A Tropical Garden in Zone 9

by Bill Pitts

Over the last fourteen years, Mark and Judy Loftus have created a lush tropical garden in northern central Florida despite the fact that temperatures here usually dip below freezing every winter.  While Mark admits they sometimes go to extremes to protect tender plants from cold, they are full of practical advice on how to create a tropical look well north of the actual tropics.

Their garden is mult-layered. Queen palms, several types of clumping bamboo, fast-growing lemon eucalyptus (with beautiful smooth trunks and scented leaves), native oaks and many other trees form the upper canopy. A middle level is made up of hardy windmill palms, medjool dates, camellias, spineless yuccas and a monkey puzzle tree, to name just a few. The tapestry of plants covering the ground includes many of the hardier bromeliads (especially Aechmea gamosepala or matchstick plant), begonias and ivies, along with accent plants of dramatically contrasting forms and textures – huge bird's nest ferns, elephant ears, unusual tape worm plants (Homalo-cladium platycladum or ribbonbush).  Groupings of agaves and aloes thrive in the shade, where I didn't think they would grow.

 This dense layering not only creates a rain forest-like structure, but "holds the heat in," Mark says, creating a microclimate where tender plants thrive in a way they never would in a more-exposed site.  Clivias, which I thought had to be grown in pots this far north, are perfectly happy in the beds around the house, and even things Mark admits have no business here, such as a sausage tree, bounce back spring after spring.

 A freeze will cut back the tender plants, but most recover quickly.  Mark resists the temptation to trim away damaged leaves and branches until March, as they provide added protection during cold snaps.  The most sensitive plants will sometimes be lost.  Mark admits that the sausage tree is no doubt doomed.

 Monstera deliciosa (Swiss cheese plant) and other tropical vines grow up the east side of the larger trees, where they receive more protection from cold.  An old hibiscus and even a plumeria grow in the ground on the east side of the house, one of the garden's warmest microclimates.

 What makes the garden special are the thousands of tropical details they work into the hardy structure. Judy cares for hundreds of plants in containers. Almost all of them require protection from the cold. She groups her amazing collection of succulents to make them easier to cover with blankets. Especially cold-sensitive plants like orchids go to a screen room that is converted into a heated greenhouse every winter. Even the opaque plastic film put over the screens is made attractive with designs in colored tape (an idea I want to copy). Mark protects the Australian tree ferns by going up a ladder and wrapping the upper trunks and buds with blankets.

 But a willingness to do whatever it takes to protect plants from cold is only part of the secret to this garden's success.  Mark is a Certified Horticultural Professional.  Both he and Judy have a deep knowledge of plants, including their limitations.  Some tropicals, such as coconut and bottle palms, will always struggle here and just aren't worth the effort, Mark says.  Certain vines are too rampant.  Rangoon creeper high in the canopy is an example.  The golden raintree is beautiful and tropical looking, but reseeds like crazy.  Mark and Judy avoid it and other invasives.

 Most of the beds are surrounded by an edging of bricks.  These borders not only enhance the sense of order, but help conserve water.  The low walls hold irrigation in the beds and divert runoff during summer downpours, keeping the rain in the garden rather than the city sewer system.  Mark points out that even small depressions, such as a line of bricks embedded in the path, can help slow the water down, giving it more time to sink into the ground.  Though they do all their watering by hand, the garden looks lush even at the height of our spring dry season.  The water bill stays low despite an occasional four-hour session with the hose.

 Mark and Judy use Organocide (a fish-and-sesame-oil spray) to control pests and diseases when necessary.  They apply a quality time-released fertilizer once a year, usually in late February, and the bamboo patches share a thousand pounds of bagged cow manure. "That sounds like more than it is," Mark says, pointing out that twenty 50-pound bags will feed quite a lot of bamboo.  The groundcover layer is thick enough that even mulching usually isn't necessary.

 Mark and Judy are always improving their garden – tearing out experiments that didn't satisfy them, creating more sitting areas, making new paths.  The variety of paving is fascinating.  Passing from one room of the garden to the next, we cross homemade stepping stones decorated with bits of tile and glass, an area of sparkly black rocks suggesting a tropical creed bed, pavers stained an attractive terracotta.  Each material creates a different mood.

 The garden depends on teamwork.  Though both have full, and often conflicting, schedules, Mark and Judy leave each other notes about what needs watered, covered, or trimmed.  Even when they're together, the garden has so many rooms and hidden areas, it's easy to lose track of each other, in which case they text.  They divide duties, and occasionally will make certain departments "off limits" to the other. Mark has a tendency to overwater the succulents, so Judy takes care of them.

 Most of all, the garden relies on their dedication.  When they aren't working in the garden together, they're often visiting other gardens or plant shows, getting new ideas.  "I don't go to the beach," Mark says.

Bill Pitts lives and gardens in DeLand.

© 2014 Bill Pitts. Originally published in Florida Gardening, Jun/Jul 2014. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.