Getting Started with Gardening
New to Florida, or starting a garden for the first time? Gardening in Florida can be challenging. With mostly sandy soil, numerous insects and other pests, and four different growing zones, the state has unique features with which transplants from other locations may not be familiar.
Check out these topics for getting 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
