Homeowner Best Management Practices for the Home Lawn

Best management practices, or BMPs, are cost-efficient processes and activities that improve many aspects of daily life, from healthcare to food service. Agricultural BMPs aim to reduce water use and water quality impacts on farms and ranches while improving or maintaining soil. Additional BMPs focus on forestry practices and lawn care. In Florida, the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) adopts by rule specific BMP manuals as a part of the state’s water quality policy.

Florida-Friendly Landscaping™ (FFL) means using low-maintenance plants and environmentally sustainable practices. Learn how you can have a beautiful landscape that could save you time, energy and money while protecting our future. See the Florida Friendly Landscaping™ program website for training, contact information and more information about the program.

A healthy lawn increases the value of a property, reduces soil erosion, cools the air, and reduces glare and noise. It also filters and traps sediment and pollutants that could otherwise contaminate surface waters and groundwater.

In 2025, as an administrative change, the UF/IFAS Department of Environmental Horticulture was sunsetted. Faculty and staff were rehomed to other departments, primarily the Departments of Horticultural Sciences and Agronomy (turf), and the School of Forest, Fisheries and Geomatics Sciences (arboriculture).