Getting Started with Gardening
Florida's unique features--such as sandy soil, numerous insects and other pests, and four different growing zones--can make gardening a challenge for new residents and first-time gardeners.
These topics cover the information you need to get started with your Florida garden.
- Gardening Basics
- Choosing Plants
- Demonstration Gardens
- Design & Layout
- Maintenance & Care
- Problems
- Seeds & Propagation
- Specific Growing Zones
- Types of Gardens
For information about organic lawn care, landscaping for wildlife, and other topics, see Sustainable Living: Lawn & Garden. Visit our Environment section for information about Florida wildlife and invasive species.
If you can't find the information you're looking for, check our A - Z Index, send us your questions--and tell us which county you live in--or contact your county Extension office.
General Resources
UF/IFAS Sites
- Entomology and Nematology Department
- Environmental Horticulture Department
- FAWN: Florida Automated Weather Network
- Florida Master Gardener Program
- Florida Partnership for Water, Agriculture & Community Sustainability at Hastings
- Florida Yards & Neighborhoods Program
- Gardening in a Minute
- Gardening Tips with Dr. Bob Black
- Home Lawn Care--Turfgrass Science
- Horticultural Sciences Department
- IPM Florida
- Landscape Plants
- Living Green
- Pesticide Information Office
- Plant Pathology Department
- School Gardens
- Soil and Water Science Department
- Trees and Hurricanes
UF/IFAS Publications
State & Federal Agencies
- FDACS
- Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP)
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
- USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map--U.S. National Arboretum
Other University Sites
- Hort Corner--University of Illinois Extension
- Yard & Garden Solutions--University of Illinois Extension
Organizations & Associations
- American Community Gardening Association
- American Horticultural Society
- Florida Native Plant Society
- International Society of Arboriculture
- International Society of Arboriculture (en español)
- International Society of Arboriculture, Florida Chapter
- National Garden Clubs
- North American Native Plant Society
Other Sites & Publications
Plant Hardiness Zones
