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Garden Clippings
Go easy – plant native
By RUTH DAVIES
Article published on Thursday, May 15, 2008 |
When asked are you a native, many of us think of our home state or country.
For gardening purposes, a Florida native refers to many plants.
According to the Florida Native Plant Society, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection has defined native as “a species that occurred in Florida at the time of European contact or 1500s.”
Needless to say, various agencies, state and federal, banter around the meaning and some day may come to an agreement.
I’m trying to envision Florida back then and picture a jungle – like some yards when it rains in the summer. Were there fruits for the native people? How nice it would be if they were able to put papaya or mango on the fish they caught and cooked. Maybe the sea grape or cocoplum had to suffice.
From high sandhills to wet flatwoods to beach dunes to acidic or alkaline lakes, there is a native plant in every different area.
Today, native plants are used on our formerly cleared property to reduce maintenance, watering and chemical use. Native plants have built immunity to common pests over the centuries, thus eliminating the need to use pesticides.
Native plants also attract wildlife. A patch of milkweed provides lively entertainment as the monarch butterflies drink their nectar. One of my favorite trees or bushes is the silver buttonwood that attracts birds and is highly salt tolerant. Along the same color scheme is necklace pod with silvery-green leaves and yellow flowers that attract birds, bees and butterflies.
Most residents, native or not, recognize the red mangrove trees that are so necessary to our estuaries. The scrub palmetto and wild coffee grow in sun or part shade and attracts birds and butterflies.
In the fall, the purple berries of the beauty berry disappear rapidly into the beaks of the “native” mockingbird. Walter’s viburnum also is loved by birds and grows in sun to shade.
For more information on native plants, the University of Florida IFAS Extension Office has compiled a large list of Florida-friendly plants and has highlighted the native plants.
There also are two nurseries in Pinellas County that I am aware of that specialize in “natives.” They are Wilcox Nursery at 12501 Indian Rocks Road and Twigs and Leaves at 1013 Martin Luther King St. S.
Ruth Davies is a Pinellas County Master Gardener. She can be reached at sunflower1368@juno.com.
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Article published on Thursday, May 15, 2008
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