Rethink your lawn; consider a garden

Lawn out front, flowers in the back. It's the landscaping equivalent of a mullet haircut: Business in the front, party out back.

And it's headed the same way.

More homeowners are giving up on staid front-yard lawns and putting gardens front and center instead. Many choose native and Florida-friendly plants that, placed in the right spot, save time and money, water and fertilizer.

But not everyone's doing it just for the savings.

"Some of our higher-end customers, for whom money's not an issue, it's an aesthetic thing. We just did a million-dollar-plus house in South Tampa," says Will Womack, owner of Tampa Bay Landscaping Inc. and president of the Tampa Bay Chapter of the Florida Nursery, Growers and Landscape Association.

His company saw a jump this year in clients who want less grass and more garden out front. For some, it's personal: Freezes, drought and water restrictions killed the love, he says. Others want to do better by the environment, and they're getting helpful nudges from government, scientists and the landscape industry. Less turf and more well-chosen landscaping help conserve water and prevent fertilizer pollution.

The trend bucks a longtime tradition. Grass out front is less a rule than a natural gravitation, Womack says.

"You want something in the front that talks to the public, but the back is most likely where you spend most of your time," he says. "You put traditional in the front; the 'wow' in the back. You want your private space where you can do what you want."

In some neighborhoods, there's no choice in the matter. Homeowners associations often have rules about what can be planted in the front yard, and frequently that's a nice carpet of St. Augustinegrass. It can be thirsty, though, and hard to maintain under the wrong conditions.

State senator chided

Florida Sen. Carey Baker of Eustis remembers a run-in with his homeowners board a couple of years ago.

"I received a nasty letter. In January, for goodness' sake! It was very threatening. They said my grass was not green enough. I told them, 'It's the middle of winter! It's supposed to turn brown!'"

At the time, Baker was working on a Florida-friendly landscaping bill. It became law a year ago. Trumping those deed restrictions and covenants, it says any homeowner who wants to must be allowed to plant Florida-friendly trees, flowers and shrubs instead of grass.

But don't grab the shovel just yet.

Before the law can be implemented, Baker says, each of the state's water management districts must work with the University of Florida to develop an official Florida-Friendly Landscaping list for its region.

UF offering free plant guide

The guide for West Central Florida should be published by the end of September. It includes color photos of 500 plants and information about their needs, along with landscaping advice, says UF's Brian Niemann. Residents will be able to pick it up free at Extension Service offices.

But even then, there's no guarantee there won't be battles, says Sylvia Durell, public education coordinator for the Southwest Florida Water Management District.

Associations are responsible for ensuring the neighborhood has a neat, uniform look that buoys property values, she says. They'll want to see and approve homeowners' plans. And not everyone agrees on what looks good.

In the meantime, Carey Bond, a Tampa mother of three children, ages 10, 7 and 4, is happily gardening in her front yard. She has no desire to take refuge out back.

"People have gotten away from knowing who's around them," she says. "I want people to know who I am, who my kids are and where they belong."

She has grass in the backyard, she says. For the kids.

"But they don't want to play back there. They'd rather play out front, where everyone else is."