I am planting a garden at my school but dont know what type of plants to plant can you help?

Question

The plants will recieve direct sunlight and will get minimal water. Because i live in the florida area it will be very hot but because im doing it for the science department i would perfer that the plants flower and if at all possible attract birds and butterflys.

If you could give me websites with a list of these types of plants that would be great!

Answer 1

Hello to you. First of all, i'm living in Asia and i'm not really sure if i could help. I will just write down what i know. =)

Most plants i'm giving you will be commonly found in the regions like Malaysia, Japan, Singapore, etc.

So, you want plants to be flowering plants, sunny location and attracts butterflies, yea? But i'm afraid that minimal watering is not advisable. At least, water them once per day if you are buzy. If not, water them 2x per day to achieve optimal growth of them. =) Nevertheless, there are some plants which do not need much water. READ ON!

You can try the following plants; Full sun and Fragrant :-

Murraya paniculata [ White flowers,Low maintenance]
Wrightia religiosa [ White flowers, Low maintenance]
Lantana camera [A lot of flower colors, Low maintenance]
Michelia 'X' alba [White flowers, Low maintenance]
Michelia champaca [Yellow flowers, Low maintenance]
Jasminum sambac [White flowers, High maintenance]
Tabernaemontana corybosum [ White flowers, Low maintenance]
Plumeria obtusa [White flowers, Low maintenace]

You can try the following plants; Full sun but not Fragrant :-

Portulaca grandiflora [A lot of flower colors, High maintenance] **Minimal watering!**

Bougainvillea [A few nice bracts colour, low maintenance]
**Minimal watering!**

Arachis pintoi [Yellow flowers, High maintenace]
Allamanda oenotheraefolia [Yellow flowers, low maintenance]
Casealpinia pulcherrima [Red orange flwoers, low maintenace]
Thunbergia grandiflora [Purple flowers, low maintenace]


There are a lot more i can list down for you but i don't know if they are suitable for your region.

However, i've provided some links for you to get information regarding your question. Hope it helps.

http://www.netpamj.com/lovecolor.htm
[A florida person's garden]

http://www.plantatlas.usf.edu/browse.asp
[A list of plants which you can search yourself!!]

http://mysite.verizon.net/vze8fvo3/id12.html
[Butterfly attracting plants]

http://www.butterflyhouse.org/butterflies/butterflygardening.aspx
[Butterfly attracting plants]

http://www.amazon.com/Florida-Butterfly-Gardening-Identifying-Butterflies/dp/0813016657
[Last resort? Buy this book !! =D]


Think, you will like the websites more than my lengthy words =)


That's all folks.

Answer 2

Just take a drive around the neighborhood.
If you see something you like, make a note or
take a picture. Try to stay with native plants
since they are tolerant of the growing conditions
for that area. Most native plants are cheaper and
easier to get. You said this is for school, so involve
the students. Let them pick or bring in something
they'd like to see grown. Have them care for and
tend the garden. Lots of good biology, chemistry
and entomology lessons.

Answer 3

This would be a nice place to start: http://www.floridaplants.com/xeri.html