Longboaters reshape gardens after Irma

As Hurricane Irma made its way toward Longboat Key, residents prepared the obvious parts of their homes.

They lined the doors with sandbags, installed hurricane shutters, moved furniture to higher ground and secured important identification documents as they prepared to evacuate.

But outside, their plants started blowing in the wind.

Fortunately, Hurricane Irma left only minor damage on the island. However, gardening and landscaping around the Key took a hit.

Residents around the island shared similar sentiments: Their homes were more important than their gardens.

But now that Irma has come and gone, residents have had time to assess their landscaping and make a plan for the next storm.

The Longboat Key Garden Club cares for the butterfly garden in Bicentennial Park. Between the heavy rain in August and Irma, the garden suffered some damage. Leaves and debris littered the garden and weeds sprouted.

“We did not have the opportunity to do our typical care for that garden,” Garden Club President Susan Phillips said. “The rain fed the plants to extreme growth in weeds and established plants, but the newer plants and the smaller plants were completely underwater, and they just didn’t survive.”

Following Irma, club members pruned, weeded and cleared grass that was covering the bricks, removed seven damaged plants and added 17 healthy and flowering plants.

“It’s beautiful now, and we have used the lesson of this storm"

“It’s beautiful now, and we have used the lesson of this storm,” Phillips said. “The plants that had more survivability we’ve kept and put in more of those in hopes that if there is significant rain later or even next year, we have plant materials that are going to survive and be able to take the flooding conditions that they had to go through during this big summer storm.”

In the future, Phillips recommends buying Florida-native plants.

“They are Florida native for a reason,” she said. “They’ve survived. The plants have evolved through time, and in the Florida environment to weather the temperature, salt and rain that is typical of Florida weather patterns.”

Over at Westchester Condominiums, some plants suffered from wind and saltwater damage. Palm fronds littered the lawn. A large tulip tree and Washingtonia Palm were ruined.

Usually, Freddie Baribault and a few other Westchester residents prune the palms ahead of hurricane season. But they were waiting until September this year. Baribault said there isn’t much to be done in gardening preparation for a hurricane because it’s hard to know from which direction it will hit.

Fortunately, she said, the group chooses plants wisely.

“We mostly plant plants that are indigenous to our area, using annuals only for color during the winter months, so our loss was minimal,” Baribault said.

Baribault said she hopes to increase the indigenous plants around the property now. The entrance, which usually has annuals planted around it, will feature more indigenous plants like hibiscus.

“We found that by plantings things that would normally grow there we were much better off because you’re getting salt blown in from the gulf, and a lot of these annuals, being from the north, do not like salt or wind.”

On the bay side, Gordon and Vicki Lyons returned home to find their backyard damaged.

The awning over their outdoor shower was ripped off, and the gazebo that stood next to their swimming pool was blown over.

“It’s still lying on its side like a big bush instead of a gazebo,” Vicki Lyons said.

Ahead of Irma, the couple moved pots and the pool furniture inside. They took their porch swing down as well.

“We did the things that we knew might become missiles blowing against the house,” Lyons said.

But despite the damage, they said they didn’t know if there was anything more they could have done to prepare for Irma. Like many others, their minds were preoccupied with the expectation of a high storm surge.

And just as they had focused on prepping their homes before the storm, the residents shared similar feelings after Irma moved out of the area. Their homes survived, and now they have time to mend their gardens.

“We’ve both been so thankful that we had a home to come back to that I don’t even like complaining about it because you see what happened to other people in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean Islands and Houston,” Vicki Lyons said. “We’re pretty fortunate.”