Home & Condo

On managing landscapes: "That’s what holds the financial value of a property," says Lieber. He’s helped several struggling communities improve in their resale values after sprucing up the foliage. "New construction is competing with the resales—they have to keep up their image because if it’s let go and not kept up, they’re going to lose [their] value," he says.

You can’t always get what you want: "One of the biggest problems in working with clientele here is when they say, ‘Oh, we want color! Color, color, color!’" says Lieber. "In order to have color, you have to have sun." Southwest Florida may bill itself as tropical, but technically speaking, it’s a few degrees too far north for tropical plants, he says.

Hurricanes, the "other" landscape architects: Charley and Wilma flattened an enormous number of old-growth trees, says Lieber, "I was extremely depressed when I came back after the storm." But after the initial shock, came a budding optimism. "Nature does take care of itself," he says. "I think we needed a good pruning. It wouldn’t surprise me if, for a while, we might not have the big storms because nature is going to allow itself to regenerate."

Slow plants, smart investments: "Usually, fast-growing things are negative because they become weak," says Lieber. Avoid Washingtonian palms—the tall skinny ones with little heads and the tendency to slam down from strong winds—and look for solid, more stable plants like sabal palms.

Garden-variety inspirations: Everywhere Lieber travels, he makes a point to visit the local gardens. "By doing that, you experience how they do things in other parts of the world," says Lieber. "And then it’s a matter of adjusting or applying that as it may work in our environment."