Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping

How to easily grow Florida native milkweed in sandy landscapes

by Anne Yasalonis and polkmg

October 10, 2025

To support monarch butterflies, the University of Florida and other conservation groups recommend Florida native milkweed species as host and nectar plants. Currently, there are three native milkweed species that are most commonly found ... READ MORE

Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes, , Wildlife
Tags: Anne Yasalonis, Ayasalonis, Butterflies, Butterfly, Central Florida, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Florida-Friendly Plants, Flowers, Gardening, Master Gardener Volunteer, Milkweed, Monarch, Native Plants, Polk County, Polk County FL, Polkgardening, Polkmg, Pollinators, Sandy Soil, UF/IFAS, Your Central Florida Yard Podcast

Fruit Trees for Your Central Florida Yard: A New Episode of Your Central Florida Yard Podcast

by Anne Yasalonis and Julie Schelb

October 10, 2025

Fruit Trees for Your Central Florida Yard In this episode of Your Central Florida Yard podcast, Anne and Julie talk about growing fruit in central Florida. There are so many varieties of fruit trees from temperate to tropical that it’s ... READ MORE

Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Fruits & Vegetables,
Tags: Anne Yasalonis, Ayasalonis, Central Florida, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Florida-Friendly Plants, Fruit, Fruit Trees, Jschelb, Master Gardener Volunteer, Polk County, Polkgardening, Polkmg, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Polk County, Your Central Florida Yard Podcast

Monarchs and Milkweed: An Important Update

by polkmg and Anne Yasalonis

September 25, 2025

Ahhhh, monarch butterflies… Their life cycle and fascinating migration patterns, as well as their striking beauty make them intriguing and beloved to gardeners and scientists alike. The following blog post covers some of the latest ... READ MORE

Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes,
Tags: Anne Yasalonis, Ayasalonis, Butterflies, Milkweed, Monarch, Native Milkweed, Native Plants, Polkgardening, Polkmg, Tropical Milkweed

Urban Wildlife Corridors

by Anne Yasalonis and polkmg

August 6, 2025

An important and growing landscaping trend is gardening for wildlife. This important conservation effort can help our native small wildlife populations with plants that attract and support a wide variety of our native species, especially birds, ... READ MORE

Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes, Wildlife
Tags: Anne Yasalonis, Ayasalonis, Central Florida, Florida Native, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Flowers, Gardening, Hurricane Preparedness, Master Gardener, Master Gardener Volunteer, Native Plant Month, Native Plants, Polk County, Polkgardening, Pollinator Plants, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Polk County, Your Central Florida Yard Podcast

Summer Flowers for Central Florida Yards: A New Episode of Your Central Florida Yard Podcast

by Anne Yasalonis and Julie Schelb

June 26, 2025

Summer Flowers for Central Florida Yards In this episode of Your Central Florida Yard podcast, we talk about summer flowers. Summer weather in central Florida is hot and humid, but summer flowers can put on a spectacular show without much effort ... READ MORE

Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes,
Tags: Central Florida, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Native Plants, Polk County FL, Polkgardening, Polkmg, Summer, Summer Flowers, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Polk County, Wildflowers, Your Central Florida Yard Podcast

Colorful and Carefree: Growing Crotons in Your Central Florida Yard

by Anne Yasalonis and polkmg

May 10, 2025

Are you looking for a low maintenance plant that adds color and beauty to your landscape with very little effort? Say hello to the overlooked beauty of the garden, the croton. Crotons (Codiaeum variegatum), are tropical evergreen shrubs ... READ MORE

Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes,
Tags: Anne Yasalonis, Ayasalonis, Central Florida, Croton, Crotons, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Florida-Friendly Plants, Foliage, Foliage Plants, Gardening, Polk County FL, Polkgardening, Polkmg, Tropical, Tropical Plants, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Polk County, Your Central Florida Yard Podcast

Florida-Friendly Edible Plants: A New Episode of Your Central Florida Yard Podcast

by Anne Yasalonis and Julie Schelb

May 8, 2025

Florida-Friendly Edible Plants In this episode of Your Central Florida Yard podcast, we explore edible plants that not only thrive in our unique climate but also align with Florida-Friendly Landscaping principles. From herbs to fruits ... READ MORE

Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes
Tags: Anne Yasalonis, Ayasalonis, Central Florida, Florida-Friendly Plants, Jschelb, Polk County FL, Polkgardening, Polkmg, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Polk County, Vegetable Gardening, Your Central Florida Yard Podcast

Spring Plant Sale

by Anne Yasalonis
April 18, 2025

Mark your calendars and plant yourself at our Annual Plant Sale on April 26! Whether you have a green thumb or just enjoy the beauty of plants, this in-person event is perfect for you. The ... READ MORE

Category: Events, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes, Horticulture
Tags: Master Gardener, Master Gardener Volunteer, Polk County, Polk County FL, Polk Florida Friendly Landscaping, Polk Gardening

A Gardener’s Story with Celia: A Special Bonus Episode of Your Central Florida Yard Podcast

by Anne Yasalonis and Julie Schelb

March 25, 2025

A Gardener's Story, A very special bonus episode of Your Central Florida Yard podcast A Gardener’s Story is special bonus episode where we sit down with a UF/IFAS Extension Master Gardener Volunteer who is dedicating their time and ... READ MORE

Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes, Lawn, UF/IFAS Extension,
Tags: Anne Yasalonis, Ayasalonis, Central Florida, Flowers, Gardening, Jschelb, Master Gardener, Master Gardener Volunteer, Polk County, Polkmg, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Polk County, Your Central Florida Yard Podcast

Green Industries Best Management Practices (GI-BMP) Informative Video

by Luis Rodriguez Rosado, Julie Schelb and Jasi Romero

March 13, 2025

The Green Industries Best Management Practices (GI-BMPs) workshop teaches landscaping practices that are good for the environment and help protect Florida’s water and natural resources. This science-based program is designed for landscape ... READ MORE

Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes, Lawn, Pests & Disease, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Teaching
Tags: Fertilizer, Fertilizer License, GIBMP, Landscape, Polk Florida Friendly Landscaping, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Polk County

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