KVLA advocates the use of native plants wherever appropriate.Landscaping with native plants should be rudimentary to the profession, yet it is one of the least understood or mis-applied disciplines.
Most plants native to Florida and the Caribbean are characterized by slower growing, drought-resistant species.Though commonly overlooked in favor of ornamentals, the natives exhibit a great and subtle range of foliar variety.....in otherwords.....texture.
The application of texture is the design foundation of classical eastern and western garden.Texture is also the first lost nuance of common landscaping.In the personal landscape, native plants are an unrivalled opportunity to define the context and textural backdrop for the modern garden setting.This concept takes special relevance where water restrictions are beginning to shape horticultural aspects of garden design.
KVLA strives for the elusive balance of plant composition we refer to as 'sublime order'....or the balance of refined, artistic elements in a natural setting. Consideration of the 'look' and horticultural program is essential. A successful native-based design is bears the requirement to educate the Owner and to recommend natives (and exotics) in their best application. Gardening tradition is often based on the application of thick ground covers, extensive blooms and tight trimming..... applications that are suited to a select few plants that are typically not native. The process of landscape refinement dwells in a world of contrasts...tight against loose, light against dark, wild accentuated by controlled...and native with exotic.
For the bones of a fine landscape, the right application of natives will please the most discriminating gardener.
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Landscaping with Native Caribbean Plants
Every Island has its own character and distinct plant communities.The plant composition is shaped by soils, exposure, rain patterns, wind and human history. In the low elevations of the Yucatan through the Bahamas, and the Caribbean basin , the biome is generally classified as the ‘dry limestone tropical forest’.The larger volcanic islands have much more diversity. This forest, (Bahamians call it the ‘Coppice’), has a fantastic assortment of plant species.Upon first glance, the coppice appears as a chaotic jumble of species. The Bahamian 'Coppice' has many untold lessons to apply to a new garden vocabulary that is suitable all across the region. These slower growing, drought-resistant species offer the gardener, there is a untold potential for a multitude of with a variety of interesting textures and attractive plant combinations.
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Paradoxically, native plants are mistakenly equated as tough or universally suited for a given locale. One still has to pay attention to fundamentals such as soil condition, exposure, etc.All plants, in general, do best when matched with an optimal set of conditions, known as the 'micro-climate', to which they are adapted. All that said, given a certain set of conditions approximating the preferred micro-habitat, native plants will establish and outperform all other choices.
