Landscaping in Miami Beach, FL

Miami Beach is a different set of problems from the mainland and there is no way around them: salt spray, sand instead of soil, and wind coming off the water with nothing in front of it.

That decides the plant list before anything else. Sea grape, coconut, silver buttonwood, cocoplum, bougainvillea and agave take the salt and the wind; a good half of what looks wonderful in a Coral Gables front garden burns off on an exposed Beach lot in a single winter. We plant what will still be there in three years and we amend the sand properly rather than dropping a root ball into it and hoping.

Most of the work here is smaller and more contained than on the mainland — courtyards, terraces, entry gardens, pool surrounds and roof decks — so it leans on containers, stone, lighting and a handful of well-shaped specimen plants. That suits us.

Salt is also why pressure washing is not optional over here. Salt film on glass, rail and paver, and the algae that follows it in a wet summer, come off far more easily on a schedule than after three years.

Call (786) 985-5921 for a free estimate in Miami Beach, Surfside or Bal Harbour.