Make some horticultural resolutions now for The New Year that will benefit any landscape. Let’s look at some resources that will make your landscaping experience in Southwest Florida the best in 2026 – we can help!
Start the year off right with planting something edible in your landscape. Many plants can be both edible and ornamental providing dual-purpose service – think of edible passionflower fruits, sugarcane, lemongrass, and Malabar spinach – incorporated into your existing landscape. For some more information, please see these publications – https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/EP475 – Landscape Design with Edibles, https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/EP146 – Edible Landscaping, and https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/EP594 – Edible Landscaping Using the Nine Florida-Friendly Landscaping™ Principles – for some suggestions. There are plants – annuals, perennials, shrubs, and trees – that are both esthetically pleasing, tasty, and nutritious if not downright delicious! Consider growing starfruit, mangos, longans, and prickly pears. Try rosemary, basil, borage, and yard long beans. And speaking of edibles, probably our most popular factsheet is https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/VH021 – Florida Vegetable Gardening Guide. This all leads me to recommend that you need to visit our publication website “Ask IFAS – Powered by EDIS”. Practically all of the research-based, unbiased information that UF/IFAS has is stored here. EDIS is the Electronic Data Information Source of UF/IFAS Extension, a treasure-trove of information on topics relevant to you and a gateway to information. This site is packed full of horticultural fact sheets (as well as other topics) on practically every subject matter with good, ready-to-use information geared specifically for Florida – please check here – http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/.
Another handy resource that is the overarching headquarters of all of our horticultural recommendations and educational outreach is Florida-Friendly Landscaping™. When we look to provide the best research-based, unbiased information for landscape care, nothing falls outside the nine Principles of FFL: 1. RIGHT PLANT, RIGHT PLACE, 2. WATER EFFICIENTLY, 3. FERTILIZE APPROPRIATELY, 4. MULCH, 5. ATTRACT WILDLIFE, 6. MANAGE YARD PESTS RESPONSIBLY, 7. RECYCLE YARD WASTE, 8. REDUCE STORMWATER RUNOFF and 9. PROTECT THE WATERFRONT. To review more details on this, please see our on-line resource – https://ffl.ifas.ufl.edu/ – where the details of common-sense landscaping are outlined and discussed. One additional resource to familiarize yourself with concerning recommended local landscape planting materials is this publication – https://ffl.ifas.ufl.edu/media/fflifasufledu/docs/FFL-Plant-Guide_v030624_web.pdf – The Florida-Friendly Landscaping™ Guide to Plant Selection & Landscape Design. This on-line guide not only has pictures of the plants, but also hardiness, sun or shade requirements, salt and drought-tolerance, size, etc. to help with your selections. Everyone with a Florida yard needs to see it!
Let Us Help You! We are just a phone call, e-mail or office visit away. UF/IFAS Extension in Charlotte County is your local clearinghouse for everything horticultural. You can also visit our office website by clicking on this link – https://sfyl.ifas.ufl.edu/charlotte/. Our Staff of experts, UF/IFAS Specialists, and Master Gardener Volunteers can help you solve landscape problems involving insect pests, plant disease, cultural problems and even household pests. Photographs of your gardening inquiries are welcome and can help speed up our diagnostic turnaround time. Our office at 1120 Centennial Blvd is found within the Centennial Park Facility just south off of Rt. 41.
You could say we live in one giant garden – potentially full of weeds, bugs, and gardening questions. The New Year is here and with it many gardening improvements, innovations, and plant palette options. All roads do lead to Extension – let us help you in 2026 with America’s number 1 hobby – gardening! For more information on our services, or to ask a question, you can also call the Master Gardener Volunteer Helpdesk on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 1 to 4 pm at 764-4340 for gardening help and insight into their role as an Extension volunteer. Ralph E. Mitchell is the Director/Horticulture Agent for UF/IFAS Extension Charlotte County. He can be reached at 941-764-4344 or ralph.mitchell@charlottecountyfl.gov. Connect with us on social media. Like us on Facebook @CharlotteCountyExtension and follow us on Instagram @ifascharco. Happy New Year!
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