In Memory of Allen Wise, Sumter Chapter

Left to Right - Ruth & Dean Leferink, Allen, Diane Reppert & Sandi Wise.

Allen Wise ran Shady Oaks Gather All, an old-style roadside plant nursery on Highway 301 in Sumterville where he offered a mix of native, edible and Florida-friendly plants. His many loyal customers will continue to remember what he taught them about the plants that he nurtured. By making Florida native plants available to homeowners, Allen was a wonderful advocate for attracting pollinators and supporting butterflies in home landscapes. While volunteering as a Sumter County Master Gardener, Allen annually put together a native plant exhibit at the Sumter County Fair. He was always eager to donate his time at native plant shows and for 20 years was a faithful member of the Florida Association of Native Nurseries (FANN).

He was a founding member of, and for years served as an officer for, the Sumter County Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society (FNPS), which disbanded soon after Allen found he had cancer in 2019. As a local property manager for his south Florida friends, he demonstrated his wide-ranging skills in carpentry and mechanics. He showed remarkable perseverance and strength because he did all of this from his wheel chair or using crutches since he was afflicted by a rare disease, hereditary spastic paraplegia or HSP/FSP.

Twenty-five years ago, Allen moved to his home on Route 301 after working as a chef in Miami. He left south Florida after his fiancé, Jewel Hammer, was killed by a drunk hit-and-run driver. Allen was born December 22, 1950 in Pennsylvania where he and his siblings were separated as children. His sister Sandra Wise finally found him 4 years ago and introduced him to his other sister, Tara Prentice. Although they were reunited for only a few years, being in touch with long lost family was a great source of connection for Allen. He also cherished his Leferink family, Ruth, Dean and his nephew, Kenny, who live in Dade City.

Allen was proud to have, at last, kicked the smoking habit 12 years ago. He died at Cornerstone Hospice on October 6 2021 from lung cancer.

He was a resource to countless home gardeners who will miss his presence on Route 301; passersby could observe Allen diligently tending his plants from his motorized chair. But they will forever remember him by the shrubs, trees and flowers that prosper and bloom in their yards. Allen's friends have established the Allen G. Wise Research Fund to honor his memory. Donations fund a scholarship within the Native Plant Horticulture Foundation to support research projects that expand and strengthen the native plant industry that Allen loved.

By Nancy Dwyer

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Wednesday's Wildflower:Spanish Needle

Image
Spanish Needle, Bidens Alba Submitted by Donna Bollenbach, Suncoast Chapter Biden's alba , all photos by Donna Bollenbach Nothing attracts more butterflies and bees than a simple white flower called Bidens alba . Also called Romerillo, Beggar’s Tick, Spanish Needle or Monkey’s Lice, this Florida native wildflower is the third most reliable source of nectar for pollinators in our state. There would be many starving bees and butterflies if not for the Bidens family of flowers. More so, Bidens alba and its sister plant, Bidens pilosa , are both edible and have medicinal value. Yet, many gardeners have a love/hate relationship the plant, and some even consider it a pesky weed. Why?
Read more

Australian Pine: One of Florida's Least Wanted

Image
 Austrailian Pine fruits Australian pines seem to be everywhere in the coastal regions in the bottom half of Florida. Their name is deceiving because, while they are native to Australia, they aren't pines or even conifers. They are flowering trees with separate male and female flowers, and what look like needles are really green twiglets with close-set circles of tiny leaves that drop at the first sign of a drought. In the photo to the right, the light-colored lines are where leaves where once attached. Most of the photosynthesis takes place in the twiglets. There are three species of Australian pine ( Casuarina spp ) that have been imported into Florida for various purposes. They were widely planted to soak up the "swamps" in Florida, stabilize canals, and hold beaches. Unfortunately for Florida's ecosystems, the "pines" accomplished all this and more--like seeding prolifically, growing five feet or more per year, producing dense shade, and emitting
Read more

Tropical Milkweed is Harmful to Monarchs & Florida Ecosystems

Image
By Lilly Anderson-Messec The red and yellow blooms of tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica , are ubiquitous in Florida butterfly gardens. This non-native milkweed has exploded in popularity as demand for milkweed grows to support declining monarch butterfly populations. This tropical species is native to Mexico and very easy to propagate, so growers are able to quickly produce plant material to meet the milkweed demand. It’s also very showy, blooming prolifically all season and regrowing quickly after being decimated by hungry caterpillars.  Unfortunately, tropical milkweed has been an increasingly invasive species in Central and South Florida for many years, and has begun spreading in North Florida as well. It’s fast growth and prolific re-seeding have resulted in large monocultures of tropical milkweed in natural areas. This unchecked growth replaces native plants and disrupts the native ecosystems that both wildlife and humans rely on. The invasive quality of this plant is is j
Read more