Ann,
Those pictures show a landscape of Florida I'm not at all familiar with. I always think of Orlando, Ft Lauderdale or Miami. Your little dog is going to love it's new playground! This is what I would envision the meadows over
"the Rainbow Bridge" to look like!

What a fun adventure and it sure will be nice to see the pics of the build-out of Before, During and After!

Thanks for sharing!

(Thanks for the opportunity, Sharon and Trish!)

Ann: Your garden in South Florida is absolutely stunning and from the photo's of your new place I know your property in the northern part of the state will be just as beautiful! For 36 years I've wanted to go with an all natural landscape. I despise the expanse of St. Augustine sod that requires tons of water and chemicals to keep it looking pretty. It's such a waste but I could never convince my husband that a native landscape was the way to go. I even dragged him to a home and garden show once and he enjoyed the presentation by a local master gardener and native plant nursery owner but still we have the huge expanse of sod.

Thanks Sharon & Trish for showcasing Ann's lovely gardens. It's given everyone the opportunity to see that the landscape of Florida is not all the same ... we have area's of sand, shell and even hard clay soil in different parts of this state ... and more beauty than just Palm Trees.

Thank you Susie and Lin.
Lin, it took years of planning & thinking to do that. You know that part of Florida; when xeriscapes are done there it's pretty boring IMHO. Pine trees, palmettos & cabbage palms --- sort of blah. That's why more people don't do xeriscapes there. I love my flowers & bold riots of color. So I didn't go completely with natives but incorporated them where I could. And I had to hunt for those natives which popped with color. But still, there are many plants out there which are fabulous for xeriscaping with. HA! I'm laughing because my DH insisted on the sod in the first place but after 15 years of caring for it he was ready to cave. He did a lot of work making the garden you see but then he got to sit back & just enjoy looking at it.

I just came back from a visit to Sanibel and Ft Myers, Fl. Where I went everything was gorgeously tropical, but I really wondered how those gardens would fare with the colder winters that will be coming. I'm afraid they will have a lot of very dead tropicals.

I love what you did, Ann, and I know that your new place will turn out beautifully too. It looks like lovely land.