Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping

New year’s gardening resolutions – spring into 2025 with UF/IFAS resources!

by Ralph Mitchell
December 31, 2024

The New Year is a great time to make some horticultural resolutions that will benefit any landscape. Let's look at some resources that will make your landscaping experience in Southwest Florida the best in 2025 – we can help! The overarching ... READ MORE

Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes
Tags: EDIS, Florida-Friendly Landscaping™, Gardening, Landscape, Low-maintenance, Master Gardener Volunteers, Ornamental, Perennial

Join the 42nd annual Master Gardener Volunteer training class in 2025.

by Paul Schumaker
December 4, 2024

By Ralph E. Mitchell 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, ... READ MORE

Category: Community Volunteers, Events, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes, Horticulture, Lawn, Pests & Disease, UF/IFAS Extension
Tags: Charlotte County Master Gardener, Charlotte County Master Gardener Program, Master Gardener, Master Gardener Program, Master Gardener Volunteer Program

Color for the Fall – Pink Muhly Grass

by Ralph Mitchell
November 12, 2024

I have written about this ornamental grass several times in the recent past but wanted to alert everyone of the fall show provided by this native plant. Despite the hurricanes, if you have seen a pinkish hue in area landscapes you are ... READ MORE

Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes
Tags: Muhlenbergia Capillaris, Muhly Grass., Ornamental Grass, Rain Garden

Plectranthus promises plenty of possibilities.

by Ralph Mitchell
November 5, 2024

Another plant that you have seen in so many garden centers that you may have become “plant blind” to them is the Plectranthus – especially one called ‘Mona Lavender’. ‘Mona Lavender’ is a cultivar that is commonly available ... READ MORE

Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes
Tags: Florida-Friendly Landscaping™, Flowering, Mona Lavender, Ornamental, Plant Of The Year, Plectranthus

The famous bird of paradise plant has a close connection to Charlotte County

by Ralph Mitchell
September 18, 2024

Many gardeners are familiar with the orange bird-of-paradise plant, Strelitzia reginae. This tropical herbaceous perennial is a common landscape plant in our area and is known for its stunning orange and blue complex flower that resembles ... READ MORE

Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes
Tags: Bird-of-paradise, Charlotte County, Strelitzia Reginae

Look for the sea oxeye daisy – a colorful native plant.

by Ralph Mitchell
August 27, 2024

I was walking through our Demonstration Garden at 25550 Harbor View Road in Port Charlotte awhile back and found a relatively new planting of sea oxeye daisy, Borrichia frutescens. This beautiful native flowering perennial plant is chock ... READ MORE

Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes
Tags: Borrichia Frutescens, Native Plant, Sea Oxeye Daisy

Sky blue near you

by Ralph Mitchell
July 10, 2024

Truly blue flowering plants are somewhat rare. Blue is a “cool” color which tends to be related to calmness, relaxation, and serenity - always welcome in landscapes. The sky-blue flowering plumbago is one of those plants. While commonplace, ... READ MORE

Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes
Tags: Cape Plumbago, Cassius Blue Butterfly, Plumbago, Plumbago Auriculata, Sky Flower

June showers bring rain lily flowers

by Ralph Mitchell
July 8, 2024

The rains have finally returned to the relief of all of our plants. Rain often triggers growth and flowering as well - if you have seen rain lilies, you will know what I mean. Rain lilies have burst forth in a blaze of glory with this ... READ MORE

Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes
Tags: Rain Lilies, Zephyranthes Grandifolia

Growing Colorful Caladiums

by Paul Schumaker
June 27, 2024

Join us at the Port Charlotte Library located at 2280 Aaron Street in Port Charlotte on July 12th, or on July 15th at the Punta Gorda Library at 401 Shreve Street in Punta Gorda for a fun and informative event called Growing Colorful Caladiums! ... READ MORE

Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes
Tags: Caladiums

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