Florida Hills

I live on the top of a hill. It's a Florida hill, about two feet higher than the surrounding land, made of fill trucked in to meet building code requirements. In fact much of the eastern half of my property is hilly, with a gradient of at least one foot from north to south, and a central valley that became a 3-inch deep lake for a while in the summer of 2013.

OK, so it's not much by the standards of most locales, but I've observed that even gentle slopes and the almost imperceptible peaks and valleys of a “flat” area can have a horticultural impact. When the soil on the slope down from my house is dry, or even when it isn't, the lion's share of the heavier rainfalls runs off. Where there is turf, more is captured. But turf is a tough competitor best kept away from favored trees--- just lift a shovelful and you'll generally find the soil bone dry below its tightly-packed roots. Either way, precious little water finds its way to tree-root level.

To remedy this, I took to terracing those of my slope-dwelling plants that needed frequent watering, or seemed to languish for no apparent reason. Often, the results have been dramatic. To the left is a young Bougainvillea glabra--- the upright growing and less-thorny Tree Bougainvillea--- that I nearly pulled out after it defoliated last fall and went well into spring with no sign of activity. In fact, the shovel was in my hand when I noticed a few low buds, so instead I used the shovel to lay in some concrete edging and level off the surrounding soil. Besides giving rain or hand watering a better chance to soak in, the little wall retains a thicker layer of mulch, with its attendant benefits. As you can see, the effect has been dramatic, with the vigorous bloomer now on its way to being a showpiece.

I prefer the 2-by-6-inch “scalloped” edging with three decorative arches on one side, but I like to put that side in the ground to produce a nice, straight look, and to make it easier to clear off intruding grass and weeds. It comes in 2-foot straight sections and in 90-degree turns. It may be a bit hard to find--- in the north half of Sarasota I know only one place that sells it--- and it costs a few bucks more. The smaller, lighter product found in big-box home-and-construction stores would work, but I think the extra height and thickness cut the maintenance effort and enable one to keep a thicker layer of mulch around the plant. In sandy soil, either kind is easy to lay in (unless oak tree roots are in the way), but I do need to use a level to keep the top even.

To the right is an Irwin mango planted last May on a high spot. Once its tap root is established, it won't need any help staying hydrated, but this mini-terrace made it very easy to get the four-footer established.

To the right of Irwin is part of a self-maintaining stand of Sauropus androgynus (Katuk), an excellent-tasting perennial green. I just clip a bit of this and scissor the leaves directly onto a salad, for flavor and nutritional diversification.

I could go on and on, but let's just close with a couple more photos. First, Cogshall and Fairchild mangos and a Raggedy Ann copperleaf on the slope by the driveway, all looking happy as can be with no irrigation, and second, a non-irrigated green sapote tree behind the house. Even here in Flatland, terracing can be a useful technique.