Landscape ideas for a southeastern Garden Railroad

Landscape Ideas For
A Southeastern Garden Railroad

When we first built our Garden Railroad here at H&R Trains we enlisted the help of many fine folks who had expertise in lots of areas that we did not. One of those people was the owner of Cathy's Corner nursery which just happens to be right up the street from our store.

Cathy recomended many plants that were suited to our location as well as our climate. She helped us with a basic site plan and then Cathy and her crew helped us install all the trees and plants in just two days. For the most part all or most of the landcsaping has stood the test of time. It has withstood Huricanes, drought, freezing temperatures, and of course the relentless sun of west central Florida.

It is important to consider some sort of irigation system before you plant. Without water during the dryer seasons your plants will really have to struggle to survive.

I am sure that you have a nursery in your area that can help you the way that Cathy was able to help us. Their expertise in the local area will go a long way to help your garden to survive the elements like ours has.

Below are some of the plants that Cathy recommended for our area.

	SEASONAL COLOR

SPRING	SUMMER	FALL

LOBELIA	PORTULACAS	LOBELIA
MARIGOLDS	MARIGOLDS	DUSTY MILLER
SWEET ALLYSUM	PURSLANE	PANSY
GAZANIA	DWARF PERIWINKLE	DWARF SNAPDRAGON
DIANTHAS	CELOSIA
SALVIA

	SCRUBS

ARECA PALM	AFRICAN IRIS	DWARF SHORE JUNIPER
FICUS (IN POT)	ILEX SCHILLING	INDIAN HAWTHORN
LOBELIA	PARSONII JUNIPER	WHITE ALLYSUM

GROUND COVER	VINE

HEATHER	CREEPING FIG
JACOBS COAT
ALTERNANTHERA

These are not by any means the only plants that will work in our area but it was a starting point and that is what we needed. We also tried some other plants just for the fun of it to see if anyone would notice. Parsley, Tomatoes, and three Grapefruit trees. The Grapefruit trees are a big hit with the tourists who take them back to the motel and come back for more. The tomatoes were fine for one season, but the parsley did not make it through the first winter.

I think the most important thing is that you have fun with your railroad regardless what plants you use. Some garden railroaders like to try to find plants and trees that are to scale with the trains. That will work to a point, but it is not really necessary to do so. Almost any size plants will work and it gives you much more flexibility if you are willing to accept bigger plants.

Once your garden is planted it will need a certain amount of maintenance to keep the plants off the tracks. It will also need a certain amount of weed removal. This is best accomplished a little at a time. Your nursery can help with the right kinds of chemicals to use for this purpose as well as what type of fertilizers to use.

We have added some non-plant materials to our landscaping such as old railroad equipment to add interest to the railroad. we have some old wheels off of a freight car, some mile post signs, a yard limit sign, railroad crossing sign, and recently we added a bell from an old steam locomotive. The bell became an instant hit with our younger customers and it has attracted more first time viewers as a result.

We have also added a pond and waterfall to our garden. There is nothing quite as relaxing as the sound of falling water to help reduce the day to day stress that we are all exposed to. Water Gardening is a subject that I will cover in a future article.

We have had a lot of fun with our garden railroad over the past twenty three or more years and although the plants are constantly evolving that is part of what makes it fun. I hope you get as much enjoyment from your garden as we have from ours.

Happy Railroading!

Don Morris is co-owner of H&R Trains along with his wife Alice. He has built hundreds of Garden Railroads and other layouts for commercial customers and private individuals.

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