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Category: Home Landscapes

Small but Mighty: MGVs Connecting Florida-Friendly Landscaping™ Principles with HOA Communities

by Lorna Bravo
December 17, 2025

Article by UF/IFAS Extension Broward County Master Gardener Volunteer Catalina Franco-Cicero Growing Community, One Master Gardener at a Time: The Isles Garden Club Story In the heart of Pembroke Pines, Florida, the Isles Garden Club's Florida-Friendly ... READ MORE

Category: Community Volunteers, Conservation, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes, Natural Resources, Relationships & Family, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, Water, Wildlife, Work & Life
Tags: Broward County, Build Community, Master Gardener Program, Master Gardener Volunteer, Volunteers

Ixora – a staple in the landscape

by Ralph Mitchell
December 17, 2025

Ixora can be found in just about every landscape in Charlotte County as it provides colorful flowers, tropical foliage and variety of size that makes this shrub so popular. However, with our predominately alkaline soils, growing acid-loving ... READ MORE

Category: Home Landscapes
Tags: Flowers, Ixora, Tropical Foliage

The class of 2026

by Ralph Mitchell
December 17, 2025

Are you a candidate for the Charlotte County Master Gardener Volunteer Program? Do you enjoy meeting and talking with people? Do you like searching for answers to gardening questions that you or others have? If so, you may be just who ... READ MORE

Category: Community Volunteers, Home Landscapes, Work & Life
Tags: Master Gardener Volunteer Program, Volunteer

Spiraling into a landscape near you

by Ralph Mitchell
December 17, 2025

I am always drawn to a variegated form of almost any landscape plant due to its added foliar ornamental features and its ability to stand out in a crowd. Ornamental ginger are such useful and sustainable plants across our landscape as ... READ MORE

Category: Home Landscapes
Tags: Crepe Ginger, Ginger, Spiral Ginger, Variegated, Variegated Foliage

My “cool” vegetable garden

by Ralph Mitchell
December 17, 2025

My vegetable garden is very “cool” because I have filled it with cool-season vegetables. To further confuse you, many of these vegetables are “Cole” crops. What types of cool Cole crops am I growing? Right now is the perfect ... READ MORE

Category: Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes
Tags: Broccoli, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Cole Crops, Collards, Kale, Pak Choy, Rutabaga, Turnip, Vegetable Garden

Shady characters – Persian shields

by Ralph Mitchell
December 17, 2025

Some plants do not do well in our full-sun landscapes. They are adapted to part-shade to full shade and will otherwise burn up outside of that ideal environment. So, if you have shade, take advantage of this habitat with colorful foliage ... READ MORE

Category: Home Landscapes
Tags: Full Shade, Part Shade, Persian Shield

Amaryllis – enjoy them now and in the landscape later

by Ralph Mitchell
December 17, 2025

Of all of the Holiday plants available, Amaryllis bulbs often the first to appear in local garden centers – tempting impulse purchases promising magnificent blooms. These floral blockbusters have flowers up to twelve inches in diameter, ... READ MORE

Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes
Tags: Amaryllis, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Perennials

Cover Crops Can Get Young Citrus Trees Off To A Good Start

by Mike Loizzo
December 16, 2025

Florida citrus growers continue to battle declining yields, citrus greening disease, and increasingly nutrient-poor soils. As a result, they are taking a closer look at soil-building practices such as cover crops. But how and when the cover ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Crops, Farm Management, Pests & Disease, UF/IFAS Research
Tags: Citrus, Gabriel Maltais-Landry, HLB, Huanglongbing, Sarah Strauss, Soil Fertility, Soil Health, Soil Water And Ecosystem Sciences, Yaslin Gonzalez

PIO Nuevas Aventuras

by Dr. Brett Bultemeier
December 16, 2025

Tiene Tiempo que el PIO no publica un blog, pero nuevas aventuras están en el horizonte. Estamos encantados de dar la bienvenida a Jessimar Quintana como nuevo Asistente de Operaciones en la Oficina de Información de Pesticidas de la Universidad ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Home Landscapes, UF/IFAS Extension
Tags: Jessimar Quintana, Pesticide Information Office

PIO New Adventures

by Dr. Brett Bultemeier
December 16, 2025

It’s been a long time since the PIO has done a blog, but new adventures are on the horizon. We’re thrilled to welcome Jessimar Quintana as the new OPS Assistant with the University of Florida’s Pesticide Information Office in Gainesville. ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Home Landscapes, UF/IFAS Extension
Tags: Brett Bultemeier, Intern, Jessimar Quintana, Pesticide Information Office, Spanish Language