April Is Water Conservation Month

Dale Armstrong
Florida-Friendly Landscaping™ Coordinator


It may be hard to believe, but the spring dry season is here! And given that central Florida experienced a very warm and dry winter, many of our landscape plants and grasses are already suffering from the reduced rainfall and higher than normal temperatures.

By incorporating some Florida-Friendly Landscaping strategies, you can not only beat the heat and drought, but also help shrink your water bill. April Water Conservation Month brings awareness that by using these strategies in your landscape you'll also do your part to help protect the environment.

Did you know?

• Landscape sprinkler systems can account for up to 50 to 75 percent of many homes’ water usage during the spring dry season.



• There are nearly 380 plants, trees, shrubs, flowers and more that are recognized as Florida-friendly. To access the database, and even build an online list for your landscape, visit http://floridayards.org/fyplants/index.php.



• You don’t have to do it alone! To get more information about landscaping in central Florida visit:
  
  
  • AskExtension.Org - to review Frequently Asked Questions or ask your own question of Pinellas County Extension’s horticulture staff.
  • Florida-Friendly Landscaping's page and click on ‘Ask an Expert’ in the top-right corner to have your questions answered by Florida-Friendly Landscaping™ staff.
  
  Community Water-Wise Awards
  
  Tampa Bay Water, its Member Governments and the Florida-Friendly Landscaping™ program are sponsoring the 14th annual Community Water-Wise Awards. These awards recognize individuals and businesses with water-efficient, aesthetically pleasing landscapes.
  
  If you are interested in learning more about the awards program or would like assistance and information in creating a water-wise landscape, visit http://www.tampabaywaterwise.org/, or contact Dale Armstrong at Pinellas County Extension, (727) 582-2108.
  
  Do you think your landscape is water-wise? Fill out your free application at http://www.tampabaywaterwise.org/ by June 30, 2012 to find out!

April – Water Conservation Month

By Dale Armstrong
Coordinator Florida Yards & Neighborhoods

Perhaps you have heard that the State of Florida and many local governments have designated April as Water Conservation Month. While conserving water should be on our minds year-round, April marks the beginning of our dry season. This drier weather pattern typically lasts about three months in this part of Florida, ending when summer thundershowers commence late in June to early July.

During this drier time, warm weather may stress our lawns and landscape plants in between the mandatory once-a-week sprinkler schedule in west central Florida (reclaimed water sources are currently exempt in some communities). Selecting drought tolerant plants for your yard is one of the easiest changes you can make to minimize the impact of Florida’s seasonal rainfall. Check out these resources for more information about drought tolerant plants and Florida-friendly landscaping: FloridaYards.org and A Guide to Florida Friendly Landscaping.

Speaking of easy changes, stop flushing money down the drain by replacing that old water-hog in your bathroom. Several of our local governments are offering rebates of up to $100 per toilet replaced with a new Ultra Low Flow toilet. The rebates are partially funded by grants from the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD). For customers of Pinellas County Utilities and the cities of Clearwater, Pinellas Park, Safety Harbor, Tarpon Springs and Oldsmar, contact the Pinellas County Toilet Rebate office at (727)725-2604. For water customers of the City of St. Petersburg call (727)894-2044.

What’s Blooming in Our Gardens?

By Dale Armstrong
Coordinator Florida Yards & Neighborhoods

It wasn’t that many weeks ago that the Jet Stream delivered an Arctic blast to our area and damaged many of the cold sensitive plants here at Pinellas County Extension/Florida Botanical Gardens. Walking around the gardens this week I am amazed at how quickly everything has recovered, aided no doubt by the unseasonably warm weather of late.

Loads of colorful blooms are already popping throughout the gardens. Even the azaleas will soon be in the peak of an early bloom.

I snapped photos of a few interesting subjects to share. One incredible bloomer is Brunsfelsia spp., a shrub commonly called Yesterday-Today-and-Tomorrow. Interestingly, it is in the same family as tomato, potato, and eggplant. The Brunsfelsia will simultaneously have purplish, lavender, and nearly white blossoms. The flowers change color over a period of a few days, thus having multiple colors all on one plant. I never quite understood the common name…seems to me “Today-Yesterday-and-Day-Before-Yesterday” would be more descriptive. After all, wouldn’t “Tomorrow’s” bloom be just an unopened bud today?

And then there are the Bromeliads; so diverse, and so beautiful. We have such a large collection here, representing hundreds of species and cultivars of the Bromeliaceae family, that it is easy to enjoy a multitude of bloom varieties most anytime of the year.


The large beds of “Knock-out®” roses are also impressive right now. If you are a fan of roses there are two rose gardens here for your enjoyment.

Don’t forget to check out our newest butterfly garden near the entrance to the Extension office. Plants were selected to attract a multitude of butterfly species, so there is always something interesting to see. We have a couple of strategically placed benches so you can relax a while and see what drops by.


University of Florida fact sheets:

Brunfelsia grandiflora, Yesterday-Today-and-Tomorrow

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/FP/FP07700.pdf

Bromeliads

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/MG/MG27200.pdf

Growing Roses in Florida

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/EP/EP33900.pdf

Getting Started in Butterfly Gardening

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/IN/IN56400.pdf

How Dry is Florida?

By Dale Armstrong,
Coordinator Florida Yards & Neighborhoods

The U.S. Drought Monitor shows much of southwest and central Florida is under severe drought conditions. The entire 16-county Southwest Florida Water Management District area is in a Phase II Water Shortage. I think we all can agree that rainfall in our area of Florida has been way below normal for quite some time. All we have to do is look at our suffering plants and grass to confirm that.

However, it is rare that we have an opportunity to actually observe the impact of these dry conditions in a swamp. Recently, I had the opportunity to do just that. My wife and I had the pleasure of joining folks from the Pinellas Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society on a visit to Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park a few miles southeast of Naples. This was our second visit to this fabulous linear swamp forest, and we wondered with the on-going drought whether we would actually get our feet wet on this “swamp walk”.

During our first visit in April of 2006, well into the current drought we are experiencing, the deepest portion of the slough we traversed had water that was knee-high. We were told then that the normal water level in that section of the strand is about waist deep on most folks.

What we observed on this most recent trip is that in that same slough there is now no water. In the accompanying photo you can see that the high-water marks on the pond apple are indeed about waist level of the individual standing just in front of the tree. Beyond the slough we came upon a pond that has now shrunk to just a couple of gator holes in the deeper areas. When you see the effects of drought on Florida’s natural areas and realize the impact this has on these ecosystems it really opens your eyes.

Local restrictions imposed on our use of sprinkler systems may be frustrating when we are trying to keep our landscapes looking nice and green. But, since we need to conserve what water supplies we have for more critical uses, restrictions on water used for landscape purposes can certainly be understood. Let’s all make a commitment to conserve this valuable resource, not only for our use but also for the benefit of Florida’s natural areas as well.

Local information about outdoor and indoor water conservation may be found at:

http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/

http://www.tampabaywater.org/

http://www.pinellascounty.org/utilities/departments/altwater.htm