Florida Homebuilder Centerline Homes | Real Estate Blog

Start off Right, Select the Right Plant For Your Location!

• Make a note of the type of soil, sunlight exposure and water conditions of the planting site before you shop. Choose plants that thrive under the conditions you noted.  Almost any plant will survive in your landscape if you plant it in the right place.
• Limit the number of plants that need a lot of water or care.
• Keep only as much grass as you directly use for recreation and other purposes. Plant beds and mulched areas use less water than grass.
• Remove invasive exotic plants so they don't steal water and nutrition from Florida-friendly plants.

Watering

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You can design a landscape that not only conserves energy but also water. Here is a brief overview of some water-conserving landscaping strategies.

Xeriscaping

Xeriscaping is a systematic method of promoting water conservation in landscaped areas. It's based on seven principles:

1. Planning and design:  Provides direction and guidance, mapping your water and energy conservation strategies, both of which will be dependent upon your regional climate and microclimate.
2. Selecting and zoning plants appropriately: Bases your plant selections and locations on those that will flourish in your regional climate and microclimate.

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You can reduce your home's heating and cooling costs through proper insulation and air sealing techniques. These techniques will also make your home more comfortable. Any air sealing efforts will complement your insulation efforts, and vice versa. Proper moisture control and ventilation strategies will also improve the effectiveness of air sealing and insulation, and vice versa.

A home's energy efficiency depends on a balance between all of these elements:

• Air sealing
• Insulation
• Moisture control
• Ventilation

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Solar heating has become a very popular way to control the temperature in many homes across the nation. Living in Florida allows us an exceptional opportunity to make use of the sun for our daily energy requirements.  There are several different ways we can use solar when heating your home.

Passive Solar Heating
Passive solar elements are becoming very popular in new home construction. Passive solar doesn’t require solar panels to collect the suns energy. Passive Solar uses other elements and materials to help heat a home naturally. A home designed to be passive solar will typically have lots of strategically placed windows, stone or marble flooring, concrete walls, and other elements that trap and release heat throughout the home. Often these passive systems are used with other active solar or even geo-thermal systems. Many of these design elements also bode well to help with cooling in the summer.

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The City of Parkland, FL has a fantastic Farmer’s Market which has been highly attended over the past two years. Parkland Florida's Farmer’s Market draws in on average 1,500 people per event. This year the event will feature live music, chef demonstrations, and holiday music! 

The Parkland Farmer’s Market is open November 1, November 15, December 6, December 15, January 3, January 17, February 7, February 21, March 7, March 21, April 11, and April 18.

Visit www.cityofparkland.org for additional information about the events.