![Closeup of a Bauhinia x blakeana "orchid tree" blooms. [CREDIT: "Unha-de-vaca" by Mauricio Mercadante (CC-BY-NC-SA 2.0), via Flickr.com]](https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/sarasotaco/files/2022/01/2021_Blogs_MGVSeries_12Bauhinia_xblakeana_flickr02MercandanteMauricioCROP1338x357TINY.png)
By Karen Pariser Master Gardener Volunteer Program team member Looking for an amazing pop of color and texture in your Florida yard? Consider the impact of a flowering tree. Specifically, the orchid tree. Bauhinia basics… Read More
All of us at Sarasota County Extension wish you a very Happy New Year. We have had a year of exciting new programs, new partners, and the pleasure of meeting many new community members to… Read More
By Lee Hayes Byron, County Extension Director and Abbey Tyrna, Water Resources Extension Agent As I travel around Sarasota County, I see so many examples of sustainability and best practices applied in peoples’ yards, homes,… Read More
![Allamanda cathartica. [CREDIT: pixabay.com, Dezalb]](https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/sarasotaco/files/2021/11/2021_Blogs_MGVSeries_11Allamanda02_cathartica_pixabayDezalbCROP1338x357TINY.png)
By Dianne Beaver Master Gardener Volunteer Program team member With large, bright-yellow flowers and vibrant-green leaves, Allamanda cathartica seems like the perfect plant to brighten up your patio or front garden area. It is a… Read More
![Lantana camara blossom in an indoor trough. {CREDIT: pxhere.com]](https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/sarasotaco/files/2021/10/2021_Blogs_MGVSeries_10Lantana01_pxhereCROP1338x357TINY.png)
By Karen Clark Master Gardener Volunteer Program team member Lantana checks off all the boxes that make a plant popular. Colorful? Check. Drought tolerance? Check. Handles sandy, salty “soil”? Check. Holds up to direct sunlight?… Read More
![Yellow, wedelia flowers bloom, en masse, in a lush field. [CREDIT: Pixabay.com]](https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/sarasotaco/files/2021/09/2021_Blogs_MGVSeries_09Wedelia01_pixabayCROP1338x357TINY.png)
By Rita Dadzis Master Gardener Volunteer Program team member Oh, wedelia. Why do you? Wedelia is a beautiful plant, with a thick mat of green leaves and pretty, bright-yellow, daisy-like flowers that bloom year-round. It’s… Read More
![Pothos, also known as devil's ivy, grows rampant in a Florida oak tree. [CREDIT: Ann Madden]](https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/sarasotaco/files/2021/08/2021_HortRes_blogMGVPothos_MaddenAnn1669_crop1338x357TINY.jpg)
By Ann Madden Master Gardener Volunteer Program team member Oh, that tropical look. Many homeowners want it, and often turn to the eye-catching pothos to create it. In doing so, they may unwittingly unleash a… Read More
![A row of sansevieria adorn a 50-foot contemporary wall planter. [CREDIT: Karen Pariser]](https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/sarasotaco/files/2021/07/2021_Blogs_MGVSeries_07Sansevieria_01_CROP1338x357TINY.jpg)
By Karen Pariser Master Gardener Volunteer Program team member Remember your grandma’s impossible-to-kill parlor plant, the “mother-in-law’s tongue”? You might know it as “snake plant” or “viper’s bowstring” or even “African spear plant.” However you… Read More
Mush Ado About Nothing? The promise of summer brings so many new curiosities to our landscapes. One of the most dramatic and surprising of these changes is the arrival of mushrooms in our environments. Seemingly… Read More
By Renee Stevens Master Gardener Volunteer Program team member Mexican petunia (Ruellia simplex, syn. Ruellia brittoniana) has a lot going for it. This native of Mexico, the Caribbean and South America is a colorful blue-to-purple… Read More
