Labor of Love

My Florida Backyard generally celebrates Labor Day with a complete lack of actual labor, but we did get outside for a few minutes today to do the best kind of yard work - planting some new residents we picked up on a quick trip to Wilcox Nursery in Largo the other day. Our original intention was to buy some more Muhly Grass to add to the front yard, but we changed our minds when we found a wonderful selection of Elliot's Lovegrass instead.

Elliott's Love Grass (Eragrostis elliottii) is a Florida native grass. It's incredibly drought-tolerant once established, and very easy to grow in sandy soils. The stems come in a variety of colors, making it a grass worth appreciating up close.

It also produces lots of seeds in late summer and fall, making it a draw for wild birds. It grows to about 2 feet by 2 feet, making it somewhat smaller than the Muhly Grass and White Fountain Grass we already have in the front yard, so the collection of the three works together well.

And that was more than enough work for this Labor Day. We were even content to let nature water in the new plantings with a rainstorm just after dark. Why work harder than you have to, right?