Forest Hecker is the Florida-Friendly Landscaping™ Community Educator for Sarasota County's UF/IFAS Extension and Sustainability Department. A FNGLA Certified Horticulture Professional, Forest previously worked as the Outreach Coordinator for Peace River Botanical & Sculpture Gardens. A longtime resident of Florida, Forest loves the tropics and everything you can grow only in Florida. Personal interests include growing vanilla, cacao, coffee, and other tropical edibles. On a professional note, areas of interests include edible landscaping, landscaping for wildlife, and landscaping for pollinators. Highlighting the benefits of trees and working towards a greater urban biodiversity of specimen trees is another professional goal of Forest's. Fun fact, Forest was named after the rain forest not after the movie. Both of his parents work in horticulture and environmental protection!

Posts by Forest Hecker:

• Suncoast Grown and Gathered: February Papaya! A Fruitful Florida Native!
• Florida's Best Hummingbird Plant? Native Endangered Swampbush!
• Suncoast Grown and Gathered: January Pudding Sapote
• Plants at Their Peak: Red Maple
• Plants at Their Peak: Virginia Creeper
• Suncoast Grown and Gathered: December Macademia Nuts
• Suncoast Grown and Gathered: November Acerola Cherries
• Plants at Their Peak: Skyblue Clustervine!
• Suncoast Grown and Gathered: October Persimmons
• Post-Hurricane Landscaping Tips: Wind Burn, Sea Spray, and Storm Surge

• Plants at Their Peak: Shampoo Ginger
• New Air Potato Beetle Available!
• What Is That Lawn Ornament?! Frogfruit? Florida lawn of the future?
• Florida-Friendly Landscaping™ for New Residents
• What Is That Lawn Ornament?! Florida Betony? A Crunchy Choice Edible!
• What Is That Lawn Ornament? DollarWEED? No, that is Manyflower Penny-wort!
• What Is That Lawn Ornament? A Daisy That Keeps Away Fleas? Daisy Fleabane!
• What Is That Lawn Ornament? A Carpet of Native Wildflowers?! Angel's Tears!
• What Is That Lawn Ornament? A Wildflower Turfgrass? Blue-Eyed Grass!
• What Is That Lawn Ornament? Butterfly Super Host?! Native Peppergrass!

• Celebrate Spring: Participate in No Mow March
• Plants at Their Peak: Valentine Blossoms, Red Kapok Trees!
• Plants at Their Peak: Valentine Blossoms, Pink Trumpet Trees!
• Flora-da Friendly Features: Imposter Pitch Apple?
• What Is That Lawn Ornament? Florida's Best Wildflower?! Butterfly Needles!
• A Florida-Friendly Landscaping™ Tale of Survival and Resurgence (Part II): Atala Butterflies
• What Is That Lawn Ornament? Clover Lawn? Here in Florida?!
• What Is That Lawn Ornament? Hop Clover? Should I Be Hopping Mad or Glad?
• What is that Lawn Ornament? The Benefits of Bacopa!
• Plants at Their Peak: Red Cedar, the Superior Holiday Evergreen!

• What Is That Lawn Ornament? Florida Snow?!?
• Plants at Their Peak: The Silk Floss Tree
• What Is That Lawn Ornament? Don’t Turn Into a Basket Case. Embrace Basketgrass!
• Embracing Lawn Ornaments: A Starter Guide
• What Is that Lawn Ornament? Sunshine Powderpuffs!
• Post-Hurricane Landscaping Tips: Check for 'Widow Makers'
• The Buzz about Bees in Florida
• A Florida-Friendly Landscaping™ Tale of Survival and Resurgence (Part I): Coontie Cycads