Florida Landscaping

When the Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon set sail for the new world he was looking for the fountain of eternal youth. While he didn’t find it (he was eventually shot with an arrow and died an agonizing death) he did find the next best thing: Florida.

It was easy to understand why this lush peninsula was the inspiration for Ponce’s question. As one of the most beautiful destinations in the world, people flock to its sunny shores to feel young again.

Several centuries later a man named William Lyman Phillips (known as the pioneer of Florida landscaping) began his seminal role in defining Florida landscaping. Growing up around the turn of the century Phillips was fascinated with all things alive. Although growing up in the northeast he soon moved to Florida where most of the best horticultural marvels existed.

After studying and practicing the art of Florida landscaping he eventually went on to create is masterpiece, and the blueprint for future Florida landscaping with the Fairchild Tropical Garden in Miami. The garden was completed in 1938 and still exists today as a marvel to the wonders of Florida landscaping.

Fortunately the adventurous landscaper can now bring the grave and elegance of Florida to their home all year round, with Florida landscaping.

If you live in sub-tropical climate you have the perfect environment to create a gorgeous Florida landscape. What is a sub-tropical environment? It is any environment that does not fall below –4 degrees Celsius in the winter months. Most of the continental United States is sub-tropical.

This temperature is required to cultivate tropical flowers such as orchids, hibiscus and palm trees. If this seems bizarre, just look at England. At the turn of the century, palm trees were a favorite backyard fixture in many dreary suburban homes.

The only thing that tropical plants ask for a lot of is water. This will be your biggest challenge when trying to create a Florida landscape in your backyard. You will need to water the plants almost everyday and give them a little bit of shade to avoid over-evaporation in the hotter summer months.

If you keep this in mind you too can have a landscaped garden in the tradition of William Lyman Phillips and his masterpiece the Fairchild Tropical Garden in Miami.