[Serenoa]

Hello all!

We are a late 50s couple presently living in northern Alabama, with high hopes of retiring somewhere like TV in the next two or three years. So far we are extremely impressed with everything we've read about TV, but being avid ornamental gardeners (aka plant nuts) we want to be sure & choose a community where we can continue to enjoy our favorite hobby. We've scoured the forums trying to find answers to all of our questions, but there are still a few that we're not 100% sure about.
1. We see a lot of comments about professional lawn services being used. We realize that yard work is pure torture to many, but are residents allowed to perform ALL of their own lawn & garden care, if they so desire?
2. Are irrigation systems installed on all homes when originally built?
3. Are there restrictions on how many plants/trees one can have in front and/or in back of their home? We've noticed that very few homes have rear fences so if space permits on our lot we would like to have planting beds at least eight to ten feet deep planted with palms, bananas, philodendrons, elephant ears, etc, etc in order to create our own "green" privacy fence. Would that be allowed? We've looked at many pics of the pre-owned homes for sale & we've yet to see anything like this that another home owner/plant nut has done. All of the existing plantings that we've seen seem rather sparse.
4. Are there any specific plants that are NOT allowed? In all of the pics we've looked at there haven't been any banana trees. We love our tall nanners in the summertime.
5. Are there any many nurseries/garden centers (besides the big box HDs & Lowes) in the area?
6. How active are the gardening clubs in TV? Are there many men invloved, or is it mostly ladies? Much trading of plants going on?

Sorry about the multitude of questions, but we will certainly appreciate any & all information that is shared. Thanks!

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by Serenoa

Hello all!

We are a late 50s couple presently living in northern Alabama, with high hopes of retiring somewhere like TV(There isn't ANY place like TV...lol) in the next two or three years. So far we are extremely impressed with everything we've read about TV, but being avid ornamental gardeners (aka plant nuts) we want to be sure & choose a community where we can continue to enjoy our favorite hobby. We've scoured the forums trying to find answers to all of our questions, but there are still a few that we're not 100% sure about.
1. We see a lot of comments about professional lawn services being used. We realize that yard work is pure torture to many, but are residents allowed to perform ALL of their own lawn & garden care, if they so desire?(Yes they are and many do.)
2. Are irrigation systems installed on all homes when originally built?(Yes)
3. Are there restrictions on how many plants/trees one can have in front and/or in back of their home?(Yes, but they aren't terribly restrictive) We've noticed that very few homes have rear fences so if space permits on our lot we would like to have planting beds at least eight to ten feet deep planted with palms, bananas, philodendrons, elephant ears, etc, etc in order to create our own "green" privacy fence. Would that be allowed? We've looked at many pics of the pre-owned homes for sale & we've yet to see anything like this that another home owner/plant nut has done. All of the existing plantings that we've seen seem rather sparse.
4. Are there any specific plants that are NOT allowed? In all of the pics we've looked at there haven't been any banana trees. We love our tall nanners in the summertime.(I don't think any are restricted but may not grow well in this zone)
5. Are there any many nurseries/garden centers (besides the big box HDs & Lowes) in the area?(Many, MANY other nurseries)
6. How active are the gardening clubs in TV?(I see them in the paper all of the time, but don't know personally, There are so many clubs here..well over a thousand, I am sure there are several gardening clubs) Are there many men invloved, or is it mostly ladies? Much trading of plants going on?

Sorry about the multitude of questions, but we will certainly appreciate any & all information that is shared. Thanks!

Welcome to you both and keep asking questions. You don't know how happy you are gonna be!!

[Serenoa]

Graciegirl, thanks for your response.

In regard to the restrictions on what one can & cannot plant, is there a document somewhere online that we can access that explains & details the restrictions? So far all that we have found is a list of drought-tolerant plants that had been approved. Are we to assume that ONLY the plants on the list are allowed?

Also, I hope someone who is a member of one of the gardening clubs can chime in & tell us about what goes on in their group(s).

thanks much!

[Serenoa]

(duplicate post to one above removed)