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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.
Spring “weeds” benefit pollinators
Many of our spring blooming wildflowers put on a showy display. Others, not so much. Some are considered weeds — even showy ones — when they occur in turf. However, all of them benefit pollinators, either as larval host plants or by supplying nectar.
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 at a time when bee populations remain threatened by disease, habitat loss, climate change and other factors.
Bee fly
The Bombyliidae family is large and diverse. Members nectar at flowers in the composite family, such as Dune sunflower (Helianthus debilis), Elliott’s aster (Symphyotrichum elliottii), Stokes’ aster (Stokesia leavis) and Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta). Bee flies are true flies that imitate bees to scare predators away.
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!
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, including Smallfruit beggarticks (Bidens mitis), Beggarticks (Bidens alba), Burr marigold (Bidens laevis), Common sneezeweed (Helenium autumnale) and Southeastern sneezeweed (Helenium pinnatifidum).
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.
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!
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.” Host plants of the Little metalmark caterpillar are in the Asteraceae family, and include Purple thistle (Cirsium horridulum), Vanillaleaf (Carphephorus odoratissimus) and Climbing hempvine (Mikania scandens).
Research seeks to identify groundcovers with greater ecological value for roadsides and utilities
The Florida Wildflower Foundation is conducting a 3-4 year study at PEAR Park in 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.
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.
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. The host plants of the Pandorus sphinx are grape (Vitis sp.) and Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia).
2022 Seedlings for Schools grant winners announced
Thirty schools throughout Florida have been awarded 2022 Seedlings for Schools grants from the Florida Wildflower Foundation. The grants give pre-K to high school teachers wildflower plants, personal gardening guidance and online teaching resources. Schools will receive the seedlings in September.
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.
Viceroy
Viceroy and Monarch butterflies are distantly related through the family Nymphalidae. They have evolved to mimic each other through Mullerian mimicry, which is when two species that are both unpalatable to predators evolve to resemble each other for their mutual benefit. Although they are similar, you can spot the differences in a few ways.
Webinar: Underutilized Native Wildflowers with Ornamental Potential
Join the Florida Wildflower Foundation on Wednesday, April 20 at 2 pm for our next webinar. University of Florida professor and author Sandra B. Wilson will introduce some native wildflowers with ornamental potential and discuss the challenges and successes of propagation.
Meet board member Mark Russell
As a Florida Wildflower Foundation board member, Mark Russell brings his experience in horticulture installation and landscape design to his leadership role of the Foundation.
Terry Zinn honored with 2021 Coreopsis Award
Terry Zinn received the 2021 T. Elizabeth Pate Coreopsis Award in recognition of his advocacy for Florida’s wildflowers. An environmental lawyer, biologist, wildlife ecologist and wildflower farmer, he has helped steer and build the Foundation’s programs and is a guiding force behind its success.
