UF IFAS Extension Offices
Graduate and undergraduate students in my design course have designed demonstration gardens and landscapes for nine extension offices. The gardens showcase Florida-Friendly landscaping principles, edible landscapes, water features, and various specialty gardens such as annual and perennial gardens and pollinator gardens. Designs are created in collaboration with county FFL agents and master gardeners.
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UF IFAS Baker County Extension Office Arboretum
Graduate OPS students helped design the arboretum in collaboration with Alicia Lamborn, Baker County horticulture extension agent. The staff selected the design by Kara Monroe for the final plan, which included an arboretum, and gardens with annual and perennials, wildflowers and grasses, butterfly and edibles gardens, a vinery and small fruit orchard, walking paths and pavilion that included a residential landscape demonstration area with a rain barrel, and covered seating areas with informational signs.
A rendered site plan of the Baker County Arboretum shows a variety of trees and gardens.
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UF IFAS Hastings Edible Landscape Garden, Hastings Florida Extension Office
The edible garden was designed by students in collaboration with Joe Sewards, Putnam County horticulture extension agent to demonstrate high yield edible gardens for a small space. Space saving ideas included the use of multiple trellis and arbor structures, a hydroponics garden, raised beds and a central compost area. The garden also included educational signage and multiple pathways for touring and teaching.
The grape arbor under construction at the Hastings edibles garden
A rendered sketch by OPS students shows an example of metal stock watering tanks used for raised beds.
A rendered sketch by OPS students shows the configuration of the pathway and a variety of trellis.
A variety of trellis structures at the Hastings Edible Gardens shows examples of vertical gardening.
A small hydroponics garden for scaled for an urban backyard.
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UF IFAS Marion County 4H Landscape Edibles Demonstration Garden
The edible demonstration gardens in Marion County are located at the UF IFAS 4H building and were designed in collaboration with extension agents as teaching gardens for 4H participants and demonstration gardens for the community. Three different gardens include typical landscape plants that also provide edibles, an ethnobotanical garden with plants used historically for food in Florida, and a more formal kitchen garden with raised beds and trellis for growing typical Florida agriculture edible plants.
The rendered plan shows the layout of three planned gardens, yard edibles, a yard landscape mixed with edibles, and a kitchen garden.
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UF IFAS Sarasota Extension Office FFL Demonstration Garden
The Florida Friendly demonstration garden was designed in collaboration with master gardeners and extension agents at the office. Half of the garden is designed to replicate one of the FFL research plots on the UF main campus in Gainesville. It includes a traditional front yard with 75% turf and an FFL backyard with 75% planting beds separated by a concrete patio. The other half of the garden is a circle with an irrigation demonstration, raised vegetable garden beds, a gathering space and grass gardens.
The plan for the demonstration garden shows a circular path with different displays and a Florida-Friendly yard planting plan.
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UF IFAS Volusia County Extension Office Gardens
Graduate students designed portions of the garden in collaboration with the master gardeners and Joe Sewards, FFL and Horticulture agent for Volusia County. The gardens surround the extension office and include a small stone fruit orchard, and fern and bromeliad garden, a courtyard with a fishpond, pavilion and large gathering deck, a children’s garden, and an edibles garden with raised beds and large cisterns for collecting rainwater for irrigation.
The rendered site plan shows a variety of teaching gardens, including a children’s garden at the extension office.