East County master gardener: in this oasis, she rules

Driving down the streets in Esplanade reveals stucco and Spanish tile homes in a row, with green lawns and similar shrubs surrounding them.

Maureen Burke’s yard offers a subtle break in the uniform pattern. Thick red bushes line her front walk and bright green plants light up the mulch along her driveway.

Residents often complain that homeowners association restrictions keep them from personalizing their property.

But Burke, an Esplanade resident who received her certification as a master gardener this week, said the key to successfully working with an HOA is to do your homework.

The Connecticut native moved to Lakewood Ranch almost a year and a half ago with her husband, Dr. Al Taricco. 

“We made the great escape from the snow, and the taxes,” she said.

Burke has always had a love for growing things, and, although she was an advanced master gardener in Connecticut, moving to Florida presented a whole new world of gardening.

“Coming to Florida, I knew nothing. It’s a different climate,” she said.

Burke decided to tackle the new territory by earning her master gardener certification through the University of Florida Extension Office in Palmetto. The 120-hour class was time-consuming but gave her a detailed understanding of gardening in Florida.

"I was a nurse for 45 years. Now I take care of plants instead of people." - Maureen Burke

Her new home presented another challenge, too: ensuring her home garden fit into her neighborhood’s covenants. 

Her goal was to add some privacy and color. So the first thing she did was learn the rules. 

“You have to find out the guidelines,” she said.

The Esplanade HOA has an approved plants list, which she used to pick what she would plant. 

She had to spell out who would be maintaining the plants, whether she would do it herself or use a contractor, how she would irrigate and what kind of outside work she would bring in to set up the footprint of the greenery. She then had to submit her design and get it approved.

What helped, she said, was her enrollment in the master gardener course and her willingness to work with the board.

“A lot of people come from other areas of the country,” she said. “You have to do Florida-friendly plants. It’s a whole different climate. You are not going to have daffodils, but you have more than enough to choose from.”

Some gardening can be done without HOA involvement. She has potted plants and a small herb garden on her patio. Because it’s within her pool cage and contained, the HOA doesn’t need to grant approval.

Burke, who’s a board member of the Lakewood Ranch Garden Club, discovered her love of gardening when she was a child watching her mother tinker in the soil while they lived in Ireland. Burke has kept up the hobby throughout her life, even for the 45

years she worked as a nurse.

Although her Lakewood Ranch canvas is limited compared with the rural acreage she gardened up in Connecticut, she said it’s still satisfying to grow something beautiful.

“I like turning something ugly into something attractive,” she said. “It’s therapeutic.”

*The caption of the photo of the bird-of-paradise flower has been corrected to state it is not a native Florida flower.