Florida Native Plant Society Blog

Tickseed, Coreopsis spp. Submitted by Carol Mahler,  Serenoa Chapter of Florida Native Plant Society, edited by Valerie Anderson Coreopsis , photo by Carol Mahler Although the orange blossom, Citra sinensis,  was named our state flower in 1909, the legislature designated the genus Coreopsis as our state wildflower in 1991. According to the Netstate , the story began in 1963 as the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) finished a project near Tallahassee that required sod. The sod field had previously been a pasture planted in red clover—a winter forage for cattle. When the clover blossomed in the new grass, people complimented FDOT for their “highway beautification.” That praise inspired FDOT to plant native wildflowers along Florida’s highways . A partnership with the Florida Federation of Garden Clubs funded a research project at Florida Atlantic University. The results recommended many varieties of Coreopsis, and the Federation lobbied for Coreopsis ...

Do you want to know how to grow your own native wildflowers? Doesn't everyone want to have more of these colorful beauties in their gardens? Jeff Norcini, an expert who works with the  Florida Wildflower Foundation has given us some great tips. Read on and you will find out how you can fill your garden with color, and at a fraction of the price you would pay at the nursery. First of all, says Jeff,  you need to decide what kind of planting you will be doing. Will it be:     •    a few containers     •    a small corner or two     •    a bed that fits into a formal design     •    a bed that is part of a more naturalistic design Grow your own blanket flower and bee balm! Let's start with the most simple ones, containers and small corners. For these smaller areas, you can get a spot of native color by planting a flat or two at home. It's easy! Jef...

The plant of the day was Bidens mitis, which lit up the landscape with beautiful golden-yellow fall color! Okefenokee Gold   by Pete Johnson, Ixia Chapter On Saturday November 6, 2010, the Ixia Chapter and Sea Oats Chapter took a joint field trip to the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge (ONWR), East Entrance. The trip was well organized by Ixia president Barbara Jackson, who coordinated with Okefenokee Adventures to guide us on a boat tour. The turnout was big enough to fill four boats with eight people in each boat. The boats can hold more than eight, but the water level was very low due to lack of recent rainfall. The owners of Okefenokee Adventures, Chip and Joy Campbell, and their staff are courteous and very knowledgeable naturalists. They also run a great gift shop and lunch counter at the boat basin inside the ONWR. Chip guided the boat that I rode in and explained the Okefenokee is not just a swamp, but a peat bog system of wet prairies, marshes, cypress and hardw...