UF/IFAS
Extension Highlands County

Tag: gardening

Four edible perennials you can plant in your yard

Cultivating a Food Forest in Your Yard


May 29, 2024

To grow your food is to know your food Step outside your door and gather the ingredients for a salad or pick some fruit for breakfast. It wasn't so long ago that people lived that way and grew much of what they ate. With the convenience of ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Crops, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Fruits & Vegetables, Health & Nutrition, Home Landscapes, Home Management, Horticulture, UF/IFAS Extension,
Tags: Agriculture, Classes, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Food Forest, Gardening, Highlands County, Highlands Horticulture Digest, Hometown Gardener, Master Gardener Volunteers, Permaculture, UF/IFAS Extension, Vegetables
Two large Florida Alligators bask in the sun while faccing away from each other, tail to tail.

Convert your yard to a Florida-Friendly one


April 10, 2023

Don't kill yourself any longer Is taking care of your yard hard on your pocketbook and your back? Has it become something out of an Alfred Hitcok film?  Are you frustrated with your plants not doing well? Someone may have told you, “That’s ... READ MORE

Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes, Horticulture, Pests & Disease, UF/IFAS Extension
Tags: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Gardening, Highlands County, Highlands Horticulture Digest, Hometown Gardener, Master Gardener Volunteers, UF/IFAS Extension
Bright red clusters of Penta flowers

Master Gardener Volunteers are planning their annual clearance plant sale


February 10, 2023

By Master Gardener Volunteer/Guest Blogger, Mary Frances Meier The Highlands County Master Gardener Volunteers will offer a spring plant sale on Saturday, February 25, 2023, from 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. at the Bert J. Harris Jr. Agriculture ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Home Landscapes, Horticulture, UF/IFAS Extension,
Tags: Agriculture, Gardening, Highlands County, Hometown Gardener, Master Gardener Volunteers, Pollination, Pollinator Plants, UF/IFAS Extension
Canning Banner, a line of canned tomatoes with someone chopping them up in the back ground

Canning, an art from the past


February 2, 2023

In the old days, food was not as readily available as today. We've come a long way with grocery stores seemingly on every corner. It's hard to imagine how our great-grandparents and those that came before them survived without such conveniences. ... READ MORE

Category: Events, Food Safety, Fruits & Vegetables, Horticulture, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Teaching,
Tags: Agriculture, Gardening, Highlands County, Highlands Horticulture Digest, Hometown Gardener, Master Gardener Volunteers, Tomatoes, UF/IFAS Extension, Vegetables
Banner for Colp protection pro tips. photo of plants covered in icicles

Cold-Protection pro tips


January 18, 2023

Tips from the Help Desk... Cold Protection Pro Tips by David Austin Residential Horticulture Agent and Master Gardener Volunteer Coordinator Late December and early January brought the Heartland of Florida some unexpected colder-than-usual ... READ MORE

Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes, Horticulture, UF/IFAS Extension,
Tags: Gardening, Highlands County, Highlands Horticulture Digest, Hometown Gardener, Master Gardeners, Tips From The Help Desk, UF/IFAS Extension
Article banner, hometwon gardener caricature with red poinsettia

Tips from the help desk, Caring for your poinsettia, December 2022


December 21, 2022

Tips from the Help Desk... Caring for your poinsettia by David Austin Residential Horticulture Agent and Master Gardener Volunteer Coordinator A gift that keeps on giving So, someone gave your a lovely poinsettia as a pre-Christmas ... READ MORE

Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes, Horticulture, UF/IFAS Extension,
Tags: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Gardening, Highlands County, Highlands Horticulture Digest, Hometown Gardener, Master Gardener Volunteers, Tips From The Help Desk, UF/IFAS Extension
UF/IFAS. Master Gardener Volunteer Logo

Highlands County Master Gardener Volunteer training starts soon


December 16, 2022

The First Master Gardener Volunteers In the early ’70s, two overworked Horticulture Extension Agents from Washington state came up with a bright idea. They would train volunteers in the art and science of horticulture to help them answer ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Clubs & Volunteers, Home Landscapes, Horticulture, UF/IFAS Extension,
Tags: Gardening, Highlands County, Highlands Horticulture Digest, Hometown Gardener, Master Gardener, Master Gardener Volunteers, UF/IFAS Extension
Ice covers limbs of peaches. Overlayed with text, Protecting your plants.

Baby it’s cold outside!


September 27, 2022

Florida has been through a period of warm winters. When I say warm I mean Central Florida has not seen many hard freezes in the last 11 years. During these warm periods, homeowners forget those tortuous cold nights on their tropical plants. ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Crops, Disaster Preparation, Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes, Horticulture, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Teaching,
Tags: Agriculture, Classes, Gardening, Highlands County, Highlands Horticulture Digest, Hometown Gardener, Master Gardener Volunteers, UF/IFAS Extension
tips from the helpdesk, paperwasps

Tips from the help desk…paper wasps, August 2022


August 24, 2022

Tips from the Help Desk... Paper Wasps by David Austin Residential Horticulture Agent and Master Gardener Volunteer Coordinator Friend or Foe? Many Gardeners might believe them to be the enemy. They wait on their paper nest creations ... READ MORE

Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes, Horticulture, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, UF/IFAS Extension
Tags: Gardening, Highlands County, Highlands Horticulture Digest, Hometown Gardener, Pollination, Tips From The Help Desk, UF/IFAS Extension
Bees on a hive frame

Don’t Worry, Bee Happy


August 10, 2022

The European honey bee The European honey bee has been in the United States for a long time. Brought here in the early 1600s by, you guessed it, Europeans.  The Honey bee may as well be considered native since they've been here as long ... READ MORE

Category: Agribusiness, Agriculture, Crops, Fruits & Vegetables, Horticulture, Pests & Disease, UF/IFAS Extension,
Tags: Agriculture, Bees, Classes, Gardening, Highlands County, Highlands Horticulture Digest, Hometown Gardener, Honey, Insects, Master Gardener Volunteers, Pollination, Pollinator Plants, UF/IFAS Extension