Learning About Natives
Blanketflowers attract pollinators to your yard. By Peg Lindsay, secretary FNPS I moved to Florida about 10 years ago, from the state of Delaware. The summer climate there is much the same as in Florida – hot and humid. So I expected that the familiar garden plants I knew and loved would grow just as well here in Florida. I went through several bottles of anti-fungal chemicals before I decided that, although I could coax those zinnias to bloom, gardening with chemicals was not for me, nor good for the environment. Florida was lush and green before these chemicals could be commercially produced. In fact, the name La Florida, given to this land by Ponce de Leon in 1513, refers to the amazing abundance and diversity of the wild flowering plants he observed here. With the encouragement of my friends, I decided to try some Florida wildflowers in my garden. The first native wildflower I added to my garden was Indian Blanketflower, Gaillardia pulchel...