Florida Native Plant Society Blog

Hernando Chapter sent out their June newsletter today and included this excellent local policy update. The Hernando Chapter FNPS will weigh in on local issues when they are directly related to our mission ( Preserving, conserving and restoring the native plants and native plant communities of Florida ). We are fortunate that our Conservation Chair, Gene Kelly, closely follows local issues and helps us take meaningful action. Our Chapter has taken a formal stand on the issues that follow, often in stride with partner organizations. Hernando County is currently strengthening its fertilizer ordinance , and the BCC unanimously approved amended ordinance language at their May 27 meeting. It is critical that the county gets the job done before July 1; a very bad law prohibiting adoption/amendment of local fertilizer ordinances goes into effect on that date (if the Governor does not veto it, which we hope he will). The good news is that Hernando’s ordinance (assuming it receives final approva...

On December 8 2021 Hernando Chapter lost a big part of the heart of its native plant community. Our friend Rick McDonnell died from complications of pneumonia after a lengthy hospitalization. He was 74 years old. Many of Rick’s FNPS friends know him first as a nurseryman. In the early 1980s Rick started a small commercial nursery in Brooksville Florida which became Hickory Hill Native Nursery, Inc.. He was a longtime member of both the Florida Association of Native Nurseries and the Florida Native Plant Society. Hickory Hill Native Nursery has always been a participant in the Hernando Chapter’s plant sales and a key source of native plants in our area. “We always looked forward to Rick’s arrival on plant sale day – the van loaded to the top with all our favorites – his famous wild coffee, coral honeysuckle and coralbean, sunshine mimosa with some wild garlic thrown in for fun. He had the most interesting wetland plants – native hibiscus, swamp mallows and string lilies.” – Cindy Libe...