Saving Water Reaps Rewards

Posted May 15, 2007 by Jamie Pilarczyk

Updated May 15, 2007 at 09:03 AM

By JAMIE PILARCZYK
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Martha Hall moved into her New Suburb Beautiful neighborhood in 1946. It wasn’t until then that she took an interest in gardening. And it wasn’t until decades later that she installed micro-irrigation lines in her flower beds to be Florida-friendly.

Her water-saving techniques are just what the Hillsborough County Cooperative Extension Service’s Florida Yards and Neighborhoods Program and the Tampa Water Department are looking for in their ninth annual Community Water-Wise awards.

Applicants are encouraged to apply if their landscape includes any of the following: use of Florida-friendly plants, prevention of stormwater runoff, efficient and appropriate irrigation, retention and/or restoration of natural areas, retention and reuse of rainfall and appropriate use of plant types. Entries are due May 31 in the categories of resident/homeowner, multi-family property, commercial property, governmental property, builder and school.

“The goal is to promote smart outdoor use of watering and landscape design in an energy-conservation approach,” said Elias Franco, manager of the department’s consumer affairs division.

When xeriscape was the buzzword of choice, Florida Yards and Neighborhoods program coordinator Marina D’Abreau said it brought to mind cactus and rocks and general bareness. So they started promoting the same idea under the name “Florida-friendly” landscaping, showing residents the wide variety of flowers and plants more resistant to drought. Slowly, the idea is being received and becoming more popular.

“We are trying to promote ‘right plant, right place,’” said D’Abreau, saying it’s the homeowners who save water, not plants.
She said turf isn’t out of the question but should be used in small patches as functional areas.

“Grass over time takes more maintenance, and it isn’t native to Florida,” said D’Abreau. “When you look at a lawn, it’s thousands of one plant in one area with nothing else in between. This increases its vulnerability to pests and disease. When you landscape with versatility, it mimics a natural system more.”

Florida-friendly landscaping workshops and Water-Wise programs are available through the extension office year-round, as well as a network of master gardeners, like Hall, who can answer questions on a variety of topics.

Hall comes from a long line of gardeners and remembers a vast vegetable garden her grandmother tended to in the Florida countryside.

“I like to plant things from seeds and watch them grow,” said Hall, a member of the Amaryllis Garden Circle who propagates her roses, fruit trees and plants and shares them with friends.

She promotes proper education in order to be smart in the yard when it comes to fertilizing, watering and being in balance with the environment. What it comes down to though, she said, is quite simple.

“If you sit a shade plant in the sun, it’s gonna die,” said Hall, explaining people should know what it is they are planting.
For more information or an application, visit the Tampa Water Department at www.tampagov.net/savewater, or call 274-8121, Ext. 1010.

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