Wednesday, October 10, 2012

The Native Touch

Last weekend was the annual Native Landscape Tour sponsored by the Pinellas chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society. I always try to attend this to support the Native Plant Society and to see how homeowners in diverse neighborhoods are converting their landscapes to natives, or blending natives with more traditional landscapes.

This year I attended the South Pinellas tour on Saturday, which featured eight sites in St. Petersburg -- six homes, a fire station and the Wildflower Walk at Boyd Hill Nature Preserve.

Here are some of the great landscapes and lovely native Florida plants I saw:

Who wouldn't want to sit in this garden and read a book?


Dotted horsemint with its dainty purple-pink blooms

Two views of the front yard of a historic Craftsman bungalow in St. Pete


This backyard featured a narrow turfgrass path surrounded by a variety of mature native shrubs and trees. Many of the plants here were planted more than a decade ago.




I love the soft inviting look of this beautiful garden filled with nectar plants for pollinators
Sword fern + pumpkins = A touch of autumn

I am adding more natives to my garden each year. They are the most amiable of plants, hardy and highly tolerant of Florida's feast-or-famine rainfall patterns. They generally don't need fertilizer or pesticides.  They provide food, shelter and nest sites for wild creatures, and the list of native plants used by pollinating insects is longer than I am tall.

But mostly, I like natives because they are part of our collective heritage. Many native Florida plants are not found anywhere else. They remind me that I live in a special place called Florida and that, even though I was born in another state, I am now, and always will  be, a Floridian.


12 comments:

  1. What a wonderful tour that looks like! I agree with you that natives capture that "old Florida" feel. Thanks for sharing your field trip!

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    1. It's always informative, and fun, to visit other gardens, isn't it?

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  2. Thanks for sharing pics of the gardens you visited. It's a great way to "borrow" some great ideas from other Florida gardeners.

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    1. You are so right, Susan. What I love best about gardening is the constant learning, from you and so many other accomplished gardeners. There really were some very nice landscapes on the tour this year, and I heard the gardens on the North Pinellas tour were equally attractive.

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  3. Your gorgeous photo of the wild coffee with its red berries would make a great Christmas card.

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    1. I never thought of that, Mariella. but you are right. It's a very Christmasy-looking plant with its gorgeous berries! So are my East Palatka holly trees.

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  4. Love the butterfly garden. So peaceful looking and serene. We just started learning about butterfly gardens and plants to offer our clients a different type of landscape. May people haven't heard of such a thing for a consumers backyard only at the theme parks.

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    1. I see from your website that you are working with a landscape designer who creates butterfly gardens -- that's great! Thanks for your willingness to incorporate food and shelter for wildlife in your lawn care business.

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  5. Love touring other gardens for ideas and the camaraderie shared by fellow gardeners. Over the years I've worked-in many natives along with the Florida-Friendly options in my garden. I'm always learning about more and more of them. My most recent find is scorpion tail (Heliotropium angiospermum). I'm thrilled it fits into the just-right space in the shade where I needed some filler.
    Love your photos!Have a great week.
    Meems

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    1. I love touring other gardens, Meems! So many good ideas. I always want to slap my head and say "Now why didn't I think of doing that?"

      I too have scorpion tail. It is such a robust grower in my butterfly garden that I had to prune it back about every two weeks over the summer. I've noticed that small wasps really like it. I have tried to transplant the babies it produces without much lunch. The FNPS folks told me you have to uproot it when it is really tiny, so I'll try again.

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  7. The Dotted horsemint is one of my favorite. This garden gives me a lot of inspiration will put it to use on our next commercial or residential job. Great blog

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