Tag: FFL

Growing Better Communities: How HOAs Can Partner with UF/IFAS Extension

by Giuseppe Di Giacinto
October 8, 2026

A resource for HOA boards, property managers, and landscape professionals If you are part of an HOA board, you already know that managing a community is not always simple. There are budgets to consider, residents to satisfy, contractors ... READ MORE

Category: Clubs & Volunteers, Community Volunteers, Events, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes, Home Management, Horticulture, Lawn, Pests & Disease, Professional Development, Relationships & Family, Turf, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, Work & Life
Tags: Community, Condo, FFL, Hoas, Home, Landscape, Turf

Living Fences and Thorny Hedges in Florida

by Forest Hecker
October 6, 2026

Every hurricane season leaves the same debris along Suncoast streets: snapped wood pickets, cracked vinyl panels and leaning posts. Since Hurricane Ian in 2022, and again after Milton in 2024, many homeowners and HOA communities have paid to ... READ MORE

Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes, Work & Life
Tags: FFL, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Horticulture, Hurricane, Landscape, Landscaping, Pgm_HortRes, Sustainability
4-H youth walking with her goat project on a lead.

New Natives Take Root at Shamrock Park’s Demonstration Garden

by Forest Hecker
September 24, 2026

The Demonstration Garden at Shamrock Park and Nature Center in Venice has had a major makeover. Today September 24th, we planted 35 large trees and shrubs, 52 small shrubs, 215 native wildflowers and understory plants. We also spread ~690+ ... READ MORE

Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes
Tags: FFL, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Horticulture, Landscape, Landscaping, Nature, Pgm_HortRes
Close up image of butterfly nectaring on flowers.

Grow with Confidence at the 20th Annual Master Gardener Plant Sale

by Ashley Ellis
September 14, 2026

Imagine your are about to buy a lovely little plant from a store and suddenly you wonder…is it healthy?  Will it survive in my yard?  Will I be able to take care of it? Most of us who love plants have experienced this.  Coming up soon ... READ MORE

Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes, Natural Resources, UF/IFAS Extension, Wildlife, Work & Life
Tags: FFL, Master Gardener Volunteer, Pgm_HortRes, UF/IFAS Extension Sarasota County
Shiitake mushrooms

Growing Mushrooms Outdoors

by Matt Lollar
September 11, 2026

Mushrooms are an excellent low calorie food with a high fullness factor (they fill you up).  But the “common” or “button” mushroom lacks natural flavor.  On the other hand, shiitake mushrooms have all the benefits of button mushrooms, ... READ MORE

Category: Agribusiness
Tags: Agriculture, Bay, Calhoun, Escambia, Extension, FFL, Florida Yards And Neighborhoods, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Franklin, Fungi, Fungus, FYN, Gadsden, Garden, Gardening, Gardening In The Panhandle, GI-BMP, Gulf, Holmes, Horticulture, Jackson, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty, Log, Office, Okaloosa, Outdoor, Oyster, Panhandle, Panhandle Gardening, Santa Rosa, Shiitake, UF, UF-IFAS, Wakulla, Walton, Washington
Mulched Amarylys plant bed

Mulch in Northwest Florida Landscapes

by Joshua Criss
September 10, 2026

Mulch: A Critical Tool in Your Landscape When most people think about mulch in Northwest Florida, they picture a layer of pine bark or wood chips spread beneath trees and shrubs to give the landscape a clean, finished appearance. While mulch ... READ MORE

Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping
Tags: Agriculture, Bay, Calhoun, Escambia, Extension, FFL, Florida Yards And Neighborhoods, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Franklin, FYN, Gadsden, Garden, Gardening, Gardening In The Panhandle, GI-BMP, Gulf, Holmes, Horticulture, Jackson, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty, Office, Okaloosa, Panhandle, Panhandle Gardening, Santa Rosa, UF, UF-IFAS, Wakulla, Walton, Washington
Tractor demonstration

Santa Rosa County Farm Tour – October 1

by Matt Lollar
September 3, 2026

The 2026 Santa Rosa County Farm Tour will be held on Thursday, October 1. Participants will visit working farm sites, talk with growers, learn about conservation practices, and see Florida agriculture firsthand. Registration and breakfast ... READ MORE

Category: Events
Tags: Agriculture, Bay, Bus, Calhoun, Escambia, Event, Extension, FFL, Florida Yards And Neighborhoods, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Franklin, FYN, Gadsden, Garden, Gardening, Gardening In The Panhandle, GI-BMP, Gulf, Holmes, Horticulture, Jackson, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty, Office, Okaloosa, Panhandle, Panhandle Agriculture, Santa Rosa, Tour, UF, UF-IFAS, Wakulla, Walton, Washington
Lovebugs on flowers

Don’t Believe the Rumors, We Didn’t Invent Lovebugs!

by Matt Lollar
September 1, 2026

The University of Florida did not invent lovebugs.  However, we know enough about them to dispel a couple rumors and share a few facts. Rumor #1 - Lovebugs were developed by the University of Florida to eat mosquitoes. Sometime after ... READ MORE

Category: Pests & Disease
Tags: Agriculture, Bay, Calhoun, Escambia, Extension, FFL, Florida Yards And Neighborhoods, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Franklin, FYN, Gadsden, Garden, Gardening, Gardening In The Panhandle, GI-BMP, Gulf, Holmes, Horticulture, Jackson, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty, Office, Okaloosa, Panhandle, Panhandle Gardening, Santa Rosa, UF, UF-IFAS, Wakulla, Walton, Washington
Longan fruits on tree. Closeup of fruits on right. Picking them on left.

Suncoast Grown and Gathered: Longans for August

by Forest Hecker
August 31, 2026

At the Sarasota County UF/IFAS Extension Office, we've been cultivating a Food Forest to showcase the most productive, unique, and often underutilized fruits and crops suited to our distinctive southwest Florida climate. Through this ... READ MORE

Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes, Work & Life
Tags: FFL, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Garden, Horticulture, Landscape, Landscaping, Pgm_HortRes
Orange flowers with a butterfly pollinating them. Photo taken 09-12-25

New UF/IFAS App takes guesswork out of choosing the right plants, supporting pollinators and saving water for Floridians

by Jamie Groh
August 18, 2026

The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Florida-Friendly Landscaping™ Program (FFL) has launched the FFL Plants & Pollinators App, a comprehensive new resource that brings together plant selection, ... READ MORE

Category: Blog Community, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, UF/IFAS
Tags: Bee Gardens, Butterfly Gardens, Environmental Stewardship, Extension Education, Featured, FFL, FFL Plants & Pollinators App, Florida Ecosystems, Florida Friendly Landscape, Florida Gardening, Florida Native Plants, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Gardening App, Invasive Plants, Landscape Design, News, Plant Selection, Pollinator Gardening, Pollinator Habitat, Sustainable Landscaping, UF-IFAS, Water Conservation, Wildlife Gardening

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