Babylon Backyard:Master Gardener Practices

In a wee three weeks time I will graduate from the Florida Master Gardener Program, Broward County. To gain our official certification, in addition to our 150 classroom hours, we must complete 75 more hours volunteering for approved garden/park/horticultural projects. I'm not sure yet what I'll choose (we must do 40 hours at the University of Florida-Institute of Food and Agriculture Sciences (IFAS) center itself, but I was itching to ply my newfound skills by creating a Florida Friendly magical Babylonian Backyard. I would like to specialize in creating 'small space' gardens for individuals who live in townhomes or condos. Where better to practice than on my space? Here's how the garden is evolving:

This is the south facing back fence which must double as my bike storage. I found a small trellis at Lowe's that could easily 'slip' in between the staggered planks of my fence. The hanging baskets came from our local nursery, NuTurf, and are lined with pressed coconut coir liners, which are natural, organic, and environmentally safe, making them light yet providing a sustainable planting bed. To the right I planted Pandora Vine, Pandorea jasminoides, as a privacy feature. You can see the building behind my yard will now be beautifully obscured! To the left I've planted a hanging herb garden.

L to R: Sage, basil, cilantro, arugula, basil, sage.

Along the back fence my acacia palms are beginning to fill in nicely, providing a privacy barrier as well as wonderful structure with their pinnate leaves. Between them, alternating and nestled against the fence are Purple fountain grasses to provide rhythm, color and shape.

Toward the north side, directly in front of the Sable Palm, which is nearly 50' tall, I have set my lovely bubbling waterfall, now surrounded by butterfly plants: milkweed for laying eggs and feeding larvae, and a butterfly weed to provide nectar. A passion vine under the hanging herb garden basket is also a butterfly 'magnet'!

Allowing a walkway, I've selected potted palms and Hamelin, drawf fountain grasses to hide my neighbor's air conditioning unit and provide more depth and rhythm to my green fence.

Uplighting at night provides wonderful shadows and shapes.

This garden is a magical place for me to meditate, to muse, to heal, to enjoy the small, quiet moments. Now I can actually use my herbs to cook and create sage smudge sticks for friends to use. I typically have my breakfast and lunch there, and I do my writing and consulting work in the early morning hours. Designing this space feeds my creativity; being in it feeds my soul. Like my life, it is a work in progress. Best of all, you don't need a lot of space to this yourself, merely a lot of inspiration!