One book that I have been enjoying is called Gardening and Landscaping in Central Florida by Marlys Bell. It does not tackle the Tropical look specifically, but illustrates all the issues that living in zone 9a/b has to take into consideration. Throughout the book it gives suggestions for what types of plants to put in for what kind of situation and goal. "If you want green and lush through out the year, try these..." type of suggestions.

It also doesn't cover some of the more exotic types of plants that might be used, but more covers the ones that you "plant and forget" as the book tries to follow the Florida Friendly concepts of "Right Plant, Right Place", "Water Efficiently", "Mulching", "Appropriate Fertilization", "Responsible Pest Management", "Recycling", "Reducing Storm Runoff" and "Protecting the Waterways". I don't think this book by itself will help you to achieve that Tropical Look, but it can definitely help you to make sure landscape works instead of having to be replaced a few years down the road.

Another book to look into is free over the internet and has lots of good information about Landscaping in Florida. The Florida-Friendly Guide to Plant Selection and Landscape Design (for some reason the Update Message button keeps adding a space at the end of this link and breaking it. If/when you follow this link, check the address bar and remove the spaces from between the d and f in pdf) was put out by the University of Florida and is chocked full of good information. And at the end of this pdf is a rather large illustrated list of plants to consider for use. But you have to read over this list with care as it covers all plants for all of Florida, so a beautiful, tropical looking palm might turn out to be Zone 11 recommended. I like this book so much that I downloaded it to my computer so that I always have it on hand instead of having to find an internet connection and to check online. If the above link takes you directly to the PDF file instead of giving you the option to download it, you can right-click the link and choose "Save Target Link as..." to save it to your computer.

Those are the only two books that I have to suggest, as they are pretty much the only books I have so far (well, I also have Florida's Best Native Landscape Plants but this will definitely NOT help you to achieve the Tropical look... well... it could... but not to the extent that I think you're looking for.). But these two are so full of information to take into consideration that I wish I had found them when I first started working with my yard.

Edit: And now that the caffeine has penetrated my system a little more and my eyes are a tad bit more open... I realize you never really said you wanted the Tropical Look... just you wanted a book about Tropical Gardening... Oops.

This post was edited by Leekle2ManE on Sun, Apr 14, 13 at 7:52

Tom MacCubbin is the gardening guru in central Florida. He's written several books and his website is packed with info on what grows around here, what doesn't, and how to care for what does. The FAQs in particular are filled with great answers to questions from ordinary folks, as well as the extensive library of past columns. Here's the site:

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.betterlawns.com/

Jessie,

Welcome to Florida! I hope you love it here! If you are coming up/down I-95, I have a stack of them I will give to you. I have learned so much more through gardening forums and my online gardening friends than these books. I never use them anymore. If I have a question on a plant, I research it here, on Google and, - always "the ticket" - the society for the plant. However, the books were great for pictures when I was just learning plant names and basic habits. They were also good for landscaping ideas before there were so many good websites and photos online.

One of the best habits you can develop, if you don't want to waste too much money, is to research a plant here before you buy it to find out if it will do well or not. Just because you will be in Florida doesn't mean the retailers will only sell you what will grow here. You will still see Fuscia in the stores in February, LOL! And if you just have to have it before you have time to research, like so many of us do (!), read about the growing conditions before you plant it so it will have a better chance.

Let me know if you will be coming this way - I will be happy to give them to you. You are going to love it here!

Carol in Jacksonville

I usually only recommend one source of gardening info to newcomers (besides this forum!) Florida Gardening is a bi-monthly magazine I've subscribed to for years. Go to www.floridagardening.com and check it out.

9b didn't use to be considered tropical but global warming seems to be changing all that. Just 20 years ago just about the time an avacoda was ready to bear fruit a hard freeze would come along and kill it. Now people in this area grow guavas, mangos, bananas, star fruit, etc. even further north than Orange County.

If it's still in print, "Florida, My Eden" by Frederic B. Stresau is a welll illustrated compendium of exotic and native plants for use in tropic and subtropic landscapes.

Hi
A good source of general info is "Floridata" On line and free!! gary