Originally Posted by Villageswimmer (Post 1905392)

You are 100% correct. They are copernicia macroglossa—petticoat palms, and they are exactly as you describe.

Originally Posted by NancyLillian (Post 1905293)

Thank you for your information on what NOT to plant.....how about some suggestions for good things TO plant?

Originally Posted by 2newyorkers (Post 1905454)

I have dwarf bottle brush. Almost zero maintenance. People often stop to ask about them.

Originally Posted by Maryland Girl (Post 1905411)

...We lived in Linthicum near BWI in the same house from 1976-2011. My sister and her family and my mom lived across the street. Eventually my mom died, my niece and nephew went away to college and then got married and my sister and brother-in-law sold and moved to Bel Air to be near their daughter and her family. I'm not a big football fan, but my husband is a Raven's and Oriole's fan. He has an Orioles cap and a Raven's sweatshirt.

Originally Posted by Diane F (Post 1905105)

We have 3 Sylvesters, a Ribbon palm, and several Sugar palms too around are pool, and I wouldn't trade them for the world. After all we do live in Florida. To not have them would be like not having firs and pine trees in the mountains! Yes there upkeep is a hassle, but if you like them and can afford the upkeep, plant them!

Originally Posted by John_W (Post 1905460)

We were always in the northeast area, Parkville, White Marsh or Abingdon. I did work for a couple of years at a company just off I-97 right next to BWI, it was a business park and I didn't really see much else. Before the company moved there, they were located off West Patapsco Ave, not the greatest area but I found a really good sub shop in Arbutus I would go for lunch.

When we moved in 2011 we bought new, so we had the choice of Pennecamp, Buttonwood, St.James or Tamarind Grove depending on the type home we wanted and at what time. We went with a masonry CYV for immediate sale, so we ended up in Tamarind Grove near Sterling Hgts Rec Center. What village did you move to?

Originally Posted by Choro&Swing (Post 1905277)

So what is left? Grass and rocks? Is there any tree you recommend! Crepe Myrtle is beautiful, but it can be messy, too. There are neighbors down the street from me who have papaya trees. Those are interesting, but I don’t know if they ever ripen. There are live oaks and pines right behind my property, on the golf course. I love them. Pruning? Raking? Blowing? Weeds? Fertilizing? Mowing? That’s what the yard guys do. I’m retired.

Originally Posted by bobdeb (Post 1904808)

Just my opinion, however, I do have some experience with the following.

These are some things I highly recommend you Do Not plant in your yard in The Villages. Please add whatever else you feel is appropriate.

1. Live Oak. Well, you may not have a choice here as one may already exist on your property. I love oak trees, and the shade they offer is welcomed from the heat of the sun.

However, you be forever dealing with relentless and testy little leaves and acorns that are difficult to control and clean up. They will ruin your lawn.

Personally, I would resist buying a home that already had an oak tree in the yard. And your nearby neighbor's live oak tree will also add to your endless yardwork.

They grow slowly but will eventually become enormous and offer yet more leaves and acorns.

2. Magnolia trees. These also grow very large and add to your relentless yard work. The flowers are lovely but I'm not a big fan of the huge leaves.

3. Citrus trees. Don't do it. It's tempting I know. Citrus trees take more care than one might imagine. So many of these grow unattended. There may be exceptions with some folks but the fruit will be beyond your ability to process or give away. It will fall and rot and attrack rats. And, in turn, the rats will attract snakes. Fruit trees are especially problematic for snow birds to manage.

The upside is that many citrus trees are quite attractive and the scent of the blossoms is exquisite.

4. Palm trees. I have four sylvester (king) palms, one pindo and one European fan.

The king and queen palms will grow beyond your ability to prune yourself. You will have to hire a crew annually to do that for you. Also, all palms have incredibly nasty thorns. You could lose an eye if not careful. The immature leaves are sharp spikes. Queen palm pods are extremely heavy and they will fall. The fruit from the king palms is significant to clean up.

European fan palms are full of needle like black slivers.

Face it, these trees evolved to protect themselves. It's tempting but don't plant palm trees. You'll thank me some day.

5. Anything else with nasty thorns unless you want a barrier between your home and your neighbors.

Originally Posted by John_W (Post 1905298)

Here's what landscaping can do for property. This is the home I sold in 2011 in the Baltimore suburbs to move to TV. I bought the home new in '98 and over the 13 years I bought some shrubs every spring when I bought new bags of mulch, and did all the landscaping myself. The tree in the middle was the only thing I saved from the original builder's landscaping.

https://scontent-mia3-1.xx.fbcdn.net...a8&oe=60576354

Since I sold the home about ten years ago, it has been resold three times. The most recent seller posted this photo on zillow. They basically removed everything but the tree.

https://photos.zillowstatic.com/fp/7...1536_1152.webp

Originally Posted by bobdeb (Post 1905507)

What to plant?

After 11 years in TV I'm still no expert but I've had wonderful results with small leaf azaleas. Not sure why small leaf is so much better but they are over the larger leaf varieties.

Gardenias are lovely plants. Can't get them to flower much. Suggestions welcomed.

Originally Posted by quietpine (Post 1905132)

There is a live oak tree behind our house. It’s on TV property but is close enough to shed its leaves on our yard. That happens once a year. It’s a nuisance for about a month but our lawn service removes them when they mow. But the majestic tree is beautiful to look at from the lanai, it provides shade in the back yard, blocks the sun and during storms becomes a wind screen. So yes, the leaves are a bother but the tree gives more than it takes and that is a good measure.

Originally Posted by Maryland Girl (Post 1905489)

We came down in Nov., 2011 for a lifestyle preview and impulsively bought a lot in Buttonwood. After we returned home, we realized what we really wanted was an expanded CYV, which we didn't think existed at that time. In Dec., 2011, I happened to go onto TV website and new CYV's in Edgewater Bungalows were up for sale. While on the phone with our realtor, who was driving through the Bungalows, I said the only house we really wanted was an expanded, two-car garage one that had sold. He kept saying, "but that house is sold." I know I was frustrating him no end, but then he got really quiet and finally said, "I don't think the sale of that house is going through." He then said he would get in the queue and try to get it for us. A couple of days later, he called and said the house was ours. He said a man from Georgia had bought it without his wife seeing it and she had said no way was she going to buy a house she had not seen. Well, that is how we ended up in our CYV. We had two doggies when we moved down so our large yard was a good thing for them. They have since both died. Anyway, that is the saga of how we came to live in our CYV, which we like and enjoy to this day.

I know there are a lot of business parks around BWI now and we know Arbutus well. Linthicum started as a farming community and has a lot of history attached to it. When we moved there in 1976, it was just a sleepy small town community. Over the years, the airport, Baltimore City and the Light Rail have put a lot of pressure on it. So many of the small businesses have been sold and small shopping plazas have sprung up with new businesses in them. We probably would have stayed if not for the snow and ice and the interior stairs. Now how we ended up in TV is another story altogether.