There Were No Fences

The recent months of April and May were especially dry. I don't believe my landscape received a drop of rain during that time and it showed.  A few plants in my wildflower garden simply gave up the ghost. It wasn't really possible to water these as deeply as they needed and it showed me that they really weren't as adapted to my landscape as I had hoped. I will not add them again as much as I'd like to.  Drought is a common phenomenon here in Florida and we must choose plants that are willing and able to abide it - in reasonable degrees.   The need for water is something most gardeners understand.  It is vital for nearly every function a plant requires. It lies on both sides of the equation for photosynthesis, for example. Without adequate water, a plant simply has to shut this vital function down. Without photosynthesis, a plant cannot grow or flower. If it's severe enough, it can't do anything and it will die.  Water also is the vehicle for bringing in nut...

Nonnative plumbago ( Plumbago auriculata ) This may seem sacrilegious to a great many who read this, but I believe that there is a somewhat dangerous dogma being promulgated these days about the almost-holiness of being a native plant in a landscape designed for living creatures such as pollinators and birds. I find it to be very short-sighted on the surface. Every day on social media sites devoted to life in landscapes I read posts and comments targeted at native vs nonnative plants where virtually the only thing being considered is whether a plant is native or not; the concept that being native somehow confers a special quality that must be embraced. I find this disquieting because it ignores the real issue - that being, "what role will this plant play in one's overall goals?"  When Dr. Tallamy published his seminal book, Bringing Nature Home, he gave all of us words to ponder regarding the impact that nonnative landscapes have had on indigenous wildlife. It was, and i...

Typical Florida pine flatwoods Today I received a telephone call (as I often do) from a well-meaning gardener wondering why the plants she brought down from her northern garden were not prospering. She had dug up plants from her former landscape and moved them here to her new yard. They had special meaning to her because they were favorites of her mother. I sympathized, as my mother had favorites too when we all lived in Wisconsin and she bemoaned the fact that she could not have them here in Florida - peonies, lilies of the valley, bleeding hearts, lilacs, etc.  I understand that plant lovers have favorites from the place of their birth and that plants have attached meanings that go beyond simply being plants or things of beauty.  The fact remains, however, that Florida is a very different place. We move here, but we can't expect our old favorites to move with us. They simply aren't adapted. Most want to blame the soils. They are sandy and at first glace to a northerner they ...

  My tree-planting efforts here have been largely successful, but many will not be nearly mature by the time I leave - either through a move or by passing on. It takes faith to plant trees that will outlive me by most accounts. It takes a special kind of faith to plant them in a rental property that I do not own, but it gives me a lot of joy to do so and that joy outweighs everything else. Though my front yard is dominated by my wildflower meadow, I have even planted a few trees there - all on the north side where their shade will not impact the amount of sunlight my meadow requires. I've made the mistake in the past of planting trees and shrubs on other sides of my wildflower plantings and as they matured they blocked sunshine that my meadow required. I was careful here. Eventually, I hope that my maturing "forest" will provide the food and cover that my birds require. The flowers in the spring will feed my pollinators and the foliage of many will provide sustenance to n...

Caterpillar of common buckeye Southern dogface sulfur   Phaon crescent I have spent a lot of time and energy planting my landscape to provide for pollinators. Some, like the bees and pollinating wasps are now a diverse part of my pollinating fauna, but I am still awaiting quite a few of the butterflies. I am always excited to see one using my landscape, but only a few have become firmly established by laying eggs and multiplying.  A lot is written these days about monarchs and I am sensitive to their significant drop in population numbers, but I worry a bit more about all the others that seem to be below everyone's radar these days. So many are simply not as charismatic as a monarch and few are as large and showy. In my mind, it stands to reason that if one butterfly is suffering from the widespread use of pesticides and loss of host plants with which to raise its offspring, the same must be true for a great many others. My bible for Florida butterflies and what to plant here ...

Pine hyacinth - Clematis baldwinii  A few days ago, my partner Jane Mussey and I set out to Colt Creek State Park to explore a bit and specifically look for Calopogon orchids that I had heard were blooming there following a prescribed fire. The Park is not far from our home and I had never visited it so I was especially interested to see what it held in terms of natural history.  Calopogon orchids of all types respond to fire. Most of the time, they make their appearance within several weeks of a burn and then disappear from all but the best trained eyes until the next one.  The time was right to look for them and I knew that it was either now or never. We arrived knowing nothing about the burn's location. I figured that it would be fairly noticeable at some distance from the main drive so it seemed an easy task as we entered the Park. As we paid our entrance fee and picked up a Park map, I asked the employee at the gate house if she could tell us where on the map the bur...

Wild petunia ( Ruellia caroliniensis ) My wildflowers are filling in nicely since I first planted them three years ago. Some, like this wild petunia have done almost too good, but it's a problem I could easily rectify if I wanted to by selective thinning.  Better to be too successful than the opposite. I sometimes hear from readers that I must be rich because my wildflower areas are so full of purposely planted wildflowers and native grasses. It makes me laugh as I am far from it. I'm just experienced enough to know how to plant. Folks on the internet are always looking for seeds in which to start their wildflower "meadow" as if that approach will save them money and yield more widespread impact. My experience has taught me that this is an error also.  At least here in the Florida I live in, creating a bare space like I might have done up north and then scattering seed will result in virtually no wildflowers and a busload of weeds. Seeds are not generally economical u...