by Brent Knoll | Dec 21, 2015 | B-Butterflies, Education
Butterfly gardens are easy to create and butterflies bring joy every time they flutter by.
So, if you love butterflies and if you enjoy having nature around your home, then install a butterfly garden. Butterfly gardening not only brings butterflies but also a small host of other wonderful wildlife to your doorstep.
South Florida, Miami and all of the surrounding cities and suburbs of Dade and Broward counties are perfect spots to create a year round and fully functioning butterfly garden. Caterpillars, which transform into butterflies, require special kinds of plants to feed upon and these plants grow extremely well in the South Florida sub-tropic planting zones. These are called hostplants.
In this article we will highlight the best plants for Attracting Butterflies To Your Miami Garden – Our 16 Favorite Butterfly Attracting Plants.
These host plants are amazing sources of nectar and other flowers that provide food for those winged beauties.
Firebush
Native Firebush Plant with Zebra Butterfly
Firebush, Hamelia patens, is a native to Florida and is perfect for south Florida and the Miami area! This beautiful perennial grows year round in our sub tropic heat and produces flowers from late spring until the first frost (as if there were frost in Miami). This semi-woody shrub can reach fifteen feet in height and produces bright red flowers that attract hummingbirds and butterflies, including the zebra longwing and gulf fritillary butterflies.
The Hamelia patens grows and flowers best in full sun and it is best to trim your Firebush to five or eight feet tall. It works well in hedges, mixed borders, or as a stand-alone shrub. Firebush can be planted in any well-drained soil and will do best if it is watered regularly until it is established. Once this native south Florida plant has caught hold it is amazing at attracting both birds and butterflies.
Firespike
Firespike with Hungry Hummingbird
Firespike is known botanically as Odontonema strictum and adds a bright red pop to your south Florida garden and is perfect for attracting hummingbirds and several species of butterflies that feed on the nectar. The Odontonema strictum grows between 4 to 6 feet tall and produces clusters of 3-inch-long, tubular red flowers.
Firespike can be planted year-round in Florida and blooms best under full sun.
Ruby Red
Ruby Red is a Great Butterfly Attractor
This Ruby Red Pentas also known as Egyptian Star Cluster and Pentas lanceolata is a south Florida plant that produces some of the most vivid red flowers of any of the Pentas.
It blossoms from spring until fall and bares 3″ flower clusters that will attract butterflies and other nectar loving creatures like bees and hummingbirds to your gardens throughout summer The Ruby Red is an upright rounded shrub-like tropical perennial that is often grown as an annual.
Blue Porterweed
Parantica Aglea Butteryfly on Blue Porterweed
Blue Porterweed also known as Stachytarpheta jamaicensis is one of the most popular of South Florida’s butterfly attracting plants, with brilliant blue flowers appearing partway up the funky, swirly, upright stems.
This plant is a fast grower and best kept between 2-1/2 to 3 feet tall.
The Blue Porterweed is best in part sun and partial shaded areas. Trim the shrub occasionally to keep it shaped. Give these plants a regular watering, but don’t keep them overly wet.
Jatropha Tree
Jatropha Attracting More Than Butterflies
The Jatropha integerrima aka Jatropha tree produces scarlet flowers which attracts a ton of beautiful butterflies and it blooms 365 days a year.
The dwarf Jatropha tree (Jatropha integerrima ‘Compacta‘) is the one to buy…it stays smaller and denser and is the one most commonly sold at nurseries.
This red flowering tree is actually a Jatropha shrub and can be trained to a single trunk or grown as a bush. Keep the trunk free of baby shoots to maintain the tree look.
One of South Florida’s most consistent butterfly attracting plants, Jatropha is also a favorite with hummingbirds.
This tree is a fast grower – the dwarf variety gets only 6 to 8 feet tall. It needs full to part sun and a well-drained spot.
Ruellia Brittoniana
Insects Love The Ruellia
Ruellia brittoniana the Mexican petunia is a tender evergreen perennial that forms colonies of small and medium sized stalks it has a maximum height around 3 ft.
The lance-shaped leaves are to 6-12 inches in length and are 1/2-3/4 wide. It blossoms scores of trumpet shaped blue beauty flowers that accent the bluish metallic cast the leaves give when grown under hot sunny conditions. This Mexican petunia is very good at attracting swarms of admiring butterflies.
Varieties with white, pink, and many shades of blue are available, as are dwarf versions.
Almond Bush
Humans Are Not The Only Wildlife That Finds The Almond Bush Attractive
The flowering almond bush (Prunus glandulosa and Prunus triloba) put on a spectacular show in the garden, which makes this a great butterfly and natural wildlife attractor. For smaller areas chose the P. glandulosa, or dwarf flowering almond as it grows between 4 and 6 feet tall and equally wide. The Almond Bush produces white or pink flowers in mid-spring.
Select a planting site that receives full sun to partial shade. Flowering almond prefers a loamy soil that drains well, but keep away from salty water and salt saturated air.
Turk’s Cap
Hummingbirds LOVE the Turk’s Cap
The Turk’s Cap is also known as the Malvaviscus arboreus var. drummondii it is a spreading shrub that grows between 2 to 3 ft but, it can reach heights of 9 ft. if left unattended. The bright-red petals resemble a Turkish turban, thus the name Turk’s Cap. The flowers never fully open. They overlap to form a loose tube with a protruding staminal column. This is a perfect flower type for bee’s, butterflies, hummingbirds and other nectar gathering insects.
Milkweed
Monarch Caterpillars Working On Transforming Into the Big Beauty Monarch Butterfly on the Milkweed Plant
The Milkweed is the king plant for the king of butterflies, the Monarch. It is also very important for many other insect species like Milkweed Bugs, and Milkweed Leaf Beetles that only eat milkweed.
Common Milkweed grows up to six feet tall. It has large, broad leaves, usually four to ten inches long. They sometimes have red veins and have flowers that are pinkish-purple clusters which often droop.
They are very hardy plants and grow nearly anywhere in any condition.
Purple Passionflower & Purple Passion Vine
Purple passion-flower, also known as the Passiflora incarnate, is an herbaceous vine that can climb and sprawl up to 25 ft. Local wildlife such as butterflies, moths, bees and more love this plant…
BONUS: This passion flower plant produces a delicious edible fruit.
Cassia Trees
Dessert Cassia is a Great Garden Center Piece. Awing your friends and pleasing your butterfly followers.
Cassia trees are known for their bright yellow insect attracting display. These trees come in several varieties and sizes: Desert cassia, Cassia surattensis (“Scrambled Egg Tree”) and Cassia fistula (“Golden Shower Tree”). All three varieties are incredibly beautiful in full bloom and they make perfect small-space trees.
Desert Cassia
Desert cassia (Senna polyphylla) grows only to 10 feet tall with spring and fall flowers. This little giant is salt-tolerant, evergreen and an ideal centerpiece for your butterfly garden.
Cassia Surattensis
Cassia surattensis grows between 12 to 15 feet high. It is another butterfly attractor that blooms twice – in spring and fall. It stays green with thick foliage year round. This tree is very happy in South Florida.
Cassia Fistula
Cassia fistula blooms in summer and occasionally blooms in the fall. It produces incredible cascading flower clusters that sometimes are so prolific you can barely see the green leaves through the flowers.
Fistula can grow to heights of 30 feet, but can be easily maintained at 20 feet in home landscapes. They’re salt-tolerant and fast growers.
Pagoda Flower
Pagoda Flower Clerodendrum Paniculatum, Butterflies Love This Plant
The Pagoda flower also known as the Clerodendrum paniculatum is an erect, open semi-woody shrub with large evergreen leaves and huge clusters of orange-red or scarlet flowers. It is a bush with multiple stems and grows between 3 and 5 ft, spreading 2-3 ft across. The leaves have heart shaped bases and the individual flowers are only about 0.5 in long but are arranged in massive panicles up to 1 ft or more in height. The pyramid shaped flowers are somewhat like that of a Japanese pagoda. The flower blooms from summer through autumn with additional sporadic flowering throughout the year in warmer environments like south Florida..
Lantana
Lantana-Bandana-Red Butterfly Gardens in South florida
Lantana is a genus of about 150 species of perennial flowering plants The genus includes both herbaceous plants and shrubs growing between 1.6 and 6.6 ft tall. Their common names are shrub verbenas or lantanas or also called the Viburnum lantana.
Lantana’s aromatic flower clusters called umbels are a mix of red, orange, yellow, or blue and white florets.
Lantanas are useful as honey plants for nectar seeking insects and are excellent for butterfly gardening. Butterflies which are attracted to lantana flowers are most notably Papilioninae (swallowtail and birdwing utterflies). Hesperiidae (skippers) and certain brush-footed butterflies (namely Danainae and Heliconiinae), as well as some Pieridae (e.g. cloudless sulphur, Phoebis sennae) and Lycaenidae (e.g. the aforementioned lantana scrub-hairstreak), also like to visit the plants’ flowers.
Plumbago Auriculata
Chose Skyflower for Big Beautiful Butterfly Gardens
Plumbago auriculata is called by several common names, leadwort, plumbago and skyflower, it is an evergreen shrub with semi-woody stems that grow between 3 and 10 ft height. Plumbago can be pruned to grow like a vine, pruned to become more compact like a shrub, or left to sprawl with its long, gracefully arching branches. It produces 2 in light yellowish green leaves and a sky blue flower that is about 1 in long with 5 petals spreading about 1 in across. In South Florida and Miami this beauty blooms all year long.
A white flowered variety (P. auriculata var. alba) is available. The cultivar, ‘Royal Cape’ has intense cobalt blue flowers.
A favorite of butterflies, plumbago also is one of the most popular flowering shrubs in Central and South Florida gardens. It is very fast-growing, has few problems and is almost always smiling.
Plumbago does best in light, sandy soils with good drainage. Do not add lime to the soil; plumbago likes a slightly acidic pH..
Coontie
This Florida Native Coontie Pleases The Rare and Once Thought Extinct Alta Butterfly
As a south Florida gardener you should take the time to discover the Florida coontie. It is a Florida native plant that is well adapted to the south Florida heat. Its recent increased use in landscapes has encouraged the presence of the rare Atala butterfly, which uses coontie as a larval host plant.
The coontie, an unusual Florida native, is a cycad—a “living fossil.” These primitive plants were a dominant form of plant life during the dinosaur age.
Coontie Species. Some botanists report only a single coontie species in Florida (Zamia floridana), while others feel the coontie has several species such as Z. integrifolia, Z. pumila, and Z. umbrosa. Z. pumilais
This herbaceous plant looks like a small fern or palm. Typically they are 1–3 ft. high. The coontie has stiff, featherlike leaves, up to 3 ft. in length
Atala Butterfly
Alta Butterfly For a Full Butterfly Garden
The coontie serves as the sole host plant for larvae of the rare Atala butterfly (Eumaeus atala), once thought to be extinct in Florida. The hungry larvae are able to withstand the coonties’ natural toxins and, in turn, incorporate them into their tissues, rendering the larvae and adults unpalatable to various predators, particularly birds.
Corky Stem Passion Vine
The Passiflora suberosa is commonly known as the Corky Stem Passion Vine. It gets tiny green flowers that are about the size of an adult fingertip. Planting this passion vine is one of the easiest ways to make your yard a butterfly habitat for some of the following major butterflies; Zebra Heliconian, Gulf Fritillary and Julia Dryas.
So there you have it folks! A highlight of the Best Plants for Attracting Butterflies To Your Miami Garden – The 16 Best Butterfly Attracting Plants For South Florida. No matter what county or city in south Florida you may live (Broward County, Dade County, Miami, Coral Gables, Davie, Ft Lauderdale or anything in-between) these plants will surely attract dozens if not hundreds of beautiful and colorful butterflies to your home or office garden.
Want a Butterfly Garden at your home but don’t have the time? Give us a call. We love butterflies and will perform a professional install in no time at all…
by Brent Knoll | Sep 16, 2014 | Education
Why is habitat restoration important for Miami and South Florida?
Habitat restoration by definition is an activity conducted to return a project site, to the maximum extent practicable, to the ecological condition that existed prior to the loss or degradation. At Knoll Landscape Design, we’re working toward teaching about and implementing environmentally sustainable design principles. We like to talk about landscapes, gardens, and natural areas with special attention to how our actions affect people, wildlife, and the existing habitat around us. To us, habitat restoration is a vital aspect of landscape design.
An anole at home in the garden
Our natural environment supplies us with everything we need and call home. We’re born into the world relying on our parents, social groups, and our physical environment to meet all our requirements to thrive and succeed. Observation of the natural world shows us as we mature that there is a cyclic, circular pattern to life, one of birth, growth, peak, decline, death, and recycling of energy to birth once more. In this, we are taught the borrowed nature, the “give and take” of life. And there’s a fantastic environmental/economic lesson to be learned from this, that of receiving in one hand and giving back with the other, allowing the natural cycle of life to flow unimpeded. But what does that have to do with habitat restoration?
A baby sparrow ventures from it’s nest in the bamboo.
In our modern industrial world, we’re used to seeing power and processing plants sprawling in dusty, barren terrains, huge condos and office buildings going up around us, fields disappearing to make way for new residential communities, endless acres of land tilled over and over again to be planted with crops that are sprayed with chemicals to survive to produce food for our tables, and so on. Looking around, it’s more than easy to see how we’re using our environment to meet our needs. We do it shamelessly and without question, and in many ways, that’s ok. It’s necessary that our environment meets our needs. We expect that, as we should. But is there more to the picture?
A zebra butterfly nectars on firebush.
If we close our eyes and visualize the way things were before highways came through, buildings went up, forests were felled, and lands were tilled under, bulldozed, and destroyed, we can “see” a much different picture from what exists now. Imagine for a moment the relative stillness… only broken by a chirping bird, a buzzing bee, the wind rustling in the grass and the branches of trees. You can almost smell the wildflowers, the sweet scent of rich soil, and crisp fresh, oxygen-rich air. The land was ALIVE, in perfect homeostasis, created delicately by time and evolution to be it’s own version of “perfection”, host to countless beings, big and small, and every bit beautiful and useful in it’s own way. Opening our eyes, we see the difference of what exists now, which is quite a harsh reality.
Nature, left to herself, is balanced, beautiful, and giving.
Our industrial evolution is necessary, a healthy part of a our growth as a species. We have developed in so many ways because of it, increasing quality of life, health, education, international connections, and much else. Nature has stood quietly by as we’ve mined and bulldozed, poked and prodded, manipulated and sometimes destroyed her riches. Like a good parent, she has given us her best, trusting in the idea that when we are mature, we too will learn to be givers, to return the favor, to remember to compensate those whom we owe. She puts faith in our goodness, our wisdom, our innate understanding of the cyclic nature of life. As any good parent gives to their child freely, such a parent will also expect their child to give back when it is their turn to do so. At this stage in our technological advancement, our great scientific understanding, and our economic power, many industrial countries and peoples are beginning to see their collective impact on their environment, learn what good changes (like habitat restoration) need to be made to become environmentally sustainable, and start to set aside the means and develop the courage to act on that knowledge. We have taken for our growth. We have grown. Now we weigh the cost against the gain and reevaluate our position to guide our next step.
This tree frog uses a bamboo sheath as perfect camouflage.
As we consider our next move toward habitat restoration, we need to be conscious of one very important cost which has been paid by our environment during our evolution. When habitat is lost to “progress”, flora and fauna often become endangered, and sometimes go completely extinct. Each time this happens, our planet loses a living treasure, a point of diversity, a link in the chain of life on earth. The billions and millions of years of development that resulted in that one glorious flower or butterfly are gone forever in one moment. We now have even greater problems approaching, like the bee crisis, plunges in the bat and bird populations, and a general loss in global biodiversity, directly linked to our behavior. There is no limit to reading up on these issues, and in doing so, it becomes obvious quickly the dangers of these problems AND our connection to them. This existing damage needs to be deeply acknowledged in moving forward.
A beautiful Queen butterfly nectars on native Lantana.
Being thankful for what Mother Nature has given us and at the same time acknowledging the price which she has paid, what should be considered as we move forward? We see several things. The first is to truly assess the state of species of flora and fauna in our local area. Are there any protected or endangered species? If so, what can be done towards habitat restoration for these species? We can evaluate plants and features which can be replaced in order to restore homeostasis to our local area. The next step is to replant any areas possible with plants which are either native or at least noninvasive, those which provide habitat for local wildlife. Once restoration is complete, our third task is to be more conscious with future projects. Before we embark on building or renovation, mining, harvesting, or farming, we need to look into the future and ask what impact our actions will have. As they say, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. We can never recreate lost biodiversity, but we CAN prevent future loss by acting consciously.
Planting a garden creates living artistic beauty.
If you are considering a habitat restoration planting project and need more information or guidance, we are happy to help. We love to create designs which are mindful of their impact on our environment. A sustainable future will be built on a foundation of mindful decisions made by forward thinking individuals. Let us be part of your effort toward a healthy future. Check out our reviews on Houzz or just give Brent a call at 305.496.5155.
Also, if you are interested in ways to volunteer in our local community when it comes to habitat restoration and conservation, check out this link for opportunities. http://www.miamidade.gov/environment/natural-resources.asp
by Brent Knoll | Sep 9, 2014 | Education
Tropical Garden Design-South Florida Style
South Florida sits 25° 46′ 26″ N / 80° 11′ 38″ W. That’s tropics baby. Hot and humid during the summer, breezy and temperate during the fall/winter. A tropical climate that’s perfect for sun bathing, swimming and ohhh yes, gardening. Miami is a mecca for growing exotic flowering trees, tropical fruit trees, fragrant shrubbery, orchids, vegetables and hummingbird and butterfly flora. If you like to garden like me, South Florida is a Tropical Garden Designers Paradise!
The sun is always shining in South Florida, which makes for accelerated growth. Landscapes mature quickly in the Sunshine State providing homeowners with instant satisfaction. No need to wait 40 years for a mature tree, we can grow it in half the time. That privacy hedge you long for can be had in just a couple years. Butterfly flora always blooming. Such an perfect climate for a Tropical Garden Design.
Here’s Landscape Designer Brent Knoll’s top 10 Tropical Garden Design ideas for South Florida.
1. Pergola- If you’ve got the space for it, then you need a pergola for an exotic flowering vine like a Jade flower or New Guinea trumpet vine. Majestic structure with a stunning flower!
Jade vine
2. Trumpet Tree- The trumpets are sounding! This is what I always tell my clients when I plant this exotic flowering bush from the tropics of South America. The foot long bell shaped flowers are sweetly scented, with a variety of colors ranging from purple to coral. An amazing plant for any Tropical Garden Design.
Sweetly scented trumpet flowers
3. Want to cover up an old fence with something stunning and easy to grow? New Guinea trumpet vine is one of my favorite flowering vines. Vine grows quickly, treating you with hundreds of tubular hot pink flowers that will make your jaw drop in wonder.
New Guinea trumpet vine
4. Privacy hedge- Bamboo is my favorite impact plant and makes a wonderful privacy hedge. Fast growing, non invasive clumping bamboo comes in a variety of sizes and colors. Plant some butterfly and hummingbird flora around your bamboo and you’ve got my favorite tropical garden design of them all, Tropical Butterfly Zen.
Bamboo hedge
5. Hummingbirds- You would think that we would have more hummingbirds in Tropical Florida than we do, but we’re only graced with their presence from November to the 1st of April. Don’t bother with the hummingbird feeders, you’ll attract ants and wasps. Instead plant turks cap, ruby red pentas, firespike and firebush. You’ll be gauranteed to have hummingbirds visit your Tropical Garden in no time.
Hummingbird nectaring on hibiscus
6. Koi pond- Tropical Zen Gardens wouldn’t be complete without a Koi pond. Imagine the Zen feel of colorful Koi swimming in a pond surrounded by papyrus, water lilies, and iris.
Koi
7. Tropical fruit trees- No tropical garden design would be complete without tropical fruit trees like mango, papaya, banana, avocado and mulberry. Rejuvenate your soil with organic material and plant away!
Jak fruit tastes like juicy fruit bubble gum
8. Butterfly gardens- As a landscape designer in Miami for over 20 years, I’ve become very fond of the numerous native butterflies we have in South Florida. I’ve also become a specialist in attracting these beautiful creatures to my gardens. By planting flowers like ruby red penta, lantanta, milkweed, corkystem and porterweed, your Tropical Garden design will become a Sanctuary overnight.
Monarch nectaring on a daisy
9. Tropical flowering trees- As a member of the tropical flowering tree society, I get to exchange horticulture information with tropical flowering tree collectors from around the world. As a designer, one of my favorite trees to plant for my clients is the Joy Perfume tree. Loaded with jasmine scented white blooms, this tree is a focal point of any Tropical Garden Design.
My favorite flowering tree, the Joy Perfume tree
10. Exotic flowers- No tropical garden design would be complete without exotic flowers like monkey brush, passion flower and the bat plant. The bat plant flower from Thailand is over 20″ long from the top of the hood to the base of it’s whiskers.
Bat flower
Need help getting started?
Landscape Designer Brent Knoll of Knoll Landscape Design has been creating Tropical Garden Designs in Miami and South Florida for over 20 years. His knowledge of the soil, plant selection and maintenance, makes him a specialist in this field. Brent provides in person consultations as well as garden design and installation. Not sure what to do first? Call Brent at 3054965155 and speak to to him personally. It’s time to get the direction you need to beautify your landscape and get the Tropical Garden you’ve always dreamed of. Call Brent Knoll today!
by Brent Knoll | Sep 5, 2014 | Education
10 Landscape Ideas for your South Florida front yard
1. Mediterranean Garden
Mediterranean Garden Design
Meandering brick paths accented with juniper, topiary balls, Italian cypress and Greek statues.
2. Tropical Paradise
Tropical Landscape Design
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Beautiful fuschia colored bougainvillea, foxtail palms and decorative pots atop keystone columns.
3. Gaurdian Cats
Tropical Garden
Pialeah ferns line this brick walkway along with walking iris, imperialis bromeliads and black bamboo.
4. Exotic waterfall
Exotic
Exotic flowering plants like giant shrimp, congo roho and water ferns flank this gorgeous waterfall.
5. Eclectic and colorful
Look at those wild colors
Firey crotons, flaming bromeliads and cairn markers spark interest at this South Florida home.
6. Incredibly edible
Incredibly edible
Tropical bamboo and butterfly flora surround these raised bed gardens.
6. French formal with sensual curves
French formal garden
Sculpted paisley hedges of Ilex and Gold Mound, mondo grass and Japanese blueberry.
7. Bamboo garden
Tropical bamboo
Baby blue bamboo with pink Belinda’s dream roses, purple ruellia and red pentas
8. Tropical joy
Joy perfume tree and black bamboo
Joy perfume tree, black bamboo, podacarpus hedge and gold mound
9. Sanctuary garden
Sanctuary garden
Exotic black and blue bamboo with pinwheel jasmine, fragrant stemmadenia trees and gold mound
10. Hummingbird and butterfly haven
Beautiful butterfly garden
Orange chrysanthis, bean pole tipi, red and pink pentas
Need help organizing your landscape ideas?
We don’t always have the right ideas to beautify our properties and if we do, sometimes were not sure how to organize them. Landscape designer Brent Knoll of Knoll Landscape Design has been beautifying Miami for over 20 years. Our reviews on Houzz and Yelp reflect our commitment to good customer service and excellent quality of work. Call Brent at 3054965155 to schedule a professional one-on-one consultation and get the beautiful landscape design you’ve always wanted.
by Brent Knoll | Aug 29, 2014 | Education
Garden ideas for the fall
It’s that time of year again. The time of year us South Floridians cherish the most, the Fall/Winter. With temps consistently in the 90’s and humidity at 100%, I personally roasted this summer. The mosquitos alone will drive a person batty! But hope is just around the corner, and with that we return to the outdoors to enjoy nature.
The fall/winter weather in South Florida is some of the finest in the world. While the rest of the states are freezing and under drifts of snow, we’re enjoying day time temps in the mid 80’s. That’s pretty sweet! During this time, it’s no wonder South Florida is hot spot for snow birds and vacationers.
Vacationing in South Florida during the fall
Not sure what to do with this super fine weather? Why not spend it sprucing up that front yard or putting in that organic garden you’ve always wanted. Ya know, it’s the perfect time of the year to plant a fruit tree or two. Whatever your aspirations might be, you might need a few garden ideas to help with the transformation. Landscape Designer Brent Knoll of Knoll Landscape Design has a few garden ideas to share. With over 20 years experience beautifying South Florida, he’s seen it all.
Without further ado, here’s Brent’s Top Ten Garden Ideas for the fall.
1. Get organized- one of the main reasons the majority of South Florida landscapes look bad is because there messy. Get a couple big garbage bags and gather up all those dead palm fronds. Any broken pots laying around? Throw em out! Spring cleaning in the fall I always say. You’ll be surprised how much better things look when the yard is cleaned up.
Time to clean up that yard
2. Butterfly gardens– South Florida weather is perfect for attracting butterflies and no better time to enjoy them than in the fall. Get those gardening gloves on, grab your shovel and plant some milkweed for the monarchs, corky stem passion vine for the zebras and a citrus tree for the giant swallowtail. Soon you’ll be chilling in your hammock, surrounded by your fluttering friends.
Monarch resting on kale leaf
3. Fruit trees- another great garden idea for the fall is to plant some fruit trees. Fruit trees like mango, avocado, lime and jak fruit thrive in our temperate climate, producing quickly and providing wonderful shade when the temps creep up. Fruit trees are beautiful and delicious!
Mango tree
4. Organic garden– for us gardeners, there’s no better time in the year to plant your herbs and veggies than in the fall. Crisp lettuce, tender broccoli and juicy tomatoes thrive in the cooler fall/winter weather. Garden ideas for organic gardening include bean pole tipi’s for your beans and cucumbers. Let those vines climb, which means less bending over.
Fresh organic vegetables from your garden
5. Hang a hammock- got a couple coco palms that are close together? Get yourself a hammock and tie it up. Mid day temps in the 70’s, butterflies fluttering about, a little Bob Marley music, a pina colada…You get the idea.
Time to relax
6. Bougainvillea for color- is there anything prettier than a bougainvillea bush in full bloom!? Breath taking aren’t they. With over 100 colors to choose from, these tropical bushes have graced Florida landscapes for years. Choose a nice sunny spot, dig a hole, add compost and plant your favorite color. Mine is fuscia!
Bougainvillea colors number in the 100’s
7. Fragrance- After a long day at work, there’s no better feeling than being welcomed home by fragrant flowers in your front yard. Fragrant flowers for the fall would include almond bush, roses, and gardenias. All easy to maintain and thrive in the cooler drier climate of our fall/winter months.
Fragrance is ideal for any garden
8. Hummingbirds- Another great idea for your fall garden is to attract hummingbirds. The hummingbirds migrate through South Florida from November to April and love to nectar on sweet flowers like firebush, firespike and ruby red penta.
Hummingbird nectaring on salvia
9. Bird bath- One of my favorite past times is to sit and watch birds taking turns at a bird bath. Position the bird bath near a small tree as the birds need to feel sheltered. Remember, the fall/winter months in South Florida are dry, so be sure to keep your bird bath clean and full of water.
Sparrow taking a bird bath
10. Entertain- enjoy the fruits of your labor and entertain your family and friends. The weather is so divine from December through March, take advantage of it. Sit around a campfire eating smores and telling stories or invite your friends to a garden brunch. You’ve worked hard to make your garden beautiful, enjoy it!!!
South Florida weather is perfect for entertaining
Need help with your Landscape Design?
Sometimes we have all the garden ideas in the world but just need a little help organizing them. Folks, Landscape Designer Brent Knoll from Knoll Landscape Design is here to help you get back on track. Brent has been beautifying South Florida for over 20 years and knows what works and what doesn’t in our tropical climate. Give him a call today at 3054965155 to schedule your one-on-one consultation and get your garden looking beautiful once again.
Landscape Designer Brent Knoll
Purple passion-flower, also known as the Passiflora incarnate, is an herbaceous vine that can climb and sprawl up to 25 ft. Local wildlife such as butterflies, moths, bees and more love this plant…
The Passiflora suberosa is commonly known as the Corky Stem Passion Vine. It gets tiny green flowers that are about the size of an adult fingertip. Planting this passion vine is one of the easiest ways to make your yard a butterfly habitat for some of the following major butterflies; Zebra Heliconian, Gulf Fritillary and Julia Dryas.
