Do you mean your growing zone? The first stop will be your county extension office . Bring in soil samples and ask for any handouts and help they can offer. Soil is VERY important so amend that before all else.Most Ext offices have classes to help you. Google IFAS. Put in edible landscape. Good Luck

hi everyone :) As the citi code enforcement hasn't got any codes to enforce on me, now it is HOA's time. Apparently when the complainant couldn't get the citi to make me comply according to his standards, he got on to the HOA board, and you can imagine the rest.... So, I am violating the Association's governing documents not keeping my yard just like my neighbors' - i am obliged to keep it consistent with the general appearance....

I may be wrong but I don't think that's a Florida possum; maybe an escaped pet Australian possum? lazy_gardens, I do agree about the black nose leather of the raccoon - look at the original photo and you will note this animal at one time had some blackening of its nose leather .. I truly can't identify or rule out what that critter is without more photos.

Don't listen to the guy above about ditching the arches, use them to make a new orleans style courtyard out of them, google "new orleans style courtyard". Put a small water feature on the patio. I would then drill in some eye ancor bolts directly into the brick and use some wire to train 5 bouganvilla "20$ each large", Purple, Red, Purple, Red, Purple going up the brick and espalier them off to the brick. "est 150-200$" Take that windmill palm to the left, remove the ciruclar pavers, take the bed about two feet wider, replace with a tan rock to match your house and use fabric underneath "est 50$". I will also say something, so many people put shrubs and trees right up against the house and its a huge no no more often than not. You can use stratigic stuff like cannas, dwarf promgranite, ginger, etc to get the same look of whatever your going for without blocking your view from the house. In saying that, I think you need to have something that gives your house some mystery. That large tree is a huge focal point. I also don't like the hedge in the front which kind of looks like legustrum. I agree with the bottle brush row between the neighbors house out the right side as I think it would be nice to have the privacy. I would go from the large tree to the black driveway and take the grass out from there to the street. Then would add in daylillies, coleous, sweet potatoe vine, birds of paradise, amongst other things. I would also put a couple of orchids on the iniside wall of the arches so you could see them from your house.