Early on in our relationship, my husband presented me with a tiny Siamese kitten.
According to club president Rosi Ware, the extensive damage included the loss of several venerable old trees, including a 100-foot-tall, 80-year-old strangler fig, a species known for standing up to powerful salty winds.
Impressed by the speed and skill with which the Key West Garden Club volunteers restored their lovely seaside retreat, I sought out Ware for some tips on gardening in a subtropical climate.
Blooming Hedges
Florida fiddlewood. Unlike the Northeast, where we typically grow hedges of understated greenery such as privet and boxwood, Key West boasts an abundance of hedges (many of them huge) with brilliantly colored flowers.
Photograph by Jason Hollinger via Flickr.
From landscape designer Carl Gilley, a case of classic Key West curb appeal: a picket fence, a wraparound porch, and welcoming (and well-pruned) specimen plants in the front garden.
Photograph courtesy of Carl Gilley Landscape Design.
Prudent Pruning
Photograph by Maggie McCain via Flickr.
Tendrils from a fast-growing passionflower vine latch onto nearly any surface.
Fast-Growing Vines
For this purpose, Ware recommends the native passionflower (Passiflora incarnata), which can grow as rapidly as three inches a day, and bleeding heart vine (Clerodendrum thomsoniae), which attaches to a trellis or fence with delicate tendrils and produces dazzling crimson and white flowers.
Photograph courtesy of Carl Gilley Landscape Design.
Soil Boosters
A permeable gravel driveway and front path in a Key West garden prevent rainwater runoff. Truckloads of potting soil and compost (and added acidifiers for nonnative acid lovers such as gardenias) have created a rich growing environment.
Orchids in Trees
Photograph by Molybdena via Flickr.
Orchids love trees. While the garden club focuses on native plants for their superior ability to survive storms and thrive in the unique Key West growing conditions, Ware says the club also grows exotics, such as ginger, orchids, and bromeliads, primarily because visitors expect to see them.
Orchid Food
Photographer Sophia Moreno-Bunge visited her Uncle Jorge’s tropical orchid garden in Buenos Aires. Under the garden club’s care, orchids enjoy a great deal of pampering.
Photograph by Aqua Mechanical via Flickr.
Conserving Water
A vertical drip irrigation system. To protect its plants during the months that can pass with no rain, the West Martello Garden has an irrigation system.
Lingum vitae in bloom in the Florida Keys. The last time the Key West club’s garden had been attacked during a major hurricane was when Wilma hit in 2005.
Photograph by Cayobo via Flickr.
Natives, Natives, Natives
Beneficial Insects
Photograph by Jim Powell.
Learn more about the lifecycle of a ladybug in Your Garden’s Best Friend: The Life and Times of a Ladybug. Ware says the garden strives to maintain a natural balance to create a safe and welcoming environment for wild residents such as birds, frogs, and tortoises.
Photograph by Stannate via Flickr.
Shutters, stacked on the porch, provide seasonal shelter in Key West. The lesson of hurricane recovery from Ware and her fellow gardeners is actually a good one for gardeners everywhere.
Respecting Nature
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