SEMINOLE -- No doubt about it, well-landscaped medians add a certain ambiance to a city's image. But keeping the landscape looking good can be expensive, and cities don't want to be on the hook for providing costly services in these tough financial times.

That's why Seminole is going to change the landscaping in its medians and traffic islands to more "Florida-friendly plantings." The maintenance costs are much less, City Manager Frank Edmunds told council members during Saturday's retreat.

Newly elected Council member Leslie Waters thought that was great as long as Edmunds remembered one thing.

"I would like to have mulch as the last resort," Waters said. When it rains, she said, the much ends up in the streets. "I absolutely hate mulch."

Anne Lindberg, Times Staff Writer

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