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give them to you in a package to feed your plants.
The problem with mulch in Florida is it most often comes
from cypress trees, which have no micronutrients. Loveridge
says she doesn’t understand why Florida is the only Southern
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state without restrictions on cutting down cypress trees.
She recommends signing up for Florida Asplundh debris removal list so they mulch — with nutrients — for free FORT
Power and Light’s
will deliver a big pile of
to your house.
People think mulch is a problem because it has Brazilian
pepper trees in it, but Loveridge says bird excrement with
berries is what causes pepper trees to pop up just about anywhere,
not the seeds by themselves. Tree services are often
happy to give you even better mulch, she says.
Another way to improve your garden is to take your yard
waste and sprinkle it near plants that need nitrogen. And the
more mulch the better.
“We as homeowners can be smarter in our choices of mulch
and fertilizers,” says Loveridge. “You don’t have to be the
tidiest gardener. Natural gardening is OK, and you can do it.
It just takes commitment.” Vinegar and salt make a natural
combination to kill weeds growing up between the cracks,
she says.
As a security guard for All Star Women’s Security, Loveridge
worked boat shows in Miami until a friend told her
she could make more money as a plant technician. A new
career was born, and she began taking care of plants in
swanky offices and banks on Brickell Avenue and homes with
addresses such as Star Island.
“It was the late 1970s, and all the time we would see guys
(drug smugglers) with big briefcases coming into banks
and heading into the room with the safe deposit boxes,”
Loveridge says.
“We used chemicals in people’s homes such as malathion,
but today I only work for wonderful humans who don’t want
to use chemicals.”
After her two sons were born, the family moved to Fort
Pierce because they didn’t want to raise their children in
Broward County. For the past 26 years, the Loveridges have
lived on the grounds of Fort Pierce Inlet State Park, where
husband, Tom, is a park ranger.
“We raised two surfer boys who could walk to the beach,”
she says. “We are bug food here. We haven’t seen otters lately,
but we see bobcats and gopher tortoises all the time.” After
the hurricanes came through the park in 2004, native plants
and trees were damaged. Loveridge plans to undertake a >>
ANNMARIE LOVERIDGE
Age: 63
Lives in: Fort Pierce
Occupation: Horticulturalist
Family: Husband Tom; son
Rory; son, Cale
Education: Florida
Atlantic University, professional
horticulture certification
Hobbies: Home renovations and TV shows with that theme
What inspires me: “Sitting still in the garden with the butterflies
and bees.”
Something most people don’t know about me: “I am a Navy
brat and I lived in 10 houses before I was 15, including in the
jungles of the Philippines.”
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