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.