Landscaping
out with holiday plants, colorful berries, pine cones and
greenery. Fortunately, many native and Florida-friendly
plants are ideal for decorating, and we may already have
some of them in our yards (see below).
What to Plant: Potted plants bring a bit of nature
indoors; they are beautiful living decorations in our
homes, make wonderful holiday gifts, and many can be
replanted in our landscape to enjoy for years to come.
decorative table-top trees that will do well indoors after
the holidays if kept in full
sun and watered only when
the soil is dry to the touch.
tolerate a freeze, and while
the landscape in central
Florida, it can survive if
location. Rosemary is a
hardy perennial that can
be planted outdoors in an
area with full sun and good
drainage. Poinsettias are
classic holiday plants. They
can be enjoyed inside now
and planted in your yard
once the danger of frost is
past. Amaryllis is a subtropical bulb with large, showy
garden once the weather has started to warm, and they
spring, and for years to come. Cyclamen is another
holiday favorite that can be enjoyed as a houseplant, but
it also can be grown as a winter annual in our Florida
landscape. Christmas cactus is a colorful long-lived
houseplant that will do well in your lanai year-round, but
it cannot tolerate a freeze. When selecting any container
plant, make sure that it has healthy foliage and that no
roots extend from the bottom of the pot.
cleome, dianthus, foxglove, nasturtium, ornamental
cabbage/kale, pansy, petunia, snapdragon, sweet pea,
verbena, and viola). Masses of any of these plants will
create spectacular, frost-tolerant displays that will last
until spring. Only very cold hardy vegetables should
celery, collards, lettuce, mustard, onions, peas, radish,
spinach, and turnips). Herbs to consider include chives,
coriander, dill, fennel, garlic, oregano, parsley, rosemary,
sage and thyme.
What to Do: Look around
your yard and neighborhood
for natural holiday decorating
materials – things like
evergreens, dried plant
materials, blossoms, and
berries. Dried seed pods from
palms can form a boat that
holds pine cones, pine boughs,
and holly. Palm fronds can be
used in arrangements, and
citrus slices can be dried in the
oven to add color to wreaths
and arrangements. Mistletoe
decoration for centuries and
it may be growing as a ball
suspended in your hardwoods.
if you use it in decorating.
Nothing in the landscape should be fertilized except
annuals and vegetables (they need fertilizer every
4-6 weeks). Do not prune any of your shrubs or trees,
them, and you can always remove dead branches from
pines and brown fronds from palms.
pg. 22 Silverthorn, Traditions Newsletter