Category: Conservation

Success Story: FFL Demonstration Garden in Orange County

by Tia Saracino
May 18, 2026

The Florida-Friendly Landscaping™ demonstration garden showcases pollinator friendly plants with a focus on Florida native plants. It’s located in a prominent location at the Orange County Administration Building in the heart of downtown ... READ MORE

Category: , Conservation, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes, Horticulture, UF/IFAS Extension
Tags: Environmentally Friendly, Florida, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Landscape, Native, Native Plant, Orlando, Plant, Tsilvasy, UF/IFAS Extension Orange County, Wildflower

Florida-Friendly Wildflowers 3-part Educational Series

by Tia Saracino
May 18, 2026

Why Wildflowers? Loss of biodiversity is one of the major threats to the world. Pollen nectar provides food for insects, which helps to pollinate our food crops, eat pests, and provide food for other wildlife. You can be part of the solution ... READ MORE

Category: , Conservation, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes, Horticulture, Natural Resources, Pests & Disease, UF/IFAS Extension, Wildlife
Tags: Agroecology, Bees, Biodiversity, Butterfly, Coreopsis, Florida, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Orange County, Phlox, Pollinators, Tsilvasy, UF/IFAS Extension Orange County, Wildflower, Zinnia

Lakefront and Aquatic Landscaping

by Tia Saracino
May 18, 2026

Protecting the waterfront is Principle #9 in Florida-Friendly Landscaping. Waterfront areas can include lakefronts, ponds, ditches, other water bodies and environmentally sensitive areas. So, what makes a nice aquatic landscape?• Full of ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Conservation, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes, Invasive Species, Lawn, Natural Resources, Pests & Disease, UF/IFAS Extension, Water, Wildlife, Work & Life
Tags: Aquatic, Central Florida, Ditch, Florida Friendly, Invasive Plants, Lake, Lakefront, Landscape, Ocextension, Plants, Pond, Waterfront, Wildlife

List of Freshwater Aquatic Plants for Florida

by Tia Saracino
May 18, 2026

This list of Florida native plants will be helpful if you live on the lakefront, a freshwater water body, or are doing a rain garden in a wet spot in your yard. These plants are water loving and live in different zones on the shoreline. While ... READ MORE

Category: , Conservation, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes, Natural Resources, Recreation, UF/IFAS Extension, Water, Wildlife
Tags: Aquatic, Central Florida, Florida, Freshwater, Grasses, Habitat. Trees, Lakefront, Plants, Rain Garden, Water Lillies, Wildlife

Florida Wildflower Lawns

by Tia Saracino
May 18, 2026

The Florida-Friendly Landscaping program is full of progressive ideas on how to manage landscapes with less water, less pesticides, and more benefits to wildlife. One of these strategies is rethinking our lawns. With the increasing government ... READ MORE

Category: , Conservation, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes, Home Management, Horticulture, Lawn, Natural Resources, Pests & Disease, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, Wildlife
Tags: Alternative Lawn, Ecological, Environment, Fertilizer, Florida, Florida Friendly, Flower, Home Landscape, Lawn, Ocextension, Pollinator, Sustainable, Water, Wildflower

Institutional Applicators–Getting into compliance!

by Hannah Eason
May 18, 2026

The Orange County Board of County Commissioners voted to update the Orange County Fertilizer Applicators Ordinance during Spring 2022. Commercial, for hire, fertilizer applicators AND institutional fertilizer applicators that need to apply fertilizer ... READ MORE

Category: , Conservation, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Horticulture, Lawn, Natural Resources, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, Professional Development, Turf, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, Water, Work & Life
Tags: Applicators, BMP, BMPs, CEU, CEUs, Cflandscapes, Class, Fertilizer, Fertilizer Applicator, Fertilizer Applicators, Fertilizer Ordinance, Florida, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, GIBMP, Horticulture, Hwooten, Landscape, Landscape Bmps, Landscape Management, Lawn, Orange County, Ordinance

Microirrigation for Vegetable Gardens

by Tia Saracino
May 18, 2026

Microirrigation is an efficient way to water vegetable gardens and conserve our precious water supply. This goes along with Florida-Friendly Landscaping principle #2, Water Efficiently. Microirrigation is defined as a low volume, low flow ... READ MORE

Category: Conservation, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes, Horticulture, UF/IFAS Extension, Water
Tags: Conservation, Fruit Tree, Irrigation, Microirrigation, Orange County, Resources, Spray, Vegetable, Water

Fertilizer RESTRICTED in Orange County 6/1-9/30

by Hannah Eason
May 18, 2026

No nitrogen or phosphorus fertilizers in Orange County landscapes 6/1 - 9/30 because too much of it ends up in our water. The reason we have fertilizer regulation is because water quality is measured and managed, and pollution levels are ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, , Conservation, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes, Home Management, Horticulture, Lawn, Pests & Disease, Turf, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, Water, Work & Life
Tags: BMP, BMPs, Cflandscapes, Fertilizer, Fertilizer Blackout, Fertilizer Ordinance, FFL, Florida Friendly, FYN, GI-BMP, GIBMP, Hwooten, Landscape, Landscaping, Nitrogen, Ocenews, Ocextension, Orange County, Ordinance, Phosphorus, Pollution, Turf, Turf Fertilizer, Water

Pollinator Plants for Full Sun

by Hannah Eason
May 18, 2026

Authored by Amanda Decker UF/IFAS Extension Orange County Summer Intern Graduating UF CALS December, 2022 B.S. Plant Science specialization in Plant Breeding and Genetics Why Attract Pollinators? Are you looking to beautify your ... READ MORE

Category: Conservation, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes, Home Management, Horticulture, Lawn, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, Turf, UF/IFAS Extension, Wildlife
Tags: Alternative Lawn, Backyard Wildlife, Florida Friendly Landscape, Florida Native, Florida-Friendly Landscapes, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscape, Hwooten, Landscape, Native, Native Plant, Native Plants, Ocextension, Pollinator, Pollinators, Sustainable Landscapes, Turf Alternative, Turf Alternatives

Easy Math – Can You Do It?

by Kevin Camm
May 18, 2026

I love math, do not get me wrong. But, when it comes to the complex equations – throw in a little exponents, tangent, or square roots – I admittedly walk away. There are some neat math problems, however, like the Collatz conjecture. Feel ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Clubs & Volunteers, Community Volunteers, Conservation, Farm Management, Food Safety, Health & Nutrition, Home Management, Professional Development, Relationships & Family, UF/IFAS Extension, Water, Work & Life
Tags: Communication, Leadership, Mental Health, Professional Development

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