Welcome to the Ethnobotanical Garden at Ellis Acres This ethnobotanical garden showcases Florida’s rich native plant heritage, highlighting species valued both by wildlife and humans for their ecological and cultural significance. Each species in this garden plays an essential role in local ecosystems, offering food, shelter and habitat for pollinators, birds and other wildlife. Many…
Recordings of the Foundation’s past webinars are posted below.
Do you enjoy juicy watermelons, local blueberries and strawberries and fresh Florida orange juice? How about carrots, broccoli, almonds and apples? If you do, please thank an insect.
This fall, butterflies, bees and wasps are busy gathering nectar and preparing for migration or dormancy. Take time to enjoy your garden up close and watch the changes of fall.
In cooler climates, fall is when “leaf peepers” hit the road to view red-, yellow- and orange-leaved trees. Here in Florida, fall color means wildflowers.
Fall pollinators are abundant, gathering their provisions before cold weather comes. The fall wildflowers are taller too, having had the whole summer to grow.
Jackie Rolly joined the Florida Wildflower Foundation when she purchased a license plate for her car many years ago. She’s also a member of the Florida Native Plant Society (FNPS), as well as the Audubon Society and the Sierra Club.
Central Florida gardeners have another location to see and explore native wildflowers and grasses. In 2017, a no-mow wildflower meadow was installed at the Orange County UF/IFAS Extension’s Exploration Gardens in Orlando, funded by the Viva Florida Landscape Demonstration Garden grant.
As summer progresses many of our fall-blooming wildflowers become tall and stately, forming backdrops and filling fence rows as they reach peak bloom from September through December. But this is when storms increase, bringing intense waves of wind and rain.
This bloom report is from November 2017. In November, the foliage of many native grasses has senesced. The various shades of brown and reddish brown that native grasses exhibit through the latter stages of life adds an aesthetic that appeals to many folks.
The Florida Wildflower Foundation has received a $17,000 grant from Stanley Smith Horticultural Trust for its project, “20 Easy Wildflowers to Grow Now!” It includes a publication, continuing education courses for horticultural professionals, and live social media events.
Thinking of native wildflower gardens as habitat is a new mindset whose time has come. Learn how to make the transition for the sake of wildlife.
