I was reading the gardening section of our paper this morning and just had to chuckle. There was a question from a person who had recently moved to Florida, planted all their usual northern favorites, and couldn't understand why every single one withered and died.

I don't know about you, but about 90% of the folks I meet who have been transplanted here do the same thing. I am afraid I too have to raise my hand and admit that it took me a good five years before I got the hang of Florida type gardening.

Taking my usual approach, I researched like crazy before we moved here. I purchased the Yankee's Guide to Florida Gardening that clearly told me - girlfriend, this ain't the North! We subscribed to the local weekend newspaper so we could become familiar with plant names, garden club offerings, and basically just get the lay of the land. And yet, I still somehow believed that I could make Northern plants grow here. Ha! I learned my lesson very quickly and totally gave up on planting until I took all my readings to heart. And, yes, it took 5 years and lots of dead plants for me to buckle under.

But buckle under I did and so must our fellow new-Floridians. It only makes sense that we add plants to our gardens that are meant to be here. From an environmental perspective, it controls the number of non-native species. By bringing in plants that grow best up north, we also waste water and use a lot of fertilizers and pesticides unnecessarily. Besides, we don't give ourselves the ability to truly appreciate one of the reasons we came here to begin with - gorgeous landscapes made of plants we only dreamed about or nursed along as houseplants in colder climates. So instead of lilacs try crape myrtle; rather than forsythia try thryalis (one of my personal favorites - it is an almost constant bloomer); in place of tulips plant amaryllis. And so on - there are lots of great reference books out there and local extension services that love to share information. Besides, who wouldn't want to spend the day sitting on the beach in shorts in December with a great gardening book? I know I would. Happy Florida Gardening.