Florida Gardening: Yeah, we got bugs in Florida, 2 by Wyckoff

Wyckoff wrote:
Dear FloridaBunnie,

My husband too would love a neat sea of green grass for a front lawn. He’s from North Carolina and grass is easier there.

I’m an on-again-off-again member of the Florida Native Plant Society. We have native grasses in Florida but they are mostly (all?) bunch / clump grass that will not work for a lawn.

My yard is against grass too. It is high, dry, sandy and well drained. It’s great in a hurricane.

I have Yucca filamentosa growing naturally in both the front and back yards. The front yard is easily classified as “scrub habitat” while the back has longleaf and sand pine and turkey oaks.

When the house was built, an irrigation system was installed. Then the homeowners’ got their first water bill. Shortly thereafter a shallow well was added to the property. It’s just outside the Master Bedroom windows and is the noisiest pump I’ve ever heard.

Except I’ve not heard it in a very long time. I’ve turned it off. Here’s the problem. When we need water, the well is dry. In fact the only time the well has water is after heavy, prolonged, days and days of rain. Like immediately after a hurricane! Think about it. IT’S A SHALLOW WELL! Duh!

So I was grateful when the gaillardia came along. We already had blue toadflax in the spring and some blue spiderwort showed up here and there. I even have a couple of white spiderworts.

But I really appreciate the gaillardia. And the nice comments. Thank you.

Candace