WACCA PILATKA FEATURED ON FLIP MY FLORIDA YARD!
Chad Crawford, host of Flip My Florida Yard
Last Spring, we had the privilege of being the featured landscape design and installation crew for Season 3 Episode 10 of Flip My Florida Yard hosted by Chad Crawford for the Beimoretrusting family in Jacksonville, Florida. Flip My Florida Yard is a regional television show with a similar format to HGTV home improvement productions and can be viewed on PBS or the Discover Florida Channel. This show highlights the importance of Florida friendly landscape design principles and is made possible by the IFAS Extension of the University of Florida, the Florida Friendly Landscaping Program and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
Our crew was thrilled to have the opportunity to tackle a big project that would benefit such a deserving family, we couldn’t wait to hit the ground running and we were incredibly grateful to have such amazing partners and volunteers to help execute the job in the short time frame allotted.
Our founder, Nick Freeman, looking cool, calm and collected in front of the camera crew!
The Wacca Pilatka crew, with owners Nick Freeman and Tommy Richardson front and center, getting amped for the install by host Chad Crawford.
The Beimourtrusting Family had unique needs that they wanted addressed in their new landscape, first and foremost, accessibility to the outdoors for their daughter, who uses a wheelchair. They also wanted to improve their irrigation and redirect storm water runoff, add an edible garden and fruit grove to increase opportunities for their children to learn & interact with nature and add plantings that would provide a calming environment for the family to enjoy together.
Before: The family had a monoculture of turf grass with little wildlife and no accessibility for their daughter.
In 8 hours, we transformed a typical suburban landscape full of thirsty grass into a lush backyard oasis complete with over 300 plants, a paver patio hardscape, dry creek bed, seating area for the family and numerous landscape elements that enhanced the space. We also installed wheelchair-accessible pathways and garden beds for their daughter and a water-efficient irrigation system.
A focal point of the design was a paver pathway leading to a large patio, with some trees nearby to provide shade.
The design also included a grove of fruit trees and other edibles to allow the family to enjoy fresh fruit from their garden.
For the first time on the show, a 45’ long dry creek bed was integrated into the plan, providing a unique design feature and a solution to reduce stormwater runoff.
The final result was designed to provide accesibility and a gathering area for the family to enjoy their new backyard.
After: A backyard wonderland complete with a dry creek bed, a new patio with a raised bed edible garden, a new irrigation system, animal habitats, over 300 plantings and a swing for the family to observe their new wildlife paradise!
One of our owners, Nick Freeman, hosing off the newly installed patio.
The plants used will fill in the garden beds, providing cover and host sources for a variety of wildlife, take a peek at the frog hotel along the dry creek bed!
The 45’ long dry creek bed, installed and ready for the next heavy rain.
The raised garden bed along the patio will give the family opportunities to grow their own seasonal crops.
We added a bird bath surrounded by mondo grass, irises, bromeliads, hydrangeas and leopard plants next to the covered patio to add interest, provide water for wildlife and enhance this unused corner of their home.
The new seating area, surrounded by lush Florida Friendly tropical plants and big bloomers.
We received a lovely reaction that made all of the hard work worthwhile once the family returned to see their new landscape!
One of the family’s children enjoying their new swing, a very happy client indeed!
We used many Florida Friendly plants in this landscape to provide a colorful oasis for the family, here is a list of some of the plants that were included that you can research to create your own pollinator haven:
Redbud tree, live oaks, Simpson’s stoppers, sweetbay magnolias, slash pines, orange trees, coontie palms, rhododendron, sand cord grass, bamboo muhly grass, agapanthus, xanadu philodendrons, Ti plants, day lilies, irises, mondo grass, bromeliads, leopard plants, passionflower, mystic spires salvia, bee balm, orange coneflower, pentas and purple love grass.
The sweetbay magnolia is a host plant for the tiger swallowtail butterfly, palamedes swallowtail, spicebush swallowtail, and sweetbay silkmoth, also providing benefit to birds, small mammals and other pollinating insects.
Coontie palms, North America's only native cycad, are the host plant for the endangered Atala butterfly.
Thank you to our partners who helped us with this project, we couldn’t have done it without you all: Endicott Pavers, Green Dynamix, Mr. Greenleaf Landscaping and Irrigation, Oldcastle Coastal, Premier Pavers, Ruah Gardens, SiteOne Landscape Supply, South Seminole Farm and Nursery, and Southern Turf Kings
Our garden crew with Chad Crawford of Flip My Florida Yard
Search the "Discover Florida Channel" on any streaming device or click here to watch the episode online. Want to “flip” your own Florida yard? Reach out to us at Wacca Pilatka to begin designing the backyard of your dreams!
