Florida Native Plant Society Blog

We did it! Thank you to the Florida Master Gardener Program Volunteers, Suncoast Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society and Hillsborough County Park staff who came out on June 28th to plant 60 native plants of 20 different species. Our native plant garden enhancement was funded by the Viva Florida grant by the Florida Wildflower Foundation . Native plants bring life to the garden and this garden at Lettuce Lake Conservation Park is teeming with birds, butterflies, pollinators and hummingbirds. Lettuce Lake Park Native Plant Garden. Photo: Tia Silvasy, UF/IFAS The main garden area is on the north side of the nature center near the boardwalk entrance to the Hillsborough River. The site receives part sun and is occasionally moist. Thanks to previous work led by Tina Patterson of the Suncoast Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society , the site is already well-established with a variety of native plants and interpretive signage showing the ecological benefits of each plant species...

Submitted by Carmel vanHoek Photos courtesy of the Florida Plant Atlas All Saints Of the thirty-one species of the genus Hypericum that have been vouchered for the state of Florida according to the USF Plant Atlas, twelve may be found in Hillsborough County. The genus has been known world-wide since pre-Christian times for its healing properties and each people group has given it common names of their choosing. One of the beliefs of the Romans and Greeks was that the flowers were sent by the gods to provide a holy sacrifice to repel evil, the Greeks naming it Hupereicon and the Romans, Hypericum, meaning perhaps the plant had power over evil. A sacrificial ritual would take place annually during Summer Solstice, also known as Midsummer’s Day, the flowers being thrown on fires to appease the gods. With the advent of Christianity pagan rituals were incorporated with church-based festivals. Thus, because St. John’s birthday was near to Midsummer’s Day, the European species, Hype...