The sixth annual Native Plant Landscape Tour will take place Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 6 and 7, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The tour will provide the public an opportunity to visit private and public gardens that are not only aesthetically appealing, but also conserve water and provide habitat for birds, butterflies and other wildlife.
The sixth annual two-day self-guided tour, organized by the Pinellas Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society, will showcase eight south county (St. Petersburg) yards on Saturday, Oct. 6; and seven north county (Clearwater, Palm Harbor and Dunedin) yards on Sunday, Oct. 7.
The cost of advance registration, until the day before the event, is $5 a person or $8 a person on the day of the tour. Participants can register online at pinellas.fnpschapters.org/nativetour or at the following venues:
• Wilcox Nursery & Landscape, 12501 Indian Rocks Road, Largo
• Painted Fish Gallery, 350 Main St., Dunedin
• Twigs & Leaves Florida Garden Center, 2131 Central Ave., St. Petersburg
• Boyd Hill Nature Preserve, 1101 Country Club Way S., St. Petersburg
Day-of-event registration will be available from 8:30 to 10 a.m. at the following locations:
• South county, Oct. 6 – Boyd Hill Nature Preserve, 1101 Country Club Way S., St. Petersburg
• North county, Oct. 7 – Countryside Library, 2741 State Road 580, Clearwater
At the time of registration, participants will be provided with a tour booklet that includes a map, addresses and description of tour properties.
The homes on the tour have eliminated or drastically reduced their lawns and use little or no supplemental irrigation, fertilizer and pesticides. That, coupled with a landscape of native wildflowers, shrubs and trees, creates a habitat appealing to wildlife and humans. The birds and pollinators drawn to food, shelter and nesting areas in these gardens provide homeowners with the immense educational and recreational benefits of watching, in their own yards, the secretive lives of wild creatures.
Tour participants can draw ideas and insights on transforming their own yards into native-plant landscapes. At every site on the tour, homeowners and knowledgeable volunteer tour guides will be present to assist participants and answer questions.
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