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bellamom_gw

Gardening in northern Florida???

bellamom
10 years ago

Hi there...I am new here. I am currently in Southern Missouri and thinking of moving to the Gainesville area. I am looking for a clerical job and a home where I can garden. I have a cousin in the area. He tells me that he gardens in containers because the soil is so sandy. My question is this...can I plant a cottage type garden in this area??? I love Daylilies and Hostas the most. I want to grow tons of perennials...Salvia, Heuchera, roses, Iris, Coreopsis...so tell me guys...is that possible??? and how is unemployment there?? Thanks!!! Kathy

Comments (7)

  • KaraLynn
    10 years ago

    Yes you can plant a cottage type garden, you just have to adjust the types of plants you use. My front garden is a cottage garden with a somewhat tropical twist and I'm a couple counties south of Gainesville. My soil started out very sandy but I've been able to build it up by adding a lot of organic material. Daylilies, as long as you get the right varity, do very well, I have a lot of them. I haven't had any luck with hostas but maybe you'll be far enough north for them. Some of the plants I have in the front are various coreopsis, firespike, profussion zinnias, stokes aster, crinum (Queen Emma, Sangria, milk & wine, and Menehune), white butterfly ginger, liatrus, butterfly weed, asian rain bells, daylilies, blackberry lily, louisianna iris, various salvias, pink porterweed, coleus, african blue basil, justicia, rain lilies, amaryllis, lions tail, fennel, mexican tarragon, dianthus, black-eyed susan, tansy, asian hollyhocks, bamboo muhly grass, swamp hibiscus, ornamental bannana trees, and more. Here's a picture along the front sidewalk from last year. The ground cover on one side is sunshine mimosa and on the other is chenille plant. Hope this helps you!

    Kara

  • nugger
    10 years ago

    Forget hostas, way too hot, my wife tried for years but gave up, instead plant boston fern's that multiply each year. If you visit Kanapaha gardens, you will see what grows well, although I think they are in there own micro climate. Having come from England I find it hard to grow stuff here, got to have the right kinda citrus, got to have the right kinda pear ect & it takes for ever for the plants to get established.Last year we had our last frost on 31 Jan, this year it was 28 march. You get a couple of months in the spring where every thing grows good but we dont get much rain, so the sprinkler is going all the time, then when the rain does come, mid to end of june, its too hot for anything to grow. All in all its an uphill battle but i keep trying, would love to garden in california, thats the place to garden!

  • pnbrown
    10 years ago

    A "cottage garden" includes food plants, doesn't it?

    Various food crops grow well in north florida, different crops in different seasons. The typical spring crops up north (or summer crops in the PNW and Britain) are winter crops in florida. Summer crops are spring and fall in florida, and summer in florida requires plants that adapted to the humid tropics: sweet potato, okra, pigeon and cow peas, etc. The good news is that those can produce very abundantly if soil is managed to avoid nematode infestation, which entails building up OM, supplemental mineralizing, and good crop rotation.

  • Carol love_the_yard (Zone 9A Jacksonville, FL)
    10 years ago

    OM = organic matter

  • zzackey
    10 years ago

    Wow! Alot of different advice. I lived in the Vero Beach area for 17 years and here in 8b Ga for 7 years. Compost added to your soil is a must. Although we grew Golden Jubilee tomatoes in the sandy soil and had a terrific crop, plus we have grown English peas, okra and collards with great success and no amending the soil at all! I don't reccomend doing this. Our home is on an old pasture. We are trying to use compost and our own dried grass to create a better garden. Using only heirloom varieties of plants when possible. We have 2.5 acres of land. I told my husband he wouldn't have to mow if he tilled more gardens for me to plant. So far it has worked!!

  • courtneych
    10 years ago

    The first rule of growing in Florida is to add lots of organic matter. I mean lots, as in truckloads. Here in the Gainesville area a great source is Soil Enrichment Products (352-317-3131) in the little town of Hague, just a few miles north of Gainesville on US 441. Floyd, the owner sells a mix of cow manure compost (from the UF dairy) and peanut hulls that is great for filling raised beds or just amending Florida sand. I buy several pickup loads each year (about $50 for a short bed pickup full), but he can deliver if you don't have access to a truck.
    The second rule is learn what varieties to grow well here and when to plant them. UF's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences publishes a great vegetable garden guide, available for free at: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/vh021. I harvest vegetables 12 months out of the year, but I change what I plant with the seasons.

  • Rhonda
    10 years ago

    Kathy, I work in Gainesville and there are some beautiful big victorians and little cottages in the downtown area with very cute cottage style gardens. While the soil is sandy (not as bad as my property in the sandhills 45 minutes South) you can amend the soil to make it acceptable to more plants. Gainesville is a Tree City USA so there are lots of mature trees to offer shade.
    Unemployment is very low compared to most of the state and the University of Florida, several hospitals and the City and Gainesville Regional Utilities are big employers. There is also a budding innovation center. I attached a link to the City's website.
    However, the property taxes are very high and lots are typically small. If you don't mind a half hour drive or so on quiet country roads, you can get bigger houses with bigger lots for less in neighboring counties and still enjoy all Gainesville has to offer.
    Good luck with the job and house hunt. Email me if you have any questions.
    Rhonda

    Here is a link that might be useful: City of Gainesville