Florida Native Plant Society Blog

By Marlene Rodak Creating Bird and Butterfly Habitat at Middle School A tiny butterfly on bloodberry ( Cordia globosa ), which is one of the native species that will be planted at Fort Myers Middle Academy on Tuesday   The school corridor to be planted A spectacular event will take place the morning of Tuesday, July 28 at Fort Myers Middle Academy.  Florida Forest Service employees and volunteers from the Florida Native Plant Society are planting hundreds of native plants in an outdoor corridor, which will transform the area into important bird and butterfly habitat.  This planting will demonstrate how natural, native landscaping functions in the environment by providing food and shelter to wildlife.  Best of all, the entire project is provided to Fort Myers Middle Academy and Lee County Schools FREE OF CHARGE! FNPS Coccoloba Chapter President Martha Grattan shoveling mulch at Fort Myers Middle Academy Florida Native Plant Society is c...

above: Atala caterpillars on coontie, a native cycad; below: Atala butterfly by Marc Minno by Debra L. Klein, FNPS Education Chair Several years ago, I became aware of the absence of habitat for native birds, butterflies, and other insects in urban areas, and an increasing need to incorporate native plants into the landscape. Native plants (which naturally attract native wildlife) need no pesticides, as they co-evolved with insects, birds, etc. that successfully keep pests in check - by eating them. In short, there is balance. Further, native vegetation, when sited appropriately (where cultural needs like light, soil pH, and moisture are naturally met), is not taxing to Florida's limited water supply, as it does not typically need supplementary irrigation after establishment (unlike most lawns and ornamentals). Biodiversity, symbiotic relationships, and nominal maintenance needs typify healthy natural areas. These attributes do not need to be limited to "wild plac...

by Laurie Sheldon I have two nephews - brothers, in fact - who turned 4 and 6 a few days apart in early January. Naturally, I gave them each birthday gifts. I generally ask my brother and sister-in-law what their kids could use before buying anything… but this time I did not. Instead, I took a cue from my oldest nephew, Kai, who, one year earlier, told me he had a butterfly garden at school, and asked if any of the plants I’d installed at his home would bring monarchs (to which the answer was, “no”). I replayed this conversation in my head, and, without hesitation, jumped in my car and headed toward Homestead. Asclepias tuberosa and Calotropis procera I picked up two 3-gallon containers of milkweed, two large clay pots and saucers, some potting soil, and headed back home, where I repotted them and made a mess of my mother’s patio. Despite the fact that the boys were/are beginning readers, I carefully wrote the genus and specific epithet of each plant on the back side of its...

By Robin Koestoyo The native section of the Ft. Pierce "teaching garden". What do Mexican firebush, gumbo-limbo, and Stokes aster have in common, aside from their versatility and compatibility with a wide array of landscape settings? For starters, they are native to Florida, require a minimal amount of care, and are  featured in either of two botanic gardens situated at the University of Florida/IFAS Indian River Research and Education Center near Fort Pierce. Lucky for you, they are among the more than 100 plants to be studied in “Florida Native Landscaping,” an upper division environmental horticulture course offered at the UF Fort Pierce campus. Many industry professionals, nursery owners and state employees have completed the course. Course Schedule Registration for “Florida Native Landscaping” is taking place now for spring semester 2014.  Course lectures will be delivered live with laboratories will take place on Wednesdays, and will begin Jan. 8, 3:00 unti...

by Laurie Sheldon History and Definition President Bill Clinton On Feb 3, 1999, President Bill Clinton signed Executive Order 13112 - a critical piece of legislature on the environmental front. It established a multi-agency task force (the National Invasive Species Council) to deal with the management of " invasive species ," which it defined as a species: that is both non-native (or alien) to the ecosystem under consideration and whose introduction causes or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health. These "invaders" present themselves in many forms, and include (but are not limited to) plants, animals, and pathogens.   I found an air potato as big as my hand at a Roundup during NISAW 2012: air potato has been listed as one of Florida’s most invasive plant species since 1993. Causing Harm Invasives may feed on fish and wildlife and/or cause widespread illness. Invasive pathogens can kill forest trees....

By Laurie Sheldon Diagram of the Design Process, adapted  from Simonds, John Ormsbee.  Landscape Architecture – A Manual of Site Planning and Design. Introduction - Summing up Part 1 In my previous blog I listed the series of steps, collectively known as the Design Process , which Landscape Architects employ when designing outdoor spaces - regardless of scale. This methodological approach to design enables the Landscape Architect to clearly identify the optimal arrangement between the elements they hope to incorporate into a landscape and its existing natural and constructed features. It includes the following: 1. Statement of Intent 2. Procurement of a Topographic Survey 3. Site Inventory and Analysis 4. Program Development 5. Conceptual Diagramming 6. Diagram Selection 7. Master/Site Plan and Design Development Documents A brief recap of steps 1 & 2 1. Prepare of a Statement of Intent , wherein you will determine the scope of you...

By Laurie Sheldon, newest member of the F.N.P.S. blog team Introduction As a follower of the FNPS blog, it’s a given that you’re interested and/or enthusiastic about Florida’s native flora. You can probably recall a dozen or so trips to a local nursery, where you walked between row after row of plants in black pots and imagined how they would look in your own landscape. I worked for several years in a sizable nursery in Miami, so I know the plant-dreamer look all too well. Admittedly, I was not immune to becoming starry-eyed in the presence of some outrageously beautiful plants, and frequently came home from work with one or two random specimens that I just had to have . Needless to say, my spur-of-the-moment plant shopping did little to enhance the overall aesthetic of my backyard, and did even less as far as enhancing my wallet was concerned.    Lichtenstein at F.T.B.G., a fusion of art and science I left my nursery job and became a “Garden Groomer” (volu...

A message from the Florida branch of the Nature Conservancy: Greetings all, Please see flyer (above) for Florida Forever Day on March 8, 2011. We need your help getting out the word on this important event. Please circulate this information widely and help us generate a great crowd! This year we will have tabling by more than 20 organizations, guest speakers, a beautiful exhibit of LINC Florida Forever photographs, lunch, and live music! This is the first day of the 2011 legislative session and a great opportunity to make sure Florida Forever is in the spotlight. Please let me know if you need any additional information, and see you on March 8th! -Holly Holly Parker Davenport, Government Relations Associate 625 North Adams Street Tallahassee, FL 32301   hdavenport@tnc.org http://www.nature.org/

On July 15th, the Environmental Protection Commission of Hillsborough County declined to pass a summer fertilizer ban, as a number of other counties and municipalities have done. They did approve new regulations that prohibit the use of nitrogen-containing fertilizer prior to heavy rainfall and disallow use of fertilizer within 10 feet of a body of water, but this is small comfort to environmental advocates worried about surface water quality. The EPCHC's compromise measures won't do much to curb excessive nutrients flowing into Tampa Bay and polluting our area lakes and rivers, but it could be argued that a more stringent ban wouldn't have done much either. Not because there isn't a whole lot more fertilizer than necessary being used on Hillsborough County landscapes (mostly lawns), but because even if passed the new regulation would likely have received little or no enforcement. In January, neighboring Pinellas County passed such a ban and its environmental manage...

Join us in Tallahassee, May 20-23, 2010 as the Magnolia Chapter hosts the 2010 Annual Conference. This will be a special 30th anniversary conference that honors the Society's history and celebrates the plants, people and places of Tallahassee and the Big Bend Region. Each annual conference features presentations about Florida's native plants, from scientific research presentations to sessions for the home landscaper. This year, as a special treat, comedic author Bailey White will read new stories with accompanying photos by Gil Nelson. Get reacquainted with Bill Partington and the people who started the first gathering of native plant enthusiasts in 1980. Meet folks from Florida and other southeastern states who share a common vision of native plant protection. See http://www.fnps.org for more information.