FYN Landscaping Makeovers

Florida-Friendly Landscaping is a better way to have a beautiful yard. It's about conserving water, attracting wildlife and spending time enjoying your yard, not just working in it. We spend a lot of effort forcing our landscapes into something we want. Our bushes are shaped into boxes and lollipops. The lawn is always green, growing and pest-free.

Some times we just need a gentle nudge to get started with landscape changes. It may be a lack of know-how, ambition, creativity or finances. The City of Cape Coral has encouraged people for years to reduce water, fertilizer and pesticide usage. We've suggested that lawn areas be reduced and areas of mulched plant beds be increased. We've talked a lot about putting the Florida Yards & Neighborhoods principles into practice. But what does that really look like? How do you get started?

Well, if a picture is worth a thousand words, how much more valuable would landscape makeovers be?! For a 2006 South Florida Water Management District grant, we picked one city property, one county property and 4 homeowners to work with. We took pictures for 3 years to show the progress.