Florida Friendly Demonstration Garden now open

The city of Ocoee is celebrating a new hidden treasure in its community. 

Phase 1 of the city’s Florida Friendly Demonstration Garden opened May 22, located next to the Ocoee Lakeshore Center at 125 N. Lakeshore Drive.

The city is encouraging residents to stop by and take a look at the garden, which seeks to promote water conservation practices through Waterwise and Florida-Friendly landscaping.

“The ultimate hope is that the garden will demonstrate to homeowners how to be cost-effective and conserve water through a design that they would want to see in their homes,” the city’s Utilities Department and Development Services Department said in a prepared statement. “Florida-Friendly plants are non-invasive and can thrive in Florida’s natural climate. They minimize the use of water for irrigation, avoid the runoff of excess fertilizers and pesticides, and provide habitats for wildlife. Although Florida has water everywhere, the supply of the Florida Aquifer is not endless and the majority of water usage is on landscaping.”

The garden is part of the St. John’s River Water Management District’s consumptive use permit.

City officials said the garden’s design and location were carefully selected to showcase landscape plant materials and techniques in support of the city’s sustainability goals. 

The garden previously existed as the POWR Park and was located on the corner of Bluford Avenue and City Hall. 

“The city repurposed the area for parking in 2020 and had been debating the new location for the park,” the city’s involved departments said. “In 2022, the location was decided and work began on the new POWR Park, which during the process was renamed to the Florida Friendly Garden.”

The garden design is a collaborative effort across multiple city departments, with help from the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences and the SJRWMD to ensure that all aspects for Florida-Friendly and Waterwise landscaping are incorporated into the design.

The garden includes a water-saving irrigation system to promote water conservation, as well as a variety of plants.

“The garden provides examples of environmentally friendly (Florida-Friendly) and water conserving landscape design with low maintenance needs while maintaining curb appeal,” city officials said. “It includes site-appropriate plants grouped by water need, and the irrigation system has been designed to provide the appropriate supplemental water needs during dry periods. Staff carefully selected plants that offer a variety of texture and color and are readily available at local stores.”

Plants were selected based on the Florida Friendly Landscaping Principles that are set forth by the UF/IFAS.

“They are plants that are well suited to Central Florida’s climate, can grow in the garden’s current conditions (sandy soil), are drought tolerant and require minimal watering once established,” the city’s departments said. “With the exception of a few flowers, plants were also chosen based on the availability of local nurseries or home improvement stores, making the majority of plants easily accessible to Ocoee’s residents.”

About 17% of the plant species in the garden are native to Central Florida.

Phase 1 of the garden took about a year to complete from planning to breaking ground.

The city is now looking ahead to Phase 2, which includes the installation of interpretive signage throughout the garden. The signs will have details on the plant species and how to best care for them.

“The garden demonstrates that there are ways to use less water to irrigate the landscaping and help conserve one of the Earth’s most valuable resources,” the city said. “Once established, they require minimum water for irrigation, protecting water resources and saving our residents both time and money. These plants are ones that will not further degrade the environment of Florida, but rather work within it.”