Landscaping Ideas for Florida Yards

Water Features

• Incorporate attractive water features such as a waterfall, fountain, rain garden or fish pond. Plant with long-blooming day lilies and ferns. Moving water will attract birds to the garden, grace the garden with the sound of moving water and provide needed moisture for butterflies. Leather fern (Acrostichum danaeifolium), which grows to 5 feet to 8 feet tall at maturity, is a graceful addition to a water feature planting.

  Elephant ear, also known as giant taro (Alocasia spp.) is a striking sun- to partial-shade-loving plant that does well in moist Florida environments. Hardy and easy to grow, elephant ears form nicely shaped clumps of vivid greenery.

Solar Lighting

• Tropical Florida gardens are greatly enjoyed by moonlight. The cooler part of the evening is an especially nice time to relax and enjoy the beauty of flowers and foliage. Highlight garden paths and features with handsome solar-powered lighting. Use solar lights to brighten a fern garden, light a garden gate or define stepping stones.

  The tall, distinguished stalks of the cast-iron plant (Aspidistra elatior) thrive in partial to full shade and add dimension and interest to dark garden spots. Solar lighting casts interesting shadows made by the deep-green plant. The plant matures into solid, impressive clumps that are approximately 36 inches tall. Very hardy and requiring little maintenance, the cast-iron plant will grow almost anywhere.

Fragrant Flowers

• Add ginger to the back of flower beds, along fence lines and as an elegant plant to line pathways. Spiral ginger (Costus scaber), is a tall, stately ginger presenting round, deep-green leaves that are fuzzy on the underside. The plant exhibits beautiful, long-lasting yellow flowers that are excellent for cutting to use in flower arrangements. Tropical perennials such as heliotrope, yellow shrimp plants, blue ginger, butterfly ginger and caricature plants thrive in South Florida.