Rocking Paver Installation

The start and middle of 2000 square foot paver installation.  Tremron pavers, running bond pattern, these fellows are good and fast.  Next pavers will be installed on the floor of party pavilion and the landscaping will start.  This is going to be one good looking job.

Moving Cabbage Palms

A couple of weeks ago the crew moved two cabbage palms as part of a landscape renovation I designed.  I got there in time to video the removal of the second palm.  A royal Poinciana Tree will be the new showcase of this front yard in a few years. 




Moving the palms was pretty slick.  First they go around the fiberous root ball with a trencher which neatly slices the roots into a tight cube.  A padded sling on the skid loader is attached to the palm, the loader does most of the work gently rocking the tree back and forth easing the dirt away.  And next there you have it popped out and ready to place in a new location.

Harper and Midwest Kind

What a treat, the band Harper and Midwest Kind performed at the Charlotte Cultural Center, Port Charlotte, FL certainly one of the best bands I have seen in a long time.

Iguana Love

Another warm day today mid 80's, high of 87 which is warmer than usual last week much of the state set record highs.  This is a good thing as far as I am concerned my first Thanksgiving as a Floridian my solar batteries have definitely been on full charge since moving here in July.

This iguana cruised through my yard last week while I was mowing.  He was gorgeous, great color, heavy bodied and in no hurry.  Not sure if he escaped from a house or if he is free range, iguanas are not native to FL but there are a few roaming, I hear that on some of the out islands they are really flourishing.

Super groovy experience photographing this creature, he lounged on the canal side of our fence and I was able to spend several minutes observing and snapping pictures.

Before African Iris and Podocarpus

After Coontie, Jatropha Standard and Hibiscus

This house is located in a neighborhood where the original landscaper must have had stock in African Iris and Hibiscus
standards (tree form) they are in every job, this house had over twenty in the entrance garden, not any more.

Before, African Iris Festival

After, Variety is The Spice of Life

The axiom "first year they sleep, second year they creep and third year they leap" is accelerated in the sunshine state, you can pretty much count on the leap by the end of the second year.  This time next year the plumbago surrounding this lamp post will be full 3 x 3' and bursting with blue flowers and welcome change from the mundane landscape that was here.

Allamanda Vine

Love this allamanda vine growing over a arbor at a downtown Punta Gorda bistro.  There are lots of little restaurants with quaint gardens and over flowing pots in this lovely city on the harbor.  I hope to sample much of the gastronomic delights offered in my area, off season there are more specials and less crowds, local time.

Lighting Comes Soon

Sold some outdoor lighting at this house this week.  It is unusual and unlikely that I will see this job lit at night, previously I would check my lighting jobs at night and make some tweaks that way, guess I will learn to rely upon installers more.  I must admit that I am getting more used to being involved less on the day to day aspects of my installations but I can't say yet that I am totally happy about it.  Going from 100% involvement to just design is a big leap.

Night Lights on The Pond

This is one job that I did get to see at night, this new pond looks great at night with just the right lighting.  The pond was installed by I Dig Ponds.  Now Hazeltine is on site beginning the large paver patio that surrounds some of this lovely water feature.  Part of my job today will be checking progress on the pavers.  Thanks for dinner Chris and Tom we had a swell time and the chow was great, can't wait for the first party when the whole project is finished.

Pavers, Palms and Native Boulders

This new paver sidewalk dramatically changed the appearance and functionality of this couples Venice home.  The narrow three foot concrete walk lacked imagination and made egress awkward, next step new landscaping including a low maintenance dry creek bed.

Setting three native Florida limestone boulders is the first step in building the creek bed.  Florida
boulders have lots of interest with nooks and crannies that pique the geologic imagination.  Often times these boulder have holes worn through by centuries of water erosion.

"Planting" boulders promotes a natural look and makes them seem as though they have been part of the their new home rather then a contrived feature of the landscape.  The crew gets them close with the skid loader but it is manual labor that positions them in an artistic fashion.  No easy task.

Preserving the customers lawn is a priority for Hazeltine Nurseries and just like we did in Indiana the crews lay drive on boards to keep from rutting the turf.  Florida lawns are more forgiving than Indiana turf, the spongy nature of St. Augustine grass means the grass will bounce back quickly.

Out with the Old

These two foxtail palms died from unknown causes although I did find a large burrow under one when I investigated.  The other foxtails head snapped off during high winds a couple of weeks ago, when I originally saw the two trees I told the homeowner I did not know how long they would survive but mother nature made the decision .  We replaced them with two big fat boys and they look marvelous, palms are a great addition to all Florida landscapes.

In addition to replacing the palms on this job we did a major clean up, landscaping really grows fast in Florida, one missed pruning and it gets out of control very quickly.  Three men worked 10 hours on this

property, what a difference 30 hours can make.

Another component of this job included extending the existing drain tile into the swale, the original contractor should have done it but left the task half finished.  We also replaced some dead Texas Sage and Mirror Viburnums with Podocarpus, looking good.

A long days work in the hot sun is the norm for these hard working men in the Florida landscape industry.  Trimming palms is hard work, running a chainsaw overhead, up on ladders, debris flying in your eyes, it all takes a special type of commitment.

Hazeltine 12th Annual Fall Festival

The 12th Annual Fall Festival took place last week at Hazeltine Nurseries and it was a smashing success!  Activities began on Thursday and continued through Saturday and included a variety of speakers and events.  Florida Master Gardeners were on hand to answer questions, a citrus expert, a butterfly garden expert provided crowds with information on those topics.  In house speakers included Stephen Hazeltine, (owner) who engaged crowds with a talk on Outdoor Rooms, Tyler Rubley speaking on Right Plant, Right
Place and a great talk from our maintenance department.

Our large greenhouse was decked out with pumpkins, orchids, bromeliads and palms adding to the festive spirit of the occasion, we even had a great Chicago style hot dog truck that offered delicious fare including polish sausage, Italian beef and chili dogs a great respite form my normal cold lunch.

Sharon sure knows how to please the lunch crowd, yum...yum.


The nursery is full and the stock is looking great, in Florida as in many parts of the country Fall is a great time for planting.  Snowbirds are on the wing in SW FL and Hazeltine is ready with a great selection of plants and pottery.





Sales are going well for me, my bigger current job is beginning to take shape, the pond is nearly complete, the pavilion is scheduled to start next week and the pavers are sitting on the dock ready to ship out of Arcadia next week.

This is one of the two cabbage palms being removed from a job I designed in Venice, the palms were removed to make room for the hardwood Flamboyant Tree that will eventually fill the yard with beautiful red blooms.  The men make short work of the tasks at hand installing jobs as fast as I can sell them.

If you follow my blog you know I chased Sandhill Cranes on my IN property trying to capture them on film for many years, in this part of FL they are common as lizards but I still find them fascinating, they are so used to people down here that they do not flee when pedestrians stroll past.

What a fabulous creature, their
vocalizations seem to be less in this
urban environment, I guess they do not feel the alarm or fear predation as
they do in more rural areas.












I was out measuring a paver job in Sarasota this week and the potential customer certainly had a green thumb, this gorgeous Staghorn Fern was one of three strung in the trees, a plant your will certainly find strung from a tree in my yard once I landscape.  This one was an exceptional in size and owners had it displayed front and center of their yard.

The first job I sold three months ago was to a sweet, retired school teacher residing about three miles from our shop, I am now bidding another job in her development so I was able to photograph our installation, I must say it looks good.  On of the objects was to hide the electrical box and these varigated
Scheffelara did the trick.  The boulders also provided homeowner Jodie with a great spot for her Halloween pumpkins.

The tropical foliage and exciting new plant pallet is a welcome change from my 30 years of landscaping in NE IN, the opportunity to just design and sell is also a welcome change from the all encompassing challenge of owning your own business.  I admit to missing the personal freedom but the last 90 days has been full of learning and excitement for me.

Courtyard Cool

Freshly Planted Veggie Boxes

The need to eliminate mowing often drives landscape design especially in smaller yards.  Installing pavers surrounded by plants and in this case veggie planting boxes will transform this North Port home from basic green to courtyard cool.  After my first go around with this design it was back to the drawing board and the paver sidewalk along the pool deck blossomed from 250 square feet of pavers to the nearly 500 square feet we settled upon.

One of Four Places Pavers Terminate

The paver walkway wraps from the pool deck patio around the pool to this side of the pool cage, taking a soft left turn to the back gate and finally winding around to the side gate.  Picking up the downspouts and burying them under the paver paths will eliminate an ongoing water issue.  The transformation should be stunning.

Great Pergola

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have driven by and admired this landscape design at the entrance to Plantation Lakeside off
Toledo Blade Blvd. in North Port, finally I had business in the addition and was able to stop and snap a few pictures.  What a great display of bougainvillea.  There is a sweet fountain off to the side that really sets this design apart.



The first large landscaping job I designed and sold is well under way, this one should be fun to track on the blog.  It has everything you could want;  a water feature, a fire pit, a huge pavilion, built in seating, a bar and an exceptional paver patio.  We have finished the backyard demolition which included dividing and moving this 25' clump of black bamboo.  First the men Shaun, James and George dug a trench around the plant then put the forks on the skid loader and popped it out, the perfect tool to make short work of this monster plant.

First the Trench

Lifting Out Bamboo

Bamboo Divided and Planted

Setting rough grade allowing for the 7-8" of paver base, sand and 2 3/8" pavers that will be installed after the pond and pavilion are built.  The grade appears low but once you add it up it is easy to see how everything will  fit together.

George on One End of The Grade Stake

This landscaping is only 12 years old but the new home owners are not satisfied with the look, they especially do not like the topiary, which is admittedly outdated.

New Landscaping Please

Saving the palms is a definite, orange bird of paradise and few other select plants is a as well but most of the other small plants will be removed.  The crape myrtle tree dead center has really outgrown the original planting and is blocking more than just the view.

While the heat is relenting business is heating up as the snowbirds flock south.  Soon there will not be enough hours in the day or manpower to satisfy demand but try we will and succeed we must, as we take shovels in hand and dig in for season.

Florida Flower Power

Sunset Charlotte Harbor

The variety of flowering shrubs and plants available for landscape design in SW Florida is an exciting new avenue for me to pursue, many of the plants I dealt with in Indiana are also grown in the south.  I snapped some stellar photo's of pristine plants when I attended the landscape show a couple a weeks ago.  The leaves were polished, the blooms at peak and presentation was top notch.

Swallowtail Definitely Going In My Yard

Which Bougainvillia Is The Question

Familiar Annuals

        

Digging The Use Of Peppers

Ginger Always A Favorite From The Islands

Amazing Mother Nature

Caladiums Are Field Grown In Florida

          

Double Hibiscus Show

Guaranteed To Blow Your Mind

Beautiful Bromeliads

Stunning

These are a few of my favorite things...now the most exciting part will be getting to use these varieties which are new to me.  I can hardly wait to get started in my own backyard, but customers first.

Freshly Planted Ixora Hedge

This is part of a small job we just finished for a sweet couple with a new home in North Port, part privacy and full color. 

Island Near House

Later this month Hazeltine Nurseries Inc, has it's 12th Annual Fall Festival, should be exciting we are offering classes in the greenhouse, lots of pumpkins, decorations and guest speakers should be fun and educational.  My job is to help write a speech about "Outdoor Rooms".

Next week we begin a job I designed that features several outdoor rooms including a large pavilion, firepit, koi pond, seating benches and huge patio it is going to be awesome.  There will be many photo's following the installation from start to finish.