A Florida Wildflower Foundation member for more than a decade, Phyllis Stopford is devoted to learning about native plants. The more she learns about the beneficial quality of native plants, the more her perspective grows. “I now see landscapes through a different lens and have redefined my idea of beauty. ”
The Florida Wildflower Foundation is pleased to announce the recipients of this year’s Viva Florida Landscape Demonstration Garden grants. Eleven grants were awarded for the following projects: Depot Park, Sopchoppy; Edison and Ford Winter Estates, Fort Myers; Enchanted Forest Sanctuary, Titusville; Lake David Park, Groveland; Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, Sarasota; Miami Dade College, Miami; Orange County Administration Building, Orlando; University of Florida Natural Areas Teaching Lab, Gainesville; Village Institute for Sustainable Technologies and Agriculture, Tampa; and West Oaks Library, Ocoee.
Get to know Florida Wildflower Foundation member Janice Broda. Janice has been attending Foundation field trips, symposiums and webinars regularly since 2014. Exceptionally active in her community, she has served on the board of directors of the Indian River Mosquito Control District for nearly 30 years and is a founding member of her Florida Native Plant Society (FNPS) chapter. Janice currently coordinates the Volunteer Nature Stewardship Program for the Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory.
October started with a beautiful full moon, and in those hours when a wildflower gardener can’t sleep, she looks out the upstairs window over her dappled moonlit wildflower garden. It looks serene and scary at the same time!
Late summer rains across most of Florida were enough to promote showy displays of native wildflowers and grasses this fall. Above-normal temperatures and normal rain are forecast for fall, which may result in earlier flowering of some native wildflowers and grasses.
Almost 300 native milkweed and nectar-providing plants were installed along a highway retention basin on Alt. U.S. Highway 27 near Chiefland Tuesday. The effort is part of a Florida Museum of Natural History pilot project to increase roadside habitat for Monarch butterflies. It is funded in part by the Florida Wildflower Foundation.
The Florida Wildflower Foundation is pleased to announce the recipients of this year’s Viva Florida Landscape Demonstration Garden grants. Five grants were awarded for the following projects: Cutting Horse Eco-Center, Bonita Springs (Lee County); Folly Farm Nature Preserve, Safety Harbor (Pinellas County); Orange County UF/IFAS Extension, Orlando; Port St. Lucie Botanical Gardens (St. Lucie County); and Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation (Lee County).
In the same genus as Monarchs, Queen butterflies share many characteristics with their royal cousins. Queens and Monarchs are similar in appearance, rely on milkweed as a host plant and carry a toxin from milkweed in their bodies into adulthood. Queens do not participate in the same migration as Monarchs, however, and have distinguishing physical differences.
Get to know Florida Wildflower Foundation member Gail Taylor. She is an active State Wildflower license tag member, a member of the Foundation’s Education Committee, and has volunteered at previous Florida Wildflower Symposiums.
Read about Escambia County’s new wildflower program, Santa Rosa County’s mowing challenges, spectacular blooms in Jefferson County, Leon County’s City Nature Challenge and much more news from around the Panhandle in the PWA Summer 2019 newsletter.
If you’re looking to dress up your landscape this summer, consider these native species, which adapt readily to home gardens and provide weeks of blooms.
Do you enjoy juicy watermelons, local blueberries and strawberries and fresh Florida orange juice? How about carrots, broccoli, almonds and apples? If you do, please thank an insect, especially during National Pollinator Week, June 17-23. Learn more about our pollinators – especially native bees – and why they are so important.
Goldenrod soldier beetles (Chauliognathus pensylvanicus) are pollinators and predators of pesky garden pests. They are found throughout Florida and most of the United States. Their populations peak in late summer and early fall, perfectly timed with the bloom of goldenrod. These common beetles prefer sunny spots with rich nectar sources, such as gardens, fields and roadsides.
Brake for wildflowers – Florida’s stunning fall bloom is a great reason to explore state and national parks and other public lands. Here are the hottest of hot spots throughout the state.
Northern parula on Coreopsis by Christina Evans View brochure Add wildflowers to your landscape now to help birds thrive! To bring birds into your landscape, plant a variety of Florida native wildflowers that provide food and habitat. Include species that produce nectar and seeds, attract insects, and offer shelter. Wildflowers for Nectar Hummingbirds gather nectar…