Category: Home Landscapes

Blog banner displaying three types of FFL plants prepared by Master Gardener Program volunteers from UF/IFAS Extension Polk County.

UF/IFAS Extension, City of Lakeland partnership continues to build a greener, sustainable, resilient community

by Lourdes Mederos
October 1, 2026

When driving through the City of Lakeland, the view is hard to miss. Colorful plants fill medians, trees line roadways and parks, and carefully maintained green areas with Florida-Friendly LandscapingTM (FFL) plants help give the city its ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Events, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, UF/IFAS Extension
Tags: Extension Partnership, Florida Master Gardener Volunteer Program, Florida-friendly Landscaping, Green Industries Best Management Practices (GI-BMP), UF/IFAS Extension Polk County
Persona trabajando en paisajismo, agachada mientras poda las plantas de un jardín.

Un nuevo estudio revela los efectos del dolor de espalda entre los trabajadores hortícolas

by Luz Bahder
September 24, 2026

Creado por Chris Vivian, vicepresidenta adjunta del Departamento de Comunicaciones de UF/IFAS. Aspectos destacados: El dolor de espalda es extremadamente común entre los trabajadores del sector hortícola. Es importante contar con ... READ MORE

Category: Agribusiness, Agriculture, Farm Management, Health & Nutrition, Horticulture, Lawn, Professional Development, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension
Tags: Espanol, Instituto Nacional Para La Seguridad Y Salud Ocupacional, Kim Dunleavy, Salud Ocupacional, SCCAHS, Spanish
Invasive daisy fleabane (Erigeron annuus) growing out of cracks in the pavement in a highly urbanized area of Zagreb, Croatia. Photo by S. Luke Flory.

Cities worldwide may be the ultimate training grounds for invasive species

by Lourdes Mederos
September 21, 2026

With city growth and urban sprawl, could these changing landscapes be giving invasive species a competitive edge? Scientists at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) say the answer may be yes, ... READ MORE

Category: Conservation, Home Landscapes, Invasive Species, Pests & Disease, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Research
Tags: Climate Change, Environment, Invasive Species, Luke Flory, Top News, UF/IFAS, University Of Florida Invasion Science Institute, Urban Sprawl
Close up cart in super market department store shopping. Adobe photo credit by Jenwit.

Does a chronic disease diagnosis change what you put in your grocery cart?

by Lourdes Mederos
September 17, 2026

When someone is diagnosed with a chronic illness such as diabetes or heart disease, one of the recommendations is to often change what they eat. Changing what they add to their grocery cart will be a critical part of managing their health, ... READ MORE

Category: Fruits & Vegetables, Health & Nutrition, Home Management, Money Matters, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Research
Tags: Chronic Illness, Diabetes, Dietary Change, Food And Resource Economics, Food Is Medicine, Food Prices, News, UF/IFAS, Usda
Dr. Jorge E. Pena, professor of entomology and nematology and PhD. student Daniel Carrillo, UF's Tropical Research and Education Center, Homestead, FL evaluating infestations of the red palm mite. 2010 Annual Research Report Photo.

UF launches initiative to support rapid-response research when invasive pests threaten Florida agriculture

by Lourdes Mederos
September 14, 2026

When a new invasive pest or plant disease appears, scientists have a small window of opportunity to address the threat before it spreads and becomes a much larger problem, potentially devastating Florida's agriculture, nursery industries, natural ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Crops, Events, Fruits & Vegetables, Horticulture, Invasive Species, Natural Resources, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS
Tags: Agriculture, Challenge 250, Horticulture, Invasive Species, Nursery, One Night In The Tropics, Rapid-response, Safeguard Ecosystems, Top News, UF/IFAS Tropical Research And Education Center
Dr. Lawrence Reeves, inspecting a bag of mosquitoes collected with an aspirator (essentially a vacuum for mosquitoes) from boulders at Cochise Stronghold, Dragoon Mountains, Cochise Co., Arizona. 15. Photo Credit: Photo: Dan Killingsworth

Mosquito species known only from Mexico recorded in U.S. for first time

by Lourdes Mederos
September 8, 2026

While most people may associate mosquitoes with Florida’s swamps, Arizona’s deserts and mountains are also home to a surprising variety of mosquito species. A University of Florida mosquito scientist has documented one of those species ... READ MORE

Category: Health & Nutrition, Home Landscapes, Invasive Species, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Research
Tags: Florida, Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory, Invasive Species, Lawrence Reeves, Mosquito, Mosquito Diversity, Mosquito-borne Disease, Public Health, Top News
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: 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
Primer plano de una mariposa monarca con las alas parcialmente extendidas sobre flores amarillas, junto a una abeja de cuerpo negro y alas transparentes que se acerca a otra flor. El fondo es azul y desenfocado, lo que resalta a los dos polinizadores y las flores.

UF/IFAS invita a los residentes de Florida de todas las edades a participar en el Gran Censo de Polinizadores del Sureste del 21 al 22 de agosto

by Luz Bahder
August 11, 2026

Creado por Lourdes Mederos, gerente de relaciones públicas en español para el Departamento de Comunicaciones de UF/IFAS. ¿Qué pasaría si proteger a los polinizadores fuera tan fácil como pasar 15 minutos observando un jardín de flores? Del ... READ MORE

Category: Conservation, Events, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension
Tags: Censo De Polinizadores, Espanol, Gran Censo De Polinizadores Del Sureste, Spanish
A monarch butterfly on a flower. UF/IFAS Photo by Tyler Jones.

UF/IFAS invites Floridians of all ages to join the Great Southeast Pollinator Census Aug. 21-22

by Lourdes Mederos
August 10, 2026

What if protecting pollinators were as easy as spending 15 minutes watching a patch of flowers? On Aug. 21-22, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Extensions invites Floridians of all ages to join ... READ MORE

Category: Conservation, Events, Home Landscapes, Horticulture, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, Wildlife
Tags: Beneficial Insects, Citizen Science, Great Southeast Pollinator Census, Institute Of Food And Agricultural Sciences, Master Gardener Volunteers, Pollinator, Special Topics, Top News, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension

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