Bob checks out the sloping bank that comes from the Western red cedar deck to the yard. Salvaged granite curbs serve as steps set into the bank, leading to the lawn. Foster explains that the gardens will be green, with junipers and yews for low maintenance, varying height, and deep green coverage. She also shows Bob the batch composter for making rich mulch or "black gold" for the plants and gardens. The gardens are dressed with two inches of pine mulch to keep the weeds down and the moisture in the soil. She closes with a self-watering window box that will complete the low-maintenance gardens and flowering boxes on the new deck.

Angela Polo from the University of Florida's Florida Yards and Neighborhoods Program is on hand to show how the Punta Gorda yard exemplifies the nine principles of their program: right plant, right place, efficient watering, recycling, protecting the waterfront, reducing stormwater runoff, attracting wildlife, managing fertilizers, and managing pests. Bob and Angela discuss the soil in Punta Gorda, which is typical of new Florida construction and is sandy with no percolation or drainage. Bob talks about the native palm of Florida, the Sabal Palm or Cabbage Palm as it is commonly called, as an example of selecting the right plant for the right place. Brian Kendzior from Sun Scape Landscaping explains the landscape design for this large corner lot with screening for privacy, minimized functional lawn areas, and large beds. Kendzior talks with Bob about addressing hurricane issues and landscaping so that the home and surrounding areas are protected from damaged landscaping and wind-borne plant debris. He explains how landscapers have reduced the size of plantings near the house and moved to sturdy, native plants to reduce hurricane damage. Kendzior also talks about plant selection and maintenance. Sustainable planting tends toward native plants that require low maintenance and thrive in natural conditions. To that end, the irrigation system provided by Toro uses a pressure compensating watering system that uses weep holes to water perimeter plants. Polo also adds that raised beds will be installed by the canal, preventing turf from going right to the edge of the bulkhead. This reduces the chance of runoff from fertilizers, herbicides, or pesticides into the waterway.

In the last couple of weeks, the landscape on the front of the yard has been replaced. It used to be somewhat scruffy and sloped right to the sidewalk. A beautiful recycled stone curb has been installed along the front of the house and acts as a retaining wall. Bob talks with Ruth Foster, a landscape designer, and Nick Christy of Atlantic View Landscape Construction. A low-maintenance garden was put in place because this a busy household with two young children. The lawn was taken out because mowing lawns requires a lot of time. Pachysandra is being installed as ground cover because it does not require a lot of care. Pachysandra takes a year or two to develop but once it does, the ground will be completely covered. The pachysandra grows by sending out roots and sending up little plantlets. The plant requires no fertilization or watering. The front yard was filled in with eighteen inches of loam to reduce the slope to the curb and enrich the plant bed. A red Japanese maple that can grow to around 30 feet in height is at the center of the new yard. This tree will also need limbing in the future. Holly and rhododendron were also added to the front yard for low-maintenance bloom ing bushes. Daffodils and blue muscari were also put in, providing a blue and yellow accent in the spring.