Education
Our publications, events and projects give people the tools and knowledge they need to build and enjoy urban and roadside native wildflower corridors.
Publications
Download or view handouts and brochures that will guide you in building your habitat. Click here to order copies for an event or meeting.
20 Easy-to-Grow Wildflowers
This 24-page magazine features 20 “tried and true” wildflowers that are easy to grow and maintain in home and urban landscapes. Versión en español disponible.
Aquatic wildflowers
Wondering what native wildflowers and plants to use along your pond or wetland edge? Our guide will help you select the appropriate species for any aquatic environment. Versión en español disponible.
Attracting Bees
You can help provide food and habitat for Florida’s native bees and other beneficial insects by landscaping with native wildflowers. Versión en español disponible.
Attracting Birds
Bring birds into your landscape by planting Florida native wildflowers, grasses and shrubs that provide food and habitat. Learn more now. Versión en español disponible.
Attracting Butterflies
You can help provide food and habitat for Florida’s butterflies by landscaping with native wildflowers. Learn more now. Versión en español disponible.
Collecting Seed
One of the easiest methods of supplying new wildflowers for your yard is by growing your own from seed. Collecting seed from your plants is fun, and growing wildflowers from seed is easier than you think. Versión en español disponible.
Create a Pollinator Pot
The insects that pollinate our food crops and natural areas are in steep decline. Our suburban landscapes are more important than ever in supporting them. No place for a garden? No problem! Our new video and handout can help you create a small pollinator oasis in a pot! Versión en español disponible.
Dry Landscapes
Wondering what native wildflowers and plants to use in a dry landscape? Use our new handout to evaluate your landscape’s soil moisture and choose diverse species that will thrive and give your landscape a “real Florida” feel. Versión en español disponible.
Monarchs and Milkweed
Learn about Monarch butterflies and the Florida native milkweed they require as host plants for their caterpillars. The publication features cautions about the use of non-native Tropical milkweed. Versión en español disponible.
Plant selection guide
This guide includes over 120 Florida native wildflowers, shrubs, vines and grasses that work well in home landscapes. It will help you choose plants based on your location, soil and light conditions, color and season of bloom, and pollinator use. Versión en español disponible.
Seeding Dates
Sowing seed at the appropriate time of year is one of the factors critical to successfully establishing a native wildflower/grass planting. Seed must be sown when germination, emergence and subsequent growth will occur quickly enough for wildflowers to fend off competing weed seedlings and for seedlings to tolerate adverse weather conditions. Versión en español disponible.
Shady landscapes
Wondering what native wildflowers and plants to use in a shady landscape? Use our new handout to evaluate your landscape’s light conditions and choose diverse species that will thrive and give your landscape a “real Florida” feel. Versión en español disponible.
Starting from seed
Follow these 12 steps to establish a small landscape planting of native wildflowers. Versión en español disponible.
Upcoming Events
Field Trips
FIELD TRIP – DeLuca Preserve
Join the Florida Wildflower Foundation and UF IFAS Center Director Dr. Brent Sellers for a guided fall wildflower tour of Deluca Preserve located in southern…
Webinars
WEBINAR — How to Start a Backyard Revolution
In this webinar, Florida Wildflower Foundation's Sara Burke will teach us proven strategies to change attitudes and habits to encourage natives instead of eradicating them…
Presentation
PRESENTATION – Transforming Landscapes through Pollinators and Wildflowers
Join Florida Wildflower Foundation Board Member, CJ McCartney, to learn how you can make a huge difference for our butterflies, birds, bees and more!
Past Webinars
WEBINAR — From Beaches to Bays — Native Plants for Florida’s Coastal Communities
Restoration ecologist and landscape designer Nichole Perna discusses the best native landscape plants and practices for coastal communities. She covers which native wildflowers will fare the best in Florida’s tough coastal environments
WEBINAR — Native Plants in Urban Soils, Points to Ponder
In this webinar, Brooke Moffis from Lake County UF/IFAS shares lessons about irrigation needs, soil amendments and plant survivorship from a cutting-edge research project.
WEBINAR — Natives For Your Neighborhood: Transforming Native Plant Gardening Into Habitat Restoration
In this webinar, George Gann and Cara Abbott of The Institute for Regional Conservation explain the various ways you can use the free online resource Natives For Your Neighborhood to help turn native plant gardening into ecosystem restoration.
WEBINAR — Propagation of Florida Native Wildflowers
In this webinar, Claudia Larsen shares techniques for collecting and propagating Florida wildflower seeds. A grower for more than 30 years, Claudia uses proven horticulture practices and other methods learned through years of personal experience. If you’ve always wanted to grow but don’t know how, you won’t want to miss this webinar.
WEBINAR — Florida Monarchs & Milkweed
In this webinar, Lilly Anderson-Messec teaches you about the threats facing Monarchs and what actions you can take in your yard to help them.
WEBINAR — Native Plants to Attract Wildlife
Tina McIntyre with Seminole UF/IFAS teaches you how to choose native host plants, flowering and fruiting shrubs and trees, and other key elements, so you can enjoy birds, bees and butterflies in your yard year-round!
WEBINAR — Invasive Species: Pathways, Process, Impacts and Prevention
Dr. Deah Lieurance walks you through the steps a non-native species takes towards becoming an invasive species, including the pathways for arrival, what facilitates establishment and spread of the species, and a range of negative impacts to the environment, economy and to human health.
WEBINAR — The Answer My Friend…Wind Pollination: How and Why?
James Stevenson with Pinellas UF/IFAS teaches you the truth about what species are responsible for common seasonal allergies, what species are NOT and how plants have evolved to take advantage of airborne pollination.
WEBINAR — I Eat Flowers (and Other Things)
In this webinar, naturalist and forager Betsy Harris guides us through a year of seasonal eating, featuring edible native plants and wildflowers as inspiration for incorporating wild foods into our everyday diets.
Webinar: Florida’s Native Bees in Winter
Laura Langlois Zurro, founder of the Florida Native Bees Facebook group, takes us on a photographic journey of some of the bees that can be observed in Florida between November and March, as well as the plants they need to survive.
Webinar: Butterflies of Florida
Anita Camacho, owner of Little Red Wagon Native Nursery and president of Tampa Bay Butterfly Foundation, Inc teaches us how we can make a difference for butterflies in our home landscape.
Webinar: A Beginner’s Guide to Creating Habitat in Your Home Landscape
Executive Director Stacey Matrazzo shares her journey of transforming her home landscape into a native garden and highlights some of Florida’s tried-and-true, easy-to-grow native plants. Learn how easy it is to beautify your landscape with natives and transform it into a living ecosystem with “real Florida” style.
Webinar: Florida’s Carnivorous Plants
Florida is home to more native carnivorous plants than any other U.S. state. Kenny Coogan, author of “Florida’s Carnivorous Plants: Understanding, Identifying, and Cultivating the State’s Native Species” teaches us about these natives with their unusual adaptations.
Webinar: Moths – Amazing Insects
Often an afterthought, with more than 150,000 known species worldwide, moths are essential to the natural world. Akito Kawahara, University of Florida professor and Florida Museum of Natural History curator, speaks about local moths of Florida, and more!
Webinar: Before They Were Native — A Brief History of Florida’s Flora
Over millions of years, Florida’s geology and plant communities have undergone a myriad of changes. Join James Stevenson to learn about the events that lead to the Florida native plants we know today.
Field trips
Field trip: 2022 Christmas tree cutting
Join the Florida Wildflower Foundation on Dec. 3 for our annual Christmas tree cutting event. A Forest Service biologist will introduce us to the Ocala National Forest and the incredible habitats being managed and restored there. Find out how the Forest Service balances providing resources to the public and conservation of these critical lands. Then we’ll caravan to the Christmas tree cutting site, where everyone with a permit will have the opportunity to pick out and cut down their very own fresh-from-Florida sand pine.
Classroom resources
The Florida Wildflower Foundations’ Wild About Wildflowers! activity guide encourages students to learn about native wildflowers and their place in the environment through fun, engaging activities.
This rich, versatile resource will help students achieve a variety of Florida educational standards in math, science and language. When presented from start to finish, the guide gives students a comprehensive introduction to wildflowers, as well as to flowers in general.
Request a speaker
The Florida Wildflower Foundation provides speakers on a variety of topics related to Florida’s native wildflowers, pollinators and sustainable landscaping practices.
Complete our short form to request a speaker for your meeting or event.
Need publications for an upcoming event? Fill out our form to request copies.
