Re-Creating a Native Plant and Bird Paradise

Lorraine Margeson and her husband, Don, bought a “piece of swampland” in St. Petersburg, Florida, in 1998—mostly because it was “an incredibly private setting in a very urban environment.” With no experience as homeowners or landscapers, all they knew was that they needed to remove 275 Brazilian pepper trees—some with a canopy of over 100 feet. (This invasive species pumps toxins into the soil that eradicate native plant species over time.) After two years of weekend work clearing the land and a failed attempt to introduce exotic palms, the couple hired a local specialist in native plants who helped them create a lush, wildlife-rich environment. Margeson describes as their new landscape as “like heaven—with a few mosquitoes and no-see-ums just to remind you that you are still on Earth.” Here’s how they did it.

Design: Green Landscape Passes Neighborhood Muster
We needed help, and found Wilcox Nursery, which specializes in native plants for Florida landscapes. Bruce Turley, the owner, has consulted with us over the years. He identified the many microhabitats on our acre of property and guided us to plant native plants within the scope of our mangrove swamp and pine hammock environments. 

A “green” landscape with plants native to your locale requires little or no maintenance once your plants are established. That means little or no irrigation and no poisonous pesticides or fertilizers, which brings the wildlife to your safe environment.

You must plant in a way, though, that allows for deciduous plant materials, flowering plants for different times of the year, and so forth. This way, your neighbors always like the look of your yard, even when some plant material is dormant—that means ugly to most folks! You need a native plant expert to guide you through such a process.

In the area where we live, you must have some lawn or completely landscaped areas (including mulch) in a 25-foot perimeter around your new build to get the sign-off to move in—no bare dirt. We have three dogs, so we needed some of that landscaping to be a grass of some sort, fenced in. We did not want to use a typical grass that builders use in Florida, like St. Augustine, which requires intensive irrigation, fertilizers and pesticides to look good. We chose Seaside paspalum, a native grass hybrid that can be irrigated with salt water right from the ocean. With our property likely to be inundated at times by brackish water, the solution was perfect. Our plantings near our tidal canals can all tolerate brackish water and are drought tolerant as needed.

Results: An Attraction for Creatures Great and Small
Now we have gorgeous green and flowering vistas friendly to birds both native and migrant, butterflies, local wild mammals (opossums, raccoons, cottontail rabbits, etc.), and beneficial snake and amphibian species.

What’s most satisfying is enjoying the lush plants, berries, flowers and greenery through all the Florida seasons, and most important, the parade of wildlife that comes because we’ve planted this—along with quite a few humans who also enjoy it!

Lessons: Get Educated, Get Help
Get educated about your environment. In my city there are many different ecosystems that require different native plants to look good and minimize care and maintenance. And there are always native ground covers that are an option and normally provide an acceptable look for your community. Consult an expert in native landscape design—and you must find a native plant retailer in your area, period.