Rescuing Rain Lilies
As gardeners, aren't we all tempted by beautiful plants that occur along the roadsides and in other public places? If we only take a few, it won't make much difference, right? Wrong! Even if it weren't illegal, it is selfish to remove plants from roadsides where we all can enjoy them to the seclusion of your own yard. These days, many of the roadside wildflowers are planted by the Department of Transportation. We certainly should not be taking these plants, whether they were planted by Mother Nature or purchased with our taxes. But under certain circumstances you can get a permit to do so. A road near my house is due to be widened from two lanes to four. When the road construction begins, a sizable population of beautiful native rain lilies ( Zephyranthes atamasca ) in a ditch next to this road would be buried. This native rain lily occurs from north central Florida through the panhandle and is threatened in the state. It's classified as facultative wetland plant tha...