Make no mistake about it, World Golf Village has been designed and built with its green side up. We sit on our neighbor’s border, relative to how most folks think about Florida , yet we still enjoy a year-round green appeal. That appeal is a result of our design and development ability to overcome the limitations of our climate swings, our soil conditions and our restricted landscape palette.

The United States National Arboretum, in conjunction with the United States Department of Agriculture, provides the industry standard for plant adaptability to cold zones via the Plant Hardiness Zone Map. St. Augustine, Florida shares the same skinny, thin band of plant suitability and adaptability with Houston, Texas . The corresponding zone is a combination of Zone 8b (hardy between 15 to 20 degrees Fahrenheit) and Zone 9a (hardy between only 20 to 25F). Although most folks think that here in Florida, all you have to do is put a plant in the ground for it to grow, our hardiness zones are actually quite confining. In fact, a high performing plant palette is minimized and the plant availability in the commercial marketplace has been restricted. The “restriction” is due in part to the fact that any given winter season could potentially result in major plant loss due to extended freeze / frost conditions. (more…)