Fair week is loud, busy, and unforgettable—then it’s suddenly over. A few minutes of reflection helps kids turn all that experience into real growth. When children pause to name what happened and how it felt, their brains strengthen memory, ... READ MORE
Category: 4-H & Youth, Clubs & Volunteers, Curriculum
Freezes and frosts – just like death and taxes – can be expected even here in Southwest Florida. I remember twenty-six years ago when I first arrived in Charlotte County. I planted a couple of marginal plants that I thought would ... READ MORE
Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes
Many plants in our landscape are just not going to tolerate shade to any degree and look usefully ornamental - they often become leggy, lose foliage color or never flower. There are a few exceptions to this rule however and one example ... READ MORE
Category: Home Landscapes
While many crape myrtles do best with cooler weather found north of us, there is one type of this beautiful flowering tree that actually benefits from warmer, subtropical temperatures. This crape myrtle reigns supreme in flower and leaf ... READ MORE
Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes
I wanted to write once more about the ylang-ylang tree as I saw some in the area during early fall that spurred my memory. Fragrance in the garden can be subtle or sometimes overwhelming, but always memorable. When I lived in the West ... READ MORE
Category: Home Landscapes
Imagine a nice patch of yellow, red, and orange flowers which bloom practically every day – this is the reality of the blanket flower – Gaillardia. Perfect for hot, sunny areas, blanket flowers are wonderful short-lived perennials (sometimes ... READ MORE
Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes
Make some horticultural resolutions now for The New Year that will benefit any landscape. Let's look at some resources that will make your landscaping experience in Southwest Florida the best in 2026 – we can help! Start the year ... READ MORE
Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes,
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
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
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