Crafting Beautiful and Sustainable Florida Landscapes with Diana Interlante

Unlock the secrets to creating a stunning Florida landscape as we sit down with Diana Interlante from Interlante Landscape Design. With her extensive experience since 1985, Diana shares her top recommendations for grass types that thrive in Florida's climate, shedding light on why Seville, Bitter Blue, and Palmetto grasses are superior to the traditional St. Augustine. We also explore the rising trend of hardscapes and container gardening, offering practical and visually appealing alternatives to traditional lawns.

Diana delves into the nitty-gritty of tree removal permits and the importance of maintaining good relations with neighbors, avoiding the hefty fines of improper removal. Succulents like agaves and cacti are becoming increasingly popular in Florida, and Diana explains why these water-wise plants are an excellent choice for sustainable gardens. Furthermore, she provides insights on caring for a variety of blooming plants, including norgr's, alamandas, jatrophas, Bird of Paradise, and knockout roses. For hydrangea enthusiasts, Diana's tips on managing these finicky plants will prove invaluable.

We wrap up the episode with a comprehensive discussion on outdoor maintenance and safety. From choosing the right artificial turf to the hidden dangers of plants like oleander, bougainvillea, and sago palms, Diana covers it all. She also addresses the limitations of using reclaimed water for certain plants and the necessity of potable water for others. Whether you're a seasoned gardener or just starting out, Diana's practical advice and wealth of knowledge will inspire and equip you to create a beautiful, sustainable landscape in Florida.

Transcript

Florida Landscaping and Palm Trees

Speaker 1 0:00

Good morning agents. This is Joanne Nestor here. I want to say hello to all our Charles Rottenberg agents here in the house and listening to me, and we're podcasting. We're back again and I have a special guest. Her name is Diana, Interlante with Interlante Landscape Design. Good morning Diana.

Speaker 2 0:20

Good morning, Joanne. Thanks for having me.

Speaker 1 0:22

Of course. So how long have you been in landscaping?

Speaker 2 0:26

I've been in landscaping since 1985.

Speaker 1 0:28

I think that's great. So you know that Diana started when she was 12. But she has a wealth of knowledge and one of the reasons I asked you to come here today and we could talk about landscaping is because agents and their customers, their clients we sell and buy a lot of homes and one of the things that's very, very important is knowing Florida landscape. People who come from up north Chicago, the Midwest, they're coming down here. First thing they have to look at is what grows here, right? So let's first talk about coverage, the grass. What type of grass can we have here in Florida?

Speaker 2 1:14

There's multiple different varieties of grass. I have particular favorites that I use. I like the Seville, bitter Blue and Palmetto. All of those grasses are a box blade grass and they are 100% sun and 100% shade and I find them very successful. I'm not a fan of the St Augustine, which grows upright and has more problems than the three prior that I had said.

Speaker 1 1:44

Is the St Augustine the one with the runners? Yes, and you have to vertically cut it or something.

Speaker 2 1:50

Yes.

Speaker 1 1:51

Okay, all right. So now back when I first moved here in the 80s. That's what you had, st Augustine, but now we have many more choices.

Speaker 2 1:59

There are many more choices. There's also golf course type grass, which is a flat.

Speaker 1 2:09

Flat like soft and fuzzier.

Speaker 2 2:11

Yeah, soft and easier to walk on. Okay, harder to take care of it is it takes a fly mower. Okay, there's not a lot of people that use it, but there are some that like it.

Speaker 1 2:22

Okay Interesting, use it, but there are some that like it, okay, interesting. So now you have the choice and you've told a client of yours that you know we're not in Kansas anymore, we're in Florida, and so you give them choices and you bring samples to their home or tell them to go where to look, so there we could actually take them to jobs so they could see how it lays on the yard.

Speaker 2 2:47

But there's websites that tell exactly what the grasses are and they would give them more knowledge of that. First they would need to assess their needs for turf. I've gotten to the point where I'm a turf eliminator. I like to use less grass because it takes so much water and so much care.

Speaker 1 3:05

I understand that. Okay, so that's the first thing we have to do is the landscape. Then and the cover of the ground, but some people now are doing like stone and pavers in between, so there's less grass.

Speaker 2 3:21

Hardscapes have become extremely popular Walkways and stepping stones and they're using crushed shell and different types of pebbles. Instead of having such big grassy areas, the beds are bigger. People are using garden art, which has become really very, very trendy, along with container gardening.

Speaker 1 3:43

Okay, interesting, I like container gardening. Okay, interesting, I like container gardening.

Speaker 2 3:46

And so do I yeah.

Speaker 1 3:48

It eliminates a lot of watering on the lawn. Okay, so now let's talk about palm trees.

Speaker 2 3:55

We love palm trees.

Speaker 1 3:56

So I remember coming here in the 70s on a vacation and coming across the Courtney Campbell and there it was, all those beautiful palms and I knew I was going to be here forever, right.

Speaker 2 4:07

So too.

Speaker 1 4:09

So talk about Florida palms and are there some palms that are just here in this area. Can we bring them in from other areas?

Speaker 2 4:21

So there are palm trees that are brought in from different states. California has the medjool palm, known as the dactylifera.

Speaker 1 4:29

And we can have that here.

Speaker 2 4:30

We can have that here. They are shipped from the valley and there are also palm trees that come from South America and we also have our own palm trees. I like self-cleaning palm trees, Okay what is that? They're smooth, they're slick, they have nice fancy green tops and they're self-cleaning you don't have to trim them.

Speaker 1 4:53

Okay, so the ones that fall on their own and then the green top comes up on its own Okay. But they also who has those little pods coming out and you've got to cut them down. They have like little, I don't know, fruit or what are those things.

Speaker 2 5:08

There's a sylvester palm, okay, and you have to trim those berries because they become rancid. There is palm trees that take much more maintenance than others, and there are native palm trees, like the sable palm, which is a state palm here, which you are not allowed to cut it down, but it is wind tolerant, it is salt tolerant, it is cold tolerant and it really takes next to no care.

Speaker 1 5:33

Wow, okay, but there are palm trees that look beautiful. What are the ones that look like their little umbrellas?

Speaker 2 5:40

There's foxtail palms. They look like a foxtail and they come in singles and doubles and triples and they show beautifully in the garden along with Christmas palms as well.

Speaker 1 5:49

Okay, so you suggest people go online and look at these.

Speaker 2 5:54

Unless you have a nurseryman or your landscape designer is personal with you and can take you to the nursery and show you exactly what's available.

Speaker 1 6:02

Okay, let's talk about bamboo I love bamboo. Okay, I love the noise that it makes the sound when the wind is blowing. Are there different types of bamboo?

Speaker 2 6:14

There are runners and there are clumping bamboo. It gives you a tremendous amount of privacy. So slender weaver, also known as gray soil bamboo, is the most popular bamboo for residents and it grows very rapidly and it doesn't run on your property. Running meaning Running, meaning spreading Over to your neighbors, or through the fence or on the other side of the property. Okay, easy to take care of, extremely easy to take care of. You either like it trimmed and neat and manicured, or you like it fluent.

Speaker 1 6:55

Fluent meaning.

Speaker 2 6:56

Meaning blowing in the wind and very wild looking.

Speaker 1 6:59

Okay, I've seen a lot more bamboo out there than you.

Speaker 2 7:04

Very popular now. Okay, so that's a lot more bamboo out there than Very popular now.

Florida Gardening Tips and Tricks

Speaker 1 7:06

Okay, so that's what we have for trees let's talk about. You know, I moved down here. I just can't cut everything down right. I have to get permits. Yes, no.

Speaker 2 7:19

So removing trees in the county or the city where you live, there are certain trees that require permits, trees that you're not allowed to take down. Mainly would be an oak tree or a magnolia tree or a holly tree. You would have to be permitted through the city. They come out and approve it. If not, you could incur a large fine. Large Meaning Meaning you could be fined up to $10,000 for taking down a grandfather oak and they would make you replace the tree by inches in caliper of that tree.

Speaker 2 8:00

Explain that Meaning. However big the caliper is on the tree, they would divide it with their method as to what you needed to put back. Okay so, and they would give you a list of code trees that you would be responsible to follow.

Speaker 1 8:15

Okay, and the expense would be. The homeowner's expense. Yes, Okay, so it's better to make sure you're doing the right thing than just going. Absolutely yes, not only is it a fine, but remember who turns you in are your neighbors. Exactly Because they're the ones that see you, and we all want to be friends with our neighbors, exactly neighbor friendly.

Speaker 1 8:36

Neighbor friendly, absolutely so let's talk about succulents. I love them, I know you do as well. We've talked about that and all of a sudden you see more lawns with succulents in the front, in the back Are there certain ones that you say definitely, this is a Florida succulent the sun, the water.

Speaker 2 9:00

So agaves have become very popular, and cactus in the state of Florida, and people are using them more and more just being water-wise. So one of my favorites is the Blue Wave, which is blue agave, which actually is the agave they make tequila out of.

Speaker 1 9:18

Okay, Hear that everyone. We love that Okay, and you can put it in a container and in the ground.

Speaker 2 9:26

Well, they grow better in the ground. There's many varieties of the agaves, so that's one type that you can use, and the other ones are the small succulents that you can use for container gardening or planters. They don't like to be overwatered, so that's just something that you need to consider, okay.

Speaker 1 9:47

So now let's talk about some bloomers, because we all like color. You know, in the lawn, what are your favorites that bring in color?

Speaker 2 9:58

I like back-to-back bloomers, meaning that you always have something blooming in your yard. Okay, norgr's, they are from Maui and they're a large pink flower and they bloom through late spring all the way into early fall. They different varieties, come in red and they come in yellow and they come mixed. I love the trumpet, alamandas and thrialis, snowbush and jatropha. All of these are back-to-back bloomers and if they're treated properly, watered well and fertilized, you'll have a wealth of color all the time.

Speaker 1 10:40

So a lot of people here have Bird of Paradise, and is that a plant that blooms consistently through the year?

Speaker 2 10:50

The bird of paradise is very temperamental. It'll be forever green, but it is a little difficult to produce the blooms. They do come on their own, but they are feeders.

Speaker 1 11:04

Feeders meaning.

Speaker 2 11:05

They need to be fed. Okay, whether it's a natural food like a bone meal and a blood meal, or it's a chemical produced, slow release natural fertilizer like triple 14, which is an osmocote and available to everybody, that is a slower release and it's environmentally safe and that pushes your bloom out as well, okay.

Speaker 1 11:29

So that's something that if people, if that's their hobby, if gardening is your hobby, you can take care of your own bird of paradise. You just have to learn about it.

Speaker 2 11:37

Yes, just like roses. We've talked about that before Roses and camellias and gardenias.

Speaker 1 11:42

Okay, Unless they have someone like you come once a month or once a week you want to have. It's got to be a hobby to have roses.

Speaker 2 11:53

Roses always need to be clipped, and the only kind of roses that I would suggest here would be the knockout roses, which come from Texas, and they bloom all year long. They're cold resistant, they're disease resistant and they just give you a wealth of color all year long. They're cold resistant, they're disease resistant and they just give you a wealth of color all the time. But you do need to clip them. Every time they deadhead, you have to take the deadhead off and your blooms will double.

Speaker 1 12:16

Well, that's interesting because you know I have a gardenia plant right and they've become huge. And I have noticed when I clip off the right way because you taught me how to take off a bloom, a new bud Is there less than a week?

Speaker 2 12:35

right. Deadheading the proper way, will increase your blooms. Okay. And the same thing with crepe myrtle trees. Crepe myrtles only bloom once a year and they are deciduous. But if you cut off the dead heads you will get a second bloom, and not a lot of people know that.

Speaker 1 12:52

No, I didn't. I thought that was it no? No, but okay, that's a hobby. Yes, if gardening is your hobby, then bloomers are your thing. I like that, okay. So I had a friend who had hydrangeas in her garden. She was the only person I knew that could do it. That's very rare, here it is rare, because what do you have to do? I mean, that was gardening, was sherry's hobby, as you know you've been to her home.

Speaker 1 13:23

Um, what did I mean? She was always in the garden every day for summer, unless she was, and if she wasn't there, you were there, right? What do you have to do to have a plant like that?

Speaker 2 13:34

hydrangeas are extremely finicky. You have to have a plant like that. Hydrangeas are extremely finicky. You have to have the proper preparation in your soil. You have to have the proper fertilizers and especially 100% shade. So 100%, 100% shade for hydrangeas and the blue hydrangeas actually bloom blue with a copper penny. Okay, explain how you do that though you just put copper pennies in the hole with the hydrangea In the soil. In the soil you amend the soil and you just add copper pennies in there and the copper turns the hydrangea blue.

Speaker 1 14:14

Does it require a lot of water, like you have to go in with your own hose, would you say?

Speaker 2 14:20

Hydrangeas are best with a drip system. A drip system, so they're always moist. Okay, and that would be a specific irrigation system, okay.

Speaker 1 14:34

So that's not the watering system, where the fan's back and forth on the lawn and it hits.

Speaker 2 14:40

And in your landscape you always want to have your irrigation separated from landscape and grass. Okay, separate zones. So it waters all the plants at one time and it waters the grass separately.

Speaker 1 14:54

Okay, so there are companies who do that.

Speaker 2 14:57

Obviously, irrigation companies set that up Okay, and because we live in Florida, that's necessary in a lot of ways, absolutely, unless you have a Xeriscape, that you don't need that much water for your landscaping.

Speaker 1 15:11

You know, and I see that now with young people, you know people wanting to care about the environment and less fertilizer that goes into the bay, goes into these lakes and has the algae grow, and all that because it's damaging, right, and our poor little fish. They have three eyes.

Speaker 2 15:34

So are there new things out there for fertilizing instead of, you know, or roundup or anything like that there are natural companies now that they do everything environmentally safe, okay, and there's two different companies in pinellas County that I know of. One would be Earth's Best, that I would recommend. And they don't use chemicals, they use alternatives. What does alternative?

Speaker 1 16:04

mean.

Speaker 2 16:05

Like salt. Oh okay, they use salt for different insects.

Speaker 1 16:12

Okay. So when you talk about gardening in Florida I have friends that, oh, I'm going to grow tomatoes and cucumbers, and then it lasts like a month and all of a sudden, nothing's there between the squirrels, the birds, the bugs or whatever. Do you suggest more of a container gardening with herbs?

Speaker 2 16:36

So I like organic container gardening for herbs and also for vegetables or anything else that you're going to grow. A lot of people screen them because everything eats them, even Peter Rabbit, right, peter Rabbit? Birds, squirrels, rodents, and that's the last thing you want to do is attract that.

Speaker 1 16:57

And deer, oh and deer especially. And where you are? You live in Tarpon.

Speaker 2 17:03

In North County there's, like East Lake, Woodlands and Cypress Run, et cetera, the deers. They pretty much they'll come and ring your doorbell.

Speaker 1 17:11

Okay, and have lunch.

Speaker 2 17:16

They'll eat everything that you have, even things they don't like Interesting about deer. I know they're so cute, right, they're cute but they're eating things that they never ate before, like Chinese spiny holly.

Speaker 1 17:28

Oh, I thought that was what you planted, so that they wouldn't eat.

Speaker 2 17:34

They eat it now. They eat it now.

Speaker 1 17:36

Okay, it's like Mother Nature gets used to what they can't have, because there's less to eat, so they eat what's available.

Speaker 2 17:43

They're eating everything.

Speaker 1 17:44

Okay, so I do see rosemary bushes out once in a while.

Speaker 2 17:48

Rosemary is good in the ground. Okay, a lot of animals. They don't like the smell of rosemary, along with society garlic, so it keeps them out and also it keeps mosquitoes out Rosemary.

Speaker 1 18:01

Rosemary and society garlic.

Speaker 2 18:03

Yes, mosquitoes don't like them.

Speaker 1 18:05

Right, interesting. Okay, I did not know that. For those of you Learning something new, I'm learning something new today and I'll have to look up what society garlic looks like.

Speaker 2 18:18

It's a grassy plant.

Speaker 1 18:22

Does it look like chives or something?

Speaker 2 18:24

Yes, kind of like chives, and it has a purple flower on it, but it smells so bad it does. That's why the deer stay away. It smells.

Outdoor Maintenance Tips and Warnings

Speaker 1 18:31

Okay, that's interesting, that's interesting. So I see, now more than ever, the turf, artificial turf.

Speaker 2 18:43

Artificial turf has become very trendy and people are using it more and more. It's a long-term investment, meaning it's expensive. It's expensive First time and there's different grades so you can choose what grade you would like to use, but I would say that the higher end would be more beneficial, especially if you have children, because it can be hot on your feet. Oh, really, yes, but it's long-lasting. It's very, very long-lasting. We have properties where it's been in for 10 years and it looks brand new.

Speaker 1 19:18

So if you get a flood from a hurricane and it's in the front yard and you just clean it off and you power brush it and that lifts the pile.

Speaker 2 19:29

Oh, so you come in with a power brush? Yes, you can use a power. After you hose it down, you can come in with a power brush and it raises a pile on the turf. So, do you do that often, even when you don't have down? No, there's a brush mower that you can get and that lifts the turf as well. But the brush, the power brush, does it a little bit better.

Speaker 1 19:50

Okay, and that's something that that a professional company would come in and do Okay.

Speaker 2 20:01

A homeowner could have a brush mower and that keeps it nice and like you're vacuuming your carpet.

Speaker 1 20:03

I get it because that's what it is, and it's easy yeah. And always get there. In that case you need the best, because if you have the lower end, you can't even walk on it.

Speaker 2 20:12

It's almost like plastic, is that? What you're saying. It's kind of like plastic and it looks fake, okay, and it's very hot on your feet, okay. Interesting but always have somebody bring a sample. Oh, because they'll bring samples for you to look at and I suggest you know walking on it with bare feet. Okay, what about color? There's different colors. There's about color. There's different colors, there's different shades. There's different heights. There's like there's a two inch, there's a one inch and there's a very, very flat like a golf course grass. They do putting greens.

Speaker 1 20:51

You can have that in your yard. Yeah, putting greens. Hmm, I did not know that. Okay, Byron, our technician, here he's laughing because he would love to do that. Right now he's thinking, Byron's thinking I'm going to put a putting green in my backyard.

Speaker 2 21:07

It comes with a golf cart and a drink.

Speaker 1 21:11

There you go. Okay, now let's. I've always been interested in plants, that you know. They're beautiful, they're wonderful, but you know, if you have a dog or a cat or children, it could be dangerous.

Speaker 2 21:28

There's a lot of poisonous plants for animals and also for elderly people with respiratory, like the oleander. The oleander bush is, in my opinion, something that should be looked upon, say in a median or not. I wouldn't suggest planting it at your home. They have caterpillars poisonous to your dog, respiratory problems for older people and they're very aggressive growers.

Speaker 1 22:01

The caterpillar. Do they bite those caterpillars?

Speaker 2 22:05

Caterpillars can sting, and they also nest on the eaves of your home and your soffit.

Speaker 1 22:11

If the oleander grows that high, is that what I see in downtown St Pete on that trellis? Is that what they use, that oleander? I don't know if they use Bougainvillea. Oh, bougainvillea, oh bougainvillea. Yeah, that's also. That's got spiny.

Speaker 2 22:26

Bougainvillea is gorgeous, but it has to be properly placed because of the thorns and the caterpillars also like bougainvillea.

Speaker 1 22:36

Okay, so you don't want your dog or your child to fall into those plants?

Speaker 2 22:40

Right.

Speaker 1 22:41

Because it would be okay, the thorns are terrible, yeah okay and they're beautiful yeah they're poisonous as well, if you get stung by them I had someone who I knew, someone who got a thorn in there, and it was it causes an infection.

Speaker 2 22:56

Once you get that thorn in your skin it's really hard to get out.

Speaker 1 22:59

They actually had to spend a couple days in the hospital. I believe it. Yeah, and interesting, my sister had a sago palm in her yard and she had a new puppy and the puppy chewed on the sago palm and almost died. I haven't seen them around as much because I remember was it years ago? There was a disease that almost wiped them all out. Are they coming back? So there has been some nurseries that are carrying them again.

Speaker 2 23:38

Do they have a warning tag? No, but 99% of the the sagos have been eliminated and slowly they're creeping back in. But they had the Asian cycad, which is a disease which will host on to other plants and it's very, extremely expensive and hard to get rid of. So people just started eliminating them.

Speaker 1 24:03

Okay. Hosting meaning they jump from plant to plant Okay.

Speaker 2 24:08

All right.

Speaker 1 24:09

What is like? I've had mealybugs on you know you get indoor plants and you get a mealybug. Do you get those outside, those spidery things or mealybugs? Can that be on outdoor plants as well?

Speaker 2 24:26

Yes, mealy bugs can be airborne. You can get them from a neighbor that doesn't take care of their yard. Oh, so you can get. You can get insects, fungus.

Speaker 1 24:41

Interesting Okay From other people's landscape. Yes, Okay, so you hope that everybody on either side of you does the right thing.

Speaker 2 24:49

Yeah, taking care of your yard.

Speaker 1 24:51

Yeah, okay, interesting. I want to go back to palm trees because I see now coconuts, coconut palms. I personally think they're a little dangerous. I told you about my neighbor who had a party and this clump of coconuts fell on his friend's shoulder and it ended up he had to have surgery. They're pretty heavy right, and if they fall the coconuts, and you let them stay there in the backyard, they kind of are a nest for little critters.

Speaker 2 25:31

Exactly If coconut trees aren't maintained, they eventually do fall and they're heavy and they're heavy, so they need to be trimmed on a regular basis.

Speaker 1 25:40

You have to hire someone who can climb up there.

Speaker 2 25:42

Yes, yes, some people will come in and trim them for nothing because they like the coconut milk. Oh, but using them up near your house or an area where you entertain, I wouldn't suggest that. Okay, they're for far away in the back. Something that you look upon in the back of the yard or the side of the yard. Okay and nothing. I would just say nothing in the driveway. Oh, that makes sense. Just like Royals. Those big boots come down and they're heavy, they're very heavy, okay, and they just fall. Could?

Speaker 2 26:16

fall on your car, yeah on your car and they're self-trimming, so you know they just fall at will. Okay.

Speaker 1 26:22

Let's talk about watering. If you use city water and I'll give an example here I when I first bought this building that Charles Romburg Realty is we used we always watering the grass or the trees or whatever was out there at the time.

Speaker 1 26:38

And then my bill came from the city and I almost it was over a thousand dollars. I almost passed out. City water is extremely expensive. Okay, we also have well water now, which I did for landscaping. We also have, and where I live, reclaimed water right, so the difference is well water. Is that what I see? The stain.

Reclaimed Water and Landscaping Tips

Speaker 2 27:02

Well, water does stain. It gives you that orange stain. So you don't want to put your sprinklers up against your house or your fence or your sidewalk, because you won't get it off.

Speaker 1 27:11

Okay, and then reclaimed water is that's water that is allowed from the city.

Speaker 2 27:18

It's reclaimed. Sometimes it's dirty.

Speaker 1 27:21

Okay.

Speaker 2 27:22

And the lines get clogged. So that's something that you have to have maintained, okay, but the thing with the reclaimed water is that that is turned off when the city wants to preserve water. Okay, so if we're in a drought, they're going to turn your water off.

Speaker 1 27:39

Interesting. So are there certain plants that don't like reclaimed water?

Speaker 2 27:45

There are. Gardenias do not like reclaimed water, roses do not like reclaimed water, herbs do not like reclaimed water. Any fruit tree you need to put it on potable water. Non-potable water wouldn't be good for those witches reclaim.

Speaker 1 28:03

Okay. Well, this has been a really interesting 30 minutes. Diana, Thank you. I've known you a long time and I've learned a bunch, and so has Byron, and we're all going to play golf, have putt-putt in.

Speaker 2 28:18

Byron's backyard. I'm good for putt-putt. That's about it.

Speaker 1 28:21

So thank you for coming today.

Speaker 2 28:23

Thank you for having me so much.

Speaker 1 28:24

And so it's Interlante Landscape and Design, and you've been around since 1985. And she knows it all. Just ask her Well thank you. Yeah, and I remember building my home and doing the landscape with you and I'd say I want to have this. And you go no, I go okay, well, can I have this? And you gave me a list of what I could have and you told me what I couldn't.

Speaker 2 28:48

Well, in landscaping, knowledge is power, because you only want to do it really one time and do it right, and there's so many different things that will work for you that you desire and it'll give you a wealth of beauty.

Speaker 1 29:03

Okay, Well, and that's what we want a wealth of beauty for your lawn, because it makes a difference when someone drives up and sees your beautiful home and the landscaping. Thank you for coming today. So how can our listeners reach you if they want your professional assistance in landscaping? Professional assistants in landscaping.

Speaker 2 29:21

My name is Diana Interlante and my phone number is 727-858-2226. No-transcript.