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Fall is golden in Florida

Goldenrods (Solidago spp.) are a traditional harbinger of fall, lighting up the landscape with their bright yellow inflorescences. You’ll find them blooming in showy masses in a variety of habitats including coastal dunes, brackish marshes, wet flatwoods, scrub and sandhills.

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Jeff Norcini photographs a Blazing star flower

Jeff Norcini, PhD honored with 2023 Coreopsis Award

Dr. Jeff Norcini received the 2023 T. Elizabeth Pate Coreopsis Award in August 2023 in recognition of his many years of work for Florida’s Wildflowers.

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Seven new Trichostema species identified in Florida

Recent research published in the journal Phytotaxa established seven new species of Trichostema, five of which are endemic to Florida!

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Leave a lasting legacy

August is National Make-a-Will Month. While wildflowers and wills may seem to have little in common, they have more similarities than one might think. A planned gift is like a seed that grows into a beautiful flower after the first bloom is gone.

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Atalas thrive in Viva Florida garden

Atala butterflies were recently spotted in a Melbourne Beach garden funded by a Viva Florida grant. Once believed to be extinct, the presence of the Atala here is a prime example of the impact of grassroots conservation efforts.

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Conserve Nassau prepares their demonstration garden site with solarization

Foundation awards 9 Viva Florida grants

The Florida Wildflower Foundation is pleased to announce the recipients of this year’s Viva Florida Landscape Demonstration Garden grants. Nine grants were awarded for projects from Palm Beach County in South Florida to Santa Rosa County in the Panhandle.

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Scarlet hibiscus bloom

Meet the Mallows

Members of the mallow family shine throughout Florida during the summer months. Meet a few of our favorite stars in the summer bloom report.

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Pine View School in Osprey, FL

2023 Seedlings for Schools Grant Winners

The Florida Wildflower Foundation is excited to announce that 43 Florida schools will receive native wildflowers this fall through our Seedlings for Schools grant program. The plants will be used to establish campus wildflower gardens that will be incorporated into Pre-K through 12th grade curriculum. Schools will receive the seedlings in September.

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Creeping woodsorrel's small yellow flowers and clover-shaped leaves

Spring “weeds” benefit pollinators

Many of our spring blooming wildflowers put on a showy display. Others, not so much. However, all of them benefit pollinators, either as larval host plants or by supplying nectar.

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Gainesville receives Bee City USA designation

With assistance from the Florida Wildflower Foundation, the City of Gainesville has achieved an official Bee City USA® designation. Gainesville joins cities and campuses across the country united to improve landscapes for pollinators.

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Bee fly (Bombyliidae) by Bob Peterson

Bee fly

The Bombyliidae family is large and diverse. Members nectar at flowers in the composite family. Bee flies are true flies that imitate bees to scare predators away.

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New Year, New Native Plant Gardening Adventures!

As we consider our resolutions for the new year, there are so many ways we can protect and preserve natural Florida through our own landscape and gardening practices. Here we provide just a handful of possibilities and resources as well as some inspiration from a Florida native plant gardening community who shared their 2023 resolutions with us!

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Holiday Gift Guide

Looking for the perfect present for the Florida wildflower and wildlife lovers in your life? We’ve got you covered. From ways to support the foundation to gifts for the home and garden from locally based organizations and artists you’re sure to find something for everyone on your list!

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Dainty sulphur (Nathalis iole) on Frogfruit_Keim

Dainty sulphur

Also known by the common name Dwarf yellow, the Dainty sulphur butterfly is the smallest sulphur in North America. It nectars at asters, especially those low to the ground.

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5 Spooky Florida Wildflowers

From the sunflower that rejects the bright and shiny disposition to a ghostly wildflower that haunts the leaf litter on the forest floor, here’s 5 spooky Florida wildflowers that are sure to get you in the Halloween spirit.

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Fall in the Florida Native Plant Garden

As cooler temperatures begin to sneak in and provide a much-needed break from summer’s heat and humidity, fall is the perfect time to get back out in the garden to enjoy wildflowers and wildlife, do some maintenance and get planting!

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Brightman Logan honored with 2022 Coreopsis Award

Brightman Logan received the 2022 T. Elizabeth Pate Coreopsis Award in September 2022 in recognition of his many years of work for Florida’s Wildflowers.

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Little Metalmark (Calephelis virginiensis) butterfly. Photo by Mary Keim.

Little metalmark

The Little metalmark is one of the tiniest butterflies, having a wingspan of only 1.2 – 2.5 cm. The silver markings on its wings give members of the Riodinidae family the common name “metalmark.”

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Research seeks to identify groundcovers with greater ecological value for roadsides and utilities

FWF is conducting a study at PEAR Park (Lake County) to gain insight into the establishment, sustainability and performance of Narrowleaf silkgrass (Pityopsis tracyii) and Lyreleaf sage (Salvia lyrata) as groundcover alternatives to Bahiagrass.

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Nancy Bissett, Anne MacKay and Carolyn Schaag

Internship to honor wildflower champions

Florida Wildflower Foundation and Florida Native Plant Society honor Anne MacKay, Carolyn Schaag and Nancy Bissett for their lifetime dedication to our native flowers. To celebrate their legacy, a conservation internship is being established for young professionals and college students to continue to learn about and advocate for Florida’s natural future.

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Pandorus sphinx (Eumorpha pandorus)

Pandorus sphinx

Pandorus sphinx moths display a camouflaged pattern of green and brown blocks to blend in with the world around them. They are part of the sphinx family (Sphingidae), a group known for large moth species.

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Ashton Elementary Seedlings for Schools Garden. Photo provided by Kelly Griffith.

2022 Seedlings for Schools grant winners announced

Thirty schools throughout Florida have been awarded 2022 Seedlings for Schools grants from the Florida Wildflower Foundation.

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wildflowers planted in pots

Webinar: Create a Pollinator Pot

Kirsten Sharp, co-owner of My Dragonfly Garden, shows you how to create an oasis for pollinators by planting pots with Florida’s native wildflowers.

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Lake County, FWF partner on shoreline pollinator habitat

A stretch of shoreline along Lake May will soon be aflutter with butterflies, bees, hummingbirds and other native pollinators thanks to Lake County Parks and Trails and the Florida Wildflower Foundation (FWF), who partnered to restore a littoral habitat in Lake May Reserve in Eustis.

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