A selection of native and non-native annuals and perennials will provide ample diverse resources for butterflies, birds, and other pollinators. The cons will be a need for rainfall or another water source and more oversight to catch weeds as they germinate (and they will come). Pollinator gardens are not “no maintenance.”  

Designing a pollinator garden always starts off with soil testing, assessing sunlight, and a clean palette. Do not be apathetic and halfhearted about ensuring that your garden is weedless before you start. No need for landscape fabric. It is worthless keeping weeds out and will be a source of frustration in the future.

Owner: Ellie Dorritie, Hellstrip in Buffalo, NY. July 2025.

Once you know what you are working with, then you can select your plant palette and whether you want to start with seeds or plants. It is up to you. Planting seeds is less expensive; just remember that planting seeds will require monitoring and mulch to reduce the weed factor. (they will come.)

If you can afford it, planting annuals and perennials provides an instant effect that will give you satisfaction. I like to go with a combination of two-thirds plants and one-third seeds. Mark your seed areas with signs so that you do not pull sprouts up thinking they are weeds.

Start off with clearing a small area and as you have success, each season you can continue to remove your grass and substitute flowers and shrubs. Planting a heavenly area in your Hellstrip will be divine for pollinators. They will come.

August in Florida is always as hot as Hell. When it is hot, the area between sidewalks and streetside curbs can be a difficult area to landscape. Hellstrips are five-foot-wide rectangles considered common areas, often left unirrigated with stressed turf and abundant weeds.  

The main point to consider is who will be maintaining it. Residential communities may require these common areas to be grass but also maintained with the homeowners’ landscape. In town, along the streets and highways, these municipal Hellstrips can be turf, landscape beds, or just weeds. Planting shrubs, flowers, or ornamental grasses is not always the best idea, if there is no irrigation or someone to maintain it on a regular basis. The Hellstrip pictured below is an attempt to beautify this area but paraphrasing the 18th century James Boswell saying, “the road to Hell is paved with good intentions” it will not work. Why? Because the area is not wide enough for both ornamental grass and turf. Someone will be required to mow the turf with commercial mowers. This will mean when they mow the grass, they will invertedly decapitate or cut the foliage. It cannot be helped. If they attempt to go around the foliage as it grows to a mature width of five,’ they will not be able to mow underneath the ornamental grass, allowing weeds to become established. It is destined for failure within two years.

Solution? The Hellstrip should either be planted with turf or ornamental grass (or another drought-tolerant shrub). It does not need to be irrigated but if not, should be planted during the rainy season with either Bahiagrass or Zoysiagrass, (not St. Augustine grass) or ornamental grass like Muhly grass or Fakahatchee. I would prefer Lomandra ‘Breeze’ or ‘Lime Tuff’ as it does not need trimmed in the springtime and looks great year-round.

There are many ways to have a beautiful front strip to your home or a landscaped sidewalk along a highway. But the size of the area, the plant’s future mature size, and maintenance need to be taken into consideration.

What To Do In Your Backyard in August.

Hell Strip with late summer perennials.

Average Temperatures: High 92   Low 73

Monthly Average Rainfall 6.25 inches

 Plant in August 

Vegetables: Cantaloupe, collard, corn, cucumber, eggplant, lima bean, okra, pepper, pumpkin, snap bean, southern pea, squash, tomato and watermelon

Flowers: Angelonia, begonia, black-eyed Susan vine, blue daze, butterfly weed, bush daisy, cat's whiskers, chrysanthemums, coleus, coreopsis,  crossandra, fire spike, gaura, golden globe, heliconia, jacobinia, impatiens, lantana, marigold, melampodium, moon flower, pentas, periwinkle, porter weed, portulaca, purslane, salvia, Stokes aster, sunflower, torenia and zinnia.

Herbs: Anise, basil, bay laurel, chive, dill, ginger, lemon balm, Mexican tarragon, mint, oregano, rosemary, sage, sweet marjoram and thyme.

Bulbs type plants: African iris, agapanthus, amaryllis, bulbine, canna, crinum, crocosmia, day lily, gladiolus, gloriosa lily, kaffir lily, Louisiana iris, society garlic, rain lily and walking iris. 

Lawn Care

• Lawns appearing yellow can have an iron treatment instead of fertilizing.

• Sod webworms have been feeding in lawns; apply Summit Caterpillar and Webworm Control.

• Turn off irrigation systems during rainy periods; turf only needs 1.5” of rainfall or water a week.

• Overwatered lawns should be weaned off irrigation with the summer rains. They may decline and wilt for a few weeks, but will recover.

• Allowing your lawn to wilt a little between waterings helps deepen the root system.

• Raise or replace pop-up sprinkler heads that don’t reach far enough above the sod.

• Mow frequently and at the recommended height; sharpen dull mower blades.

• Fill bare areas with sod, plugs or seed to take advantage of the good growing weather.

• Wait until Fall to sod shady areas to prevent decline due to excessive moisture.

• New lawns are susceptible to fungal problems; apply fungicide to help reduce decline.

• Have problem turf samples diagnosed at your local University of Florida Extension Office.

• Mushrooms are common in lawns after rains. Removal is not necessary but can be done.

• Smelly mushrooms are often called stinkhorns; they are poisonous.

• Control weeds that are filling bare spots and over growing the good grass by hand removal.

• Consider another ground cover for hard to maintain and problem turf areas

• Weed killers should not be used when temperatures are above 85 degrees.

Landscape Care

•  Landscape plantings make lots of growth during summer; prune to keep in bounds.

• Springtime flowering shrubs like azaleas, camellias, gardenias, hydrangeas, loropetalums, should not be pruned.

• Thinning out excessive growth can help many shrubs avoid disease problems. 

• Many shrubs & flowers need a summer feeding; fertilize where permitted.

• Renew mulch layers to control weeds: keep them back a few inches from stems and trunks.

• Summer rains can cause container plants to decline, check for proper drainage.

• Do not count on summer rains to water new plantings; most need daily hand watering.

• Use a slow-release fertilizer that feeds the plantings for several months.

• Don’t let vines climb trees and shrubs; train them to arbors and trellises.

• Give palms a break; only remove the dead fronds and old flower heads.

• Complete pruning of poinsettias, bougainvillea, and wisteria by month’s end.

• Edge walkways and driveways to keep the landscape attractive.

• Summer rains normally provide adequate moisture for established plants; water as needed.

• Use foliage plants in shady gardens during the warmer months.

• Avoid trimming sheared plants back to the same height; allow a little new growth to remain.

• Stake newly planted small trees and shrubs that might be affected by wind.

• Feed crape myrtles where permitted and remove seed heads to continue summer blooms.

• Yellowing and leaf drop of crape myrtles are often due to a fungus. The leaves will drop anyway in Fall, no need to treat.

• Caladiums may start to decline by month’s end which is normal.

• Trim both declining flowers and foliage from perennial beds.

• Divide bromeliads, Shasta daisies, day lilies and other landscape perennials.

• Gladiolus can be left in ground if soil is dry.

• Transplant palms and sagos.

• Start poinsettia cuttings in early August.

• Pinch the tips of chrysanthemums in early August to grow well-branched compact plants.

• Feed water lilies and bog plantings in home water gardens monthly.

Foliage & House Plant Care 

• Time to prepare foliage plants for Fall; reshape and trim to encourage new growth.

• Transplant root bound and poorly drained foliage plants, add new soiol.

• Check for mealy bugs, scales and mites; control with natural soap or oil insecticides.

• Make cuttings of your favorite plants.

• Feed all foliage plants with a slow-release fertilizer where permitted.

• Look for new plants to add to the collection.

• Indoor plants accumulate dust like furniture; rise with water or a mild soapy solution.

• Move light starved plants outdoors to a shady location.

• Enjoy orchids and bromeliads indoors when in bloom, then move outside to the shade.

• Divide clump forming foliage plants like Spathiphyllum and Sansevieria.

Vegetable & Fruit Care  

• Prune mangoes and lychee after harvesting fruit.

• Check pineapples – fruits are ready when fragrant and turn yellow to orange.

• Feed bananas and figs monthly but lightly; keep moist and mulched.

• Many gardens are filled with summer weeds; remove by hand.

• Enrich sandy soils and old garden sites with organic amendments and manure.

• Test soil acidity and adjust the pH if needed before planting in ground and in containers.

• Remove plastic from solarization after treatments and plant immediately.

• Transplants started in July should be ready for the garden during mid to late August.

• Plant quick growing warm season vegetables mid-August through early September.

• Seeds of melons and pumpkins must be planted during early August.

• Grow vegetables in large containers with good potting soil if you have limited space.

• Give tomatoes an extra-large container and keep moist to prevent blossom-end rot.

• Groom and feed herbs monthly; shelter container-grown herbs from the daily rains.

• Mints in containers that stop growing may only need dividing and more fertilizer.

• Clean containers between crops and add fresh potting soil.

• Plant flowers that attract pollinators among vegetables to obtain better fruit set.

• Where possible plant nematode resistant tomato and other vegetable varieties.

• Open wide, 8 inch or deeper holes in nematode infested sties and fill with fresh pest free soil.

• Begin staking or trellising taller growing crops when young.

• Mulch new plantings to conserve water and promote better plant growth.

• Feed sweet potatoes monthly and check dates of planting to harvest potatoes in 100 days.

• Feed citrus with one-quarter pound of citrus fertilizer per inch of trunk circumference.

• Apply a minor nutrient spray and insecticide to citrus at each flush of new growth.

In Your Backyard for June 2025

Gardening is proving to be a challenge this month with the lack of rainfall during the Spring, temperatures near record highs, and then a deluge of over 13” of rain in May.  Luckily, I was able to take a garden trip to the Chelsea Flower Show and the most exquisite English private homes where I inhaled the beauty of the natural landscapes and colorful border gardens, luxuriated in temperatures between 45 and 65 degrees, and able to ooh and ah, and gush with other garden aficionados.  One of my favorite find during my garden tour was a variegated Lily of the Nile in one of the most popular Royal Horticultural Society’s Wisely gardens. I want one! (or three).

Variegated Lily of the Nile. Agapanthus africanus.

The English rose gardens were outstanding!  Hundreds of blooming roses from garden to garden.

From top to bottom, left to right. ‘My Valentine’, ‘The Lady Gardener’, ‘Lagerfield’, ‘Aphrodite’, ‘Lyda’ Rose, ‘Lady of Shalott’.

The wide expanses of lawns to wander through, with dandelions and wildflowers popping up in the meadows. Very soothing to see all the various shades of verdant grass, under your feet and across the patch-work of hills.  It was just what I needed.

Returning home, I was pleased to see landscapes full of beautiful impatiens blooming everywhere, hardworking periwinkles showing off their pink and white petals. Pinwheel jasmines climbing to the sky. The Tuscarora crapemyrtles are going gang-busters and even turfgrass is responding to the heavy rainfalls.  Those of you who work in your yard to make them look amazing, kudos to you! I love seeing the benefits of your hard work.

Check out what to do in your landscapes for June (and even into July).  Make sure to drink lots of water, at least a cup of water every 15 to 20 minutes. Wear a hat. Have a towel handy and I even like to use those moist towels that stay wet and cold at the same time to wear around your neck.

My plant of the month is a full sun perennial from Proven Winners. Looks great as a groundcover, in hanging baskets, and as the spiller in containers.

The producer of my gardening show, Better Lawns and Gardens, Lizzie has had a great Spring vegetable garden! I was the beneficiary of her onions, okra, and brown turkey eggs. Delish! Turkey eggs make great omelets and quiches. Lizzie shows them off in Lizzie’s Garden Adventures!

You know you love your work when it means playing in the backyard. I had a fun landscape renovation for a young family who had no place to play. Thinking creatively helped me on this project. Read Teresa’s Design Tips here.

As always, Landscape Malpractice can be disappointing. It is even sadder when it is a commercial landscape with natives and approved by the architect and the building department. I do not approve!

It is just the beginning of summer, hang in there! We have four more months to get to Fall. If you are looking for a break, join Tony and I on a garden tour. You will come back refreshed, inspired, and full of garden ideas! We have room for a special few. Art in Bloom Garden Tours.

Royal Horticultural Society Chelsea Flower Show - Chelsea Pensioner Veteran with Teresa Watkins.

The previous homeowners enjoyed a long, narrow lap pool and bulky firepit in their backyard. The new homeowners, with a three-year old boy and new baby girl, wanted a play area for the children and a place to watch them. My clients asked me to redesign the backyard. What could they do?  

First, I had to determine if the outdoor bench was in the ground permanently. Having the crew dig down to the bottom of the legs, and finding no cement, we knew that the bench could be dug up and flipped. The firepit was heavy but once the metal center was temporarily removed, we could roll it into place. My contractor’s crew worked very hard and rearranged the seating to face the pool.

 The landscape was then rearranged to border the new seating by transplanting the bottlebrush and the Lakeview jasmine and cutting back the Jatropha trees. I added low maintenance shrubs like fragrant tea olives, and colorful flowers like plumbago, hibiscus, and whirling butterflies. Final touch was to add the necessary zoysiagrass that can handle the children’s Little Tykes play toys and Tonka trucks in the gravel bed.  Playground transformation complete.

My design tip? Think outside of the bench, I mean box. Having a landscape that works for you means checking out all possibilities and finding a way to accomplish what needs done.  Also, find a contractor who is willing to dig out the box. Thanks, Mickey and crew!

Who knew you could grow over 7 dozen onions and garlic in an abnormally dry season? Against all odds—and with a lot of mulch, sweat, and sweet nothings whispered to them, I turned the dry season into paradise. The onions are plump, and the garlic has swagger. Birds nod respectfully. Even the sun seems impressed. My Shrek, aka my great husband, is proud of my celery, herbs, okra, and peppers, showing off our harvest on Facebook.

Moral of the story? If your garden dreams seem impossible, just remember onions don’t cry in the heat, and neither should you.    

The newest turkey poults are 2 months old, their feathers are shifting from soft down to vibrant, multicolored plumage. 

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

What to Do in Your Backyard in June

Average temperatures: High 91    Low 71  

Average rainfall is 7.35 inches

First day of summer June 20.

What to Plant

Vegetables: Amaranth, boniato, calabaza, chayote, cherry tomatoes, dasheen, Everglades tomatoes, Jicama, lima beans, Seminole pumpkin, sweet cassava, sweet potatoes, and yard-long beans.

 Flowers: Angelonia, begonias, bush daisy, butterfly plant, caladium, cat's whiskers, celosia, coleus, coreopsis, Dahlberg daisy, firespike, four-o'clock, gaillardia, gerbera daisy, ginger, goldenrod, impatiens, kalanchoe, lantana, lion’s ear, marigolds, melampodium, Mexican petunia, Mexican sunflower, moon flower, Porterweed, pentas, periwinkle, portulaca, purslane, salvia, showy primrose, shrimp plant, Stokes aster, sunflower, torenia and zinnias.

Herbs: Anise, basil, bay laurel, cardamom, chives, cilantro, cumin, ginger, lemon balm, lemongrass, marjoram, mint, oregano, rosemary, sage, turmeric, and thyme.

Bulbs-type plants: Achimenes, African iris, agapanthus, amaryllis, Aztec lily, blackberry lily, bulbine, caladiums, canna, crinum, crocosmia, day lily, eucharis lily, gladiolus, gloriosa lily, Hedychium, spp.  peacock ginger, society garlic, rain lily, and walking iris.

  Lawn care

• Time to fertilize landscapes is over for most of the state.

• Lawn fertilizing laws vary throughout Florida; check the rules in your county. https://ffl.ifas.ufl.edu/fertilizer/ Most counties have summer fertilizer ban from June 1st through October 1st.

• Do not use. herbicides when temperatures are over 85 degrees.

•  Yellow lawns can often be greened up with an iron only application where permitted.

•  Fill bare areas or start new lawns with seed, plugs or sod for the grass type desired.

• Avoid sodding shady areas during summer to prevent rot problems caused by the wet weather.

• Water new lawns every day for the first week, every other day the second week, and every three days the third week. By end of 4 weeks, lawns are established and only need 1 - 1½ inches of water a week. Overwatering causes new lawns to decline.

• Check irrigation heads monthly, adjust and replace sprinklers to only water the lawn, not driveways and sidewalks.

• Check rain shut off devices to ensure efficiency.  Depending on device, may need cork changed or debris inside collection cup.

•  Track the water lawns receive; up to 3/4-inch a week is normally adequate at each watering or rainfall for all turf varieties.

• Lawns may have been stressed with the drought this Spring. Check for bare areas and insect issues. Plug bare spots and identify insects before using a pesticide.

• Walk yards on a weekly basis to catch pest issues early, look for chewed foliage, pests, even under leaves. 

• Chinch bugs cause yellow to brown areas in St. Augustine lawns; treat when found.

• Sod webworms are active right now. Check for damage. 

• Notice moths in your turfgrass? Wait until chewing damage is noted to treat. 

• Maintain the turf at correct height; learn the proper height for your lawn type.

• Sharpen the mower blade after five mowings.

• Mow lawns in a different direction each time the lawn is cut to avoid ruts in the turf.

•  Lawns that are overfertilized and overwatered are more susceptible to thatch.

• Aerate older lawns (5 years or older) and water lawns that are compacted, hard to wet or have nematode problems.

• Replace constantly declining turf in dense shade with mulch or a ground cover.

Landscape chores

• Weed! Pull by hand or hoe for five minutes a day. Don’t let them go to seed!

• Due to severe drought in 2024 and Spring 2025, plants and trees may have suffered die-back that needs pruning.

• You can add new plants with the abundant rainfall this month.

• Put up a rain gauge to determine how much rain your yard receives.

• During hot weather new plants may need daily watering for several weeks.

• Established landscape plants and trees do not need to be hand-watered with adequate rainfall.

• When transplanting existing perennials and shrubs, wet the root balls and new holes several times before adding new plants to the landscape. Let water drain and repeat before placing plants in holes..

• Tropical bromeliads, orchids, Spathiphyllum, Aluminum plants and dracaena like shady sites.

• Mix old soil from containers and raised beds with organic matter before adding new plants.

• Deadhead and remove broken and winter-damaged foliage and stems from perennials, roses, and spring flowering shrubs.

• Hurricane season begins June 1; it’s not too late to have your trees checked and trimmed.

• Make plans now to protect plants and landscape accessories from wind and storm damage.

• Don’t let weeds grow out of control; remove them by hand.

• Do not let weeds grow to maturity and flower.  Weed seeds are easily spread after flowering.

• Do not prune azaleas or camellias after June.

• Trim back poinsettias 4” to 6” after a foot of new growth to keep them compact

• Established plants do not need watering during the rainy season.

• Hot summer days make it difficult to transplant trees and shrubs; wait until cooler weather.

•  Root cuttings of shrubs and foliage plants to grow more plants.

• Feed shrubs and palms with a slow-release fertilizer where permitted.

• Give container gardens a weekly feeding or use a slow release fertilizer as labeled.

• Divide orchids and bromeliads outgrowing their containers.

•  Feed orchids every other week with a liquid or slow-release fertilizer as labeled.

• Most orchids and bromeliads grow best in the shade of a tree, water frequently when hot & dry;

• Check out terrestrial orchids and full-sun bromeliads are available for sunny areas.

• Feed lilies and other aquatic plants in home water gardens.

•  Trim formal hedges after they produce 4- to 6-inches of new growth.

• Groom hanging baskets removing old flowers and lanky shoots.

• Clean and refill bird baths as needed.

• Place Summit Responsible Solutions Mosquito Bits and Dunks in bird baths, containers, and places that fill with water.

• Remove sprouts, Spanish moss, and tillandsias, from the trunk and base of crape myrtle, maple and similar trees.

• Trim suckers and branches smaller than your pinkie from crapemyrtle before they get too large.

Vegetable and fruit care

• Keep vegetable plantings moist and fertilize monthly to continue harvests into summer.

• Make fertilizer applications every 3 to 4 weeks or use as slow release product as instructed.

• Check planting lists to determine what your family likes for summer planting.

• Obtain the seeds you need now for summer and fall planting; store in the refrigerator.

• Many herbs can survive the summer if kept moist, but not wet. and lightly fertilized.

•  Continue cutting and using herbs to keep the plants productive; preserve extras. 

• When gardens will not receive summer plantings consider soil solarization to bake out pests.

• Sweet potatoes are easy to grow: start transplants from a spouting grocery store root.

• Handpull weeds in and near the garden under control  to prevent pest  problems for Fall.

• Continue to add fruit trees, shrubs and vines from containers to the landscape

• Learn the pests of your new fruits, check trees regularly to  decide if you need a control plan.

• Reshape blueberry shrubs and hedges and prune blackberries

• Feed bananas monthly; harvest stalks when the first hand formed begins to yellow

•  Feed pineapples with a slow release fertilizer following label instructions

• Provide citrus trees with proper fertilizing and pest control to avoid the greening disease.

Foliage and house plant care

• Find a spot in the sunny garden for Easter lilies; plants gradually decline & regrow in  winter.

•  Give declining foliage plants a rest outdoors in the shade.

• Repot plants needing a new container.

• Feed plants outdoors every two weeks and indoors monthly.

• Use a slow release fertilizer as instructed to stretch the time between feedings

•  Wash away insects with soapy water.

• Remove declining leaves, stems and blooms; pinch the tips of shoots to cause branching.

This month’s Landscape Malpractice Tip #38 is a sad one. The photos were taken one year after installation. It is an example of poor design, ignorance of horticulture basics, within both municipal and commercial entities, waste of money and good plant material. Along with a “who cares?” attitude.

A commercial landscape designed by the developer/builder to get a C.O. and permitted by the municipal building department to receive approval and provide a C.O. (certificate of occupancy) Just get it done.

• ·Prime example of “instant landscape.”

• Two large canopy trees, Taxodium spp. one installed in undersized, curbed beds in the middle of the parking lot.

• The other cypress planted too close to the curb and other plants.

• The Muhly grass needs full sun and not spaced correctly — planted too close together. Muhly’s mature size is too big for that small bed and is not maintained.

• The Liriope muscari needs shade and mesic soils. It is not getting enough water to handle the sunlight.

• The Ilex vomitoria ‘Schillings,’ is fine, albeit planted in a yawn-inducing formal row instead of naturally spaced, but okay.

•  One small Redbud. It is fine.

• African iris in the far bed is fine, just overplanted.

Plants in native landscapes should be spaced based on their mature size, alongside other plants that have similar growing requirements.

Landscape architects and designers should know what the future site conditions will be and need to use mature sizes as a guide for the number of plants to spec and how far apart to space. Muhly grasses are 5’ to 6’ wide at maturity. With an 8’ x 10’ bed with an eventual 20’+ tall cypress tree in the middle, there should only be one to two Muhly grass spec’d, not four to six.

Using native plants in unnatural landscapes, (middle of parking lots and cement curbs) is not natural and looks terrible. Eventually companies get tired of looking at the high-maintenance, dead plants and trees in ugly areas. These mandatory “native” landscapes are then cleaned up and filled in with turf, or rubber mulch, gravel, and cigarette butts. Municipal code departments who permit these atrocities should know better. Who cares? The property owners who deserve guidance in planting native habitats should care, and the wildlife who deserve to have their environments protected care. We all should care.