UF Florida-Friendly Landscaping Program

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UF Florida-Friendly Landscaping Program The Florida-Friendly Landscaping™ ( FFL ) program promotes using low-maintenance plants and environmentally sustainable maintenance practices. The result?

The conservation and protection of Florida’s water resources starts at home. Landscaping choices can affect the health of ground and surface waters, and by extension the natural environment. The Florida-Friendly Landscaping™ Program educates stakeholders about how to design, install, and maintain healthy landscapes that use a minimum of water, fertilizer, and pesticides. Low-cost, low-maintenance, attractive landscapes that add value to your community and reduce the chance of polluting the water supply. The University of Florida IFAS FFL Program welcomes your comments on our social media posts and
encourages interaction. We also encourage our community to foster respectful and vibrant online connections. Before you post,
please consider the UF Core Values and review these UF Community Commenting
Guidelines (“Guidelines”). We review all comments made, and when necessary, we reserve the right to remove
comments that are:
- Off-topic
- Containing links to third-party websites or content
- Made in violation of Florida or federal law
Comments made by outside users are the authors’ opinions, not the university’s. By posting a comment on our social media pages, you agree to follow the University of
Florida Community Commenting Guidelines, host social media channel Terms of
Service, Florida, federal law, and UF regulations and policies – including but not
limited to the university’s Acceptable Use of Computing Resources Policy. Your
comments may be removed if they violate these Guidelines.

🌱 Beware of Volunteers...No, not the .master.gardeners. We love them. 😉We're talking about the surprise seedling that sh...
10/23/2026

🌱 Beware of Volunteers...

No, not the .master.gardeners. We love them. 😉
We're talking about the surprise seedling that shows up uninvited. We know you hold your breath hoping that it is a native wildflower or rare species. However, more often, they're invasive squatters hoping you'll let them stay and multiply.

Before offering up permanent residency, take a moment to accurately identify the mystery seedling. Removing invasive plants early can prevent the type of uncontrollable spread that results in preventable broad chemical herbicide applications.

🌿 What's the most unexpected volunteer plant you've discovered in your yard or neighborhood?

Florida-Friendly Landscaping Community Educator Forest Hecker in Sarasota County covered the reclassification of two Flo...
10/22/2026

Florida-Friendly Landscaping Community Educator Forest Hecker in Sarasota County covered the reclassification of two Florida plants, now recognized as non-native to Florida.

Share your thoughts after reading the blog linked in the Sarasota County post below.


- What native, naturalized, and invasive actually mean
- The evidence behind the reclassification
- Native salvia alternatives to Tropical Sage
- The difference between Florida-Friendly and Native.

Cues to Care: Are city landowners willing to make ecological landscapes?In the   article,  Mark Hostetler examines why m...
10/22/2026

Cues to Care: Are city landowners willing to make ecological landscapes?

In the article, Mark Hostetler examines why many homeowners hesitate to adopt more natural, wildlife-friendly landscapes even when they provide environmental benefits. The article focuses on the concept of"cues to care," a theory developed by Joan Nassauer, which suggests that people are more likely to accept ecological landscapes when they contain visible signs that they are intentionally maintained and cared for.

Takeaways:
- Communities and residents need visible signs of intentional maintenance, such as defined borders, clearly maintained pathways, decorative fencing around habitat areas, incorporated garden structures like arbors or pergolas.
- "Messy is subjective, one person's w**d patch is another person's wildlife habitat. Attractiveness depend on culture, neighborhood norms, personal experience, and local regulations.
- Knowledge of ecological impact can shift preferences.Educational signs and outreach can change community perceptions.
- The goal is not "wild" or "manicured", instead it is both ecological and attractive. The most successful designs combine native vegetation with visible cues of stewardship.

Photo: Mark Hostetler, UF/IFAS

Chinaberry (Melia azedarach) was introduced from Asia and is spreading across Florida. Chinaberry creates dense stands t...
10/21/2026

Chinaberry (Melia azedarach) was introduced from Asia and is spreading across Florida.
Chinaberry creates dense stands that change natural habitats by choking out the growth of competing plants. Also, the bright golden berries are toxic to some animals, adding another layer of concern. You’ll often find it along roadsides, fencelines, pastures and forest edges.

If you have Chinaberry in your yard, create a plan to remove it and replace with Florida-Friendly trees that support wildlife.

linktr.ee/floridafriendlyAs of October 1, 2026 Meta has moved to a subscription-based service for business pages and wil...
10/21/2026

linktr.ee/floridafriendly

As of October 1, 2026 Meta has moved to a subscription-based service for business pages and will be rolling out limitations on the number of external links used monthly. To help ensure our audience continues to have easy access to expanded Florida-Friendly Landscaping™ and broader UF/IFAS resources and upcoming opportunities, we're proactively expanding our use of Linktree.

The FFL Linktree 🔗 will serve as a simple, centralized hub for quick access to more information on featured topics and this post will be pinned to the top of our page.

We understand this adds an additional layer of effort and appreciate your patience and understanding as we navigate these changes.

🤔 What colors are repeated throughout your landscape?One of the easiest ways to improve curb appeal is by creating a con...
10/20/2026

🤔 What colors are repeated throughout your landscape?

One of the easiest ways to improve curb appeal is by creating a consistent color theme. Repeating flower or foliage colors helps unify the landscape, while contrasting colors can highlight entryways, focal plants, or gathering spaces.

Think of your landscape like a painting:
Repetition creates balance.
Contrast creates excitement.
Too many colors can create visual clutter.

Take a walk through your yard today and see if your color choices are working together to create a cohesive design. Share your favorite color combination in the comments! 👇

🦋🌿 Browse. Plant. Support pollinators.The Cloudless Sulphur can be spotted throughout Florida and is famous for its larg...
10/19/2026

🦋🌿 Browse. Plant. Support pollinators.
The Cloudless Sulphur can be spotted throughout Florida and is famous for its large fall migration. This bright yellow butterfly relies on host plants in the Senna and Partridge Pea families to complete its life cycle, making these plants an important addition to pollinator-friendly landscapes.

Want to make your yard more welcoming for Cloudless Sulphurs? Use the FFL Plants & Pollinators App to discover butterfly host plants and create habitat right at home.

ffl.ifas.ufl.edu/resources/apps/plant-guide/

Fabulous Ferns!Feathery green waves Thriving where the shadows rest Florida-friendlyMany native and adapted ferns flouri...
10/16/2026

Fabulous Ferns!

Feathery green waves
Thriving where the shadows rest
Florida-friendly

Many native and adapted ferns flourish in Florida's humid, shady areas with minimal inputs, adding year-round greenery and natural charm to the landscape.

Search for plants suitable for your landscape using the FFL Plants & Pollinators App.

“Our goal with our plant sale is not only to fund programming in the community,” said Yasalonis. “But to also showcase p...
10/15/2026

“Our goal with our plant sale is not only to fund programming in the community,” said Yasalonis. “But to also showcase plants that we recommend in our educational programming to people so they can practice FFLTM principles in their personal landscapes.”

Read more:

Email 0 Facebook 0 Twitter 0 Reddit 0 X Linkedin 0 Stumbleupon 0 When driving through the City of Lakeland, the view is hard to miss. Colorful plants fill medians, trees line roadways and parks, and carefully maintained green areas with Florida-Friendly LandscapingTM (FFL) plants help give the city....

🌳 Branching Out. Learning doesn't end when we've found an answer. Often, that's when a whole new set of questions begins...
10/09/2026

🌳 Branching Out.
Learning doesn't end when we've found an answer. Often, that's when a whole new set of questions begins.

What topic are you hoping to learn more about next? What would you like to see more of in 2027 from the FFL website, webinars, social pages and YouTube?

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