Gardening is made both interesting and challenging by the imperative to adapt to local condition: rainfall, sunlight, temperature range, soil conditions, insects--the list goes on. Gardening near the ocean, on a barrier island, in the tropics, presents a pretty specific set of parameters to plan and execute against.
Here are a dozen or so insights and tips for successful Vero Beach gardening:
Get Involved
Direct involvement by homeowners (i.e., keen interest, study, hands-on labor) is the key to truly beautiful gardens. Most landscaping companies cut grass, edge, trim, and depart, having no engagement in the substantive and challenging issues of design, specimen selection, health, disease, feeding, and irrigation. Gardening experts are available to assist, but finding a good match can take time, and very good ones can be pricey. Pitch in directly to create something exceptional.
We Have Seasons
We have a cool winter with minimal rain and a hot summer with lots of rain. This introduces variability into everything that should happen in our gardens: what and when to plant, when to fertilize, cyclic pest invasions, how much to irrigate, and so on. Once you spend years in the tropics, the four seasons will begin to seem as extreme as in New England.
Sun Versus Shade
When purchasing plants, inexperienced buyers may not closely scrutinize — or take seriously — the information provided on the small plastic inserts. However, sun-loving plants will fail in shade, and shade plants will fail in direct sunlight. This is a critical distinction to respect in sunny Florida.
Salt Damage
Living on or close to the beach — say, three or four lots back — puts plants and shrubs at risk for salt damage. Try this for yourself: on a sunny day with strong easterly winds and pounding surf, stand on the beach and watch atomized clouds of salt water envelop waterfront homes and continue inland. It’s stunning. If you live within reach of this cloud, select plants and shrubs — reading the helpful plastic inserts — that are salt tolerant.
Inspect Weekly
Monitor landscaping religiously for insects and disease — the possibilities for plant loss in the tropics, especially with flowering specimens, are extensive. Literally walk your yard like a detective! Insects become more active in warm weather. Begin and/or expand personal knowledge of which insects attack which plants, which informs effective treatment. (I lost a huge bed of dwarf pink oleanders to aphids across three inattentive weeks. The bed took a year to restore).
Spray Often
Use appropriate insecticides on vulnerable plants to ward off destructive insects. At first signs of damage to leaves, assume a full onslaught will follow rapidly — that night! — and act boldly. A very effective option to insecticides, depending on insect and plant type, can simply be forceful spray with a hose.
Prune Constantly
Walk your yard with a pruning shears and bucket. Remove (correctly) dead flowers, diseased flowers, yellowed leaves, suspect or dead branches, and so on. Also keep plants appropriately trimmed and shaped. Don’t rely on the weekly “landscaper” to do this — high-speed hedge trimers can significantly damage plants and shrubs.
Add Soil
If you live on the barrier island and garden, it’s amazing to discover that plants, shrubs, and trees will grow in ground that is predominantly sand. However, when planting new purchases, dig a generously-sized hole and amend your sand mixture with plain soil, or some type of enhanced gardening soil, mixing a 1:1 ratio. Fertilize by laying down time-released pellets, then surround generously with mulch. Water immediately and then daily for two weeks to establish.
Fertilize Appropriately
Living things need food to survive and grow. Plants, shrubs, and trees draw nutrients from soil, sometimes at accelerated rates, with scant sources of natural replenishment. Garden fertilization is not an easy thing to do well: it seems that every green object requires its own dedicated concoction and schedule. Here it makes sense to divide things in two: the homeowner doing plant-specific feeding, and hiring a company for larger-scale jobs. In Indian River County, there is ample regulation specifying what companies can fertilize, when, using what products, all aimed at protecting the lagoon from excess nutrient runoff.
Mulch A Lot
Mulch is necessary to retain moisture and inhibit weeds. Mulch frequently, be generous with amounts used (three inch
layer), mulch every bed, don’t let it thin out. Especially in our climate, mulch will enhance the effectiveness of irrigation significantly, providing a better result for the electricity and water used. To be sure, buying bagged mulch, transporting it, and spreading it, is a dirty, nasty job. But it has to be done.
Irrigate Intelligently
Most homeowners with irrigation systems set up the programmer once (or have the installer do it) and leave it at that. This generic approach will not cut it, harming a landscape by over-watering for some periods and under-watering for others. Irrigation must be synchronized with seasonal temperatures and rain patterns. Wind will evaporate moisture from plants quickly. Mature plants and shrubs will block the spray from long-installed heads. Proper irrigation is vital for a healthy tropical garden. Raise it to a top priority. Know your system intimately.
Minimize Hurricane Damage
Prepare for hurricane season by inspecting trees for damaged or weakened branches and prune as needed. With live oaks, this is doubly critical, given the size and weight of branches. Remove dead palm fronds and all coconuts. Newly-planted palms should be supported with braces for the first six to eight months; do not drive nails into the trunk.
Keep Landscaping Off House
It is common to see overgrown landscaping touching and overhanging — or worse still, pressing tightly against — the walls and roofs of homes. This is a disaster in the making, providing a means of access and point of shelter for all types of invading and destructive insects, as well as reptiles and rodents, including indigenous roof rats, experts at breaking into attics. Clear it away and create a wide separation margin.
Remove Ancient Stuff
Equally prevalent are homes — particularly those of long-term owners — surrounded by landscaping that has long outlived its useful life. Everything is tired: ill-shapen, long legged, gigantic, or alternatively, barely alive, diseased, and so on. It’s best to rip it out and start over, since plant life has a limited life span (just like humans).
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