Tour features yards friendly to Florida

The gates will be open Saturday to 13 yards that are short on water-wasting grass, and long on drought-tolerant plants and shrubs.

By THERESA BLACKWELL

© St. Petersburg Times,
published September 28, 2001

LARGO -- Mary Ann Hubalck sketched out her ideas for her yard before she and her husband even moved into their house in Belleair Beach two years ago.

Her design included mulched paths, trees, flowering bushes, drought-tolerant native plants -- and no grass.

"I traded off my lawn mower, weed-whacker and edger when we moved here," said her husband, Robert Hubalck. "This is really her garden. I just provide the slave labor, push the wheelbarrow around."

But the need for labor, water, fertilizer and pesticides is minimized in a certified Florida Friendly Yard such as the Hubalcks'.

Theirs is one of 70 yards in Pinellas County and 10 in Pasco County certified as Florida Friendly by the Florida Yards & Neighborhoods program of the Pinellas County Extension Service in Largo. Thirteen of them -- in Safety Harbor, Tarpon Springs, Belleair Beach, Treasure Island, North Redington Beach, Seminole, St. Petersburg, New Port Richey and Holiday -- will be open Saturday for a self-guided tour.

The environmentally friendly yards have many flowers with little grass, watering or use of chemicals, and they help support wildlife.

The goal of the certification program is to conserve water, reduce runoff of stormwater polluted with fertilizers and pesticides, and preserve wildlife habitat. Dale Armstrong, the program coordinator, said this will be the group's first yard tour.

"We're hoping that people who see the examples of certified Florida Friendly Yards will be encouraged to learn more about the program and work toward certification," Armstrong said.

He said his office helps gardeners take it step by step so they won't be overwhelmed.

The process starts with a workbook, a handbook and a checklist. The checklist gives points for what homeowners are doing right in their yards and helps them see what they need to change to get certified.

Tips include picking the right plant, watering efficiently, mulching, recycling yard wastes, fertilizing only as needed, using environmentally friendly pesticides sparingly, reducing stormwater runoff, supporting wildlife and protecting shorelines.

"A lot of times people are in tune with this and it takes very little to get the certification," Armstrong said. "Other times, they are starting from scratch."

Len and Marleen Gravitz of Tarpon Springs, whose yard is on Saturday's tour, can provide an idea of just how biologically diverse a certified yard can be.

On a recent visit to the Gravitz home, Len Gravitz opened the front door and a frog hopped out.

"It's hard to train those guys," he said.

The frog was just the leading edge of an ecosystem of wildlife just around the corner in the lanai. Where some might have a pool, the Gravitz family has landscaping surrounding a pool-sized rock pond teeming with multicolored koi. The lush habitat under the screened cage is a definite departure from the norm.

Finches fly freely and lizards have taken over one of the birdhouses. Turtles crawl up on the rocks, and geckos and insects roam. In the side yard that merges with the property of Carolyn Venn and her sons Christian and Aaron, a joint butterfly garden is emerging. The neighbors are working together to transform the space in a Florida-friendly way.

"What we're trying to do here is have a garden that we can enjoy but not be a slave to," Carolyn Venn said.

Marleen Gravitz would like to eliminate more grass.

"Acres of grass is not something we find useful," she said. "Grass is subject to those creatures that make it turn brown and ugly, whereas native plants and ground covers aren't."

If you go

Pick up directions and an information packet on the self-guided tour of certified Florida Friendly Yards at the Pinellas County Extension Service, 12175 125th St. N, Largo, starting at 9 a.m. Saturday. Yards are open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The charge is $5, $3 for members of the Florida Botanical Gardens. For more information, call (727) 582-2124 or visit the Web site coop.co.pinellas.fl.us and click on Florida Yards & Neighborhoods. For information on lawn and gardening, visit the University of Florida Web site at hammock.ifas.ufl.edu.

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