For those of you new to the area, you will discover that Gainesville can be a challenging place to landscape.  We receive enough frost to kill the tropical plants many of us love, but not enough cold to grow many of the more northerly plants we may wish to cultivate.  Natives may have noticed that the summer rains are not nearly as reliable as they used to be, and new diseases have appeared.  The landscape is always changing!

 

Fortunately, we live in a town with a great extension office. The University of Florida has done much research to determine the best way to maintain home and neighborhood landscapes in the area.  Haile Plantation West is working toward implementing the "Florida Friendly Best Management Practices" recommended by the UF/IFAS cooperative extension service in order to establish a low maintenance, low cost, healthy, healthful, and beautiful landscape.

This page is designed to give you many of the tools you will need to maintain your own yard in a "Florida Friendly" way.

 

UPDATE: Dwarf Mondo Grass is the only approved substitute for St. Augustine grass in shady residential frontscapes in HPW. Asiatic Jasmine has been approved for use in HPW This must still be submitted through the ARB.