Native Plants | Botanical Visions Landscape Architecture

Get Schooled on Native Plants for FREE!

October 2, 2012 By Jennifer Mennuti Leave a Comment

Bill Reeve, President and owner of Botanical Visions, will be giving a presentation on using Florida native plants on Wednesday, October 10 at 7:00pm at the Broward Chapter meeting of the Florida Native Plant Society. The meeting will be held at Secret Woods Nature Center on State Road 84 in Ft. Lauderdale. These meetings are held monthly and are a great place to meet fellow gardeners who are experts in Florida native plants as well as people who are new to using natives and are looking to learn more. They have a free give away table and a raffle as well as light refreshments. The plant auction held at the end of the meeting is a great opportunity to bring home a new plant for very little money.

The group will meet again on Saturday, October 20 for a field trip at Sandy Ridge Sanctuary in Coral Springs. There will be a two hour guided tour through the 38 acre nature preserve to look for wildlife and native plants. Some of the wildlife spotted in this ecosystem include foxes, gopher tortoises, ducks, osprey, and many other birds.

My favorite benefit of incorporating Florida native plants in a landscape is the increased wildlife that happens almost immediately. Butterflies, birds and many fascinating pollinators find their way to the flowers and add a whole new dimension of interest and activity to the garden. You will also notice a reduced need for water and pesticides. Lower maintenance means a healthier planet and more time to relax and enjoy life.

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Filed Under: 1, Featured, South Florida Events Tagged With: Acre Nature, Bill Reeve, Birds, Botanical Visions, Butterflies, Coral Springs, Earth, Fellow Gardeners, Field Trip, Florida Landscape, Florida Native Plant, Florida Native Plant Society, Florida Native Plants, Florida Plants, Flowers, Foxes, Ft Lauderdale, Giving A Presentation, Gopher Tortoises, Light Refreshments, Native Plants, Natives, New Dimension, Osprey, Pesticides, Plant Auction, Raffle, Reeve, Sandy Ridge, Secret Woods Nature Center, Tortoises, Visions, William Reeve

Oh really?! A Lily?!

May 10, 2012 By Jennifer Mennuti Leave a Comment

Years ago, I rented a house in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea and dabbled with a garden even though the sprinkler system was extremely unreliable and the yard was pure sand. I lived there for a few years and then one day I noticed a new plant coming up out of an abandoned planter box and the “weed” was interesting enough for me to decide to see what it would become. As the plant grew taller, I noticed that it was forming tendrils at the tips of the leaves and using them to grasp onto anything within reach in order to support itself. Eventually, I discovered flower buds and then spectacular red and yellow flowers began making appearances! I went through some plant books and identified the plant as Gloriosa superba ‘Rothschildiana.’ Apparently, their bulbs were dormant for several years but I was ecstatic that they came to life. The next few years, they went dormant from time to time but reliably came back after resting for six to eight weeks. The Gloriosas wrapped their tendrils around my heart as well so I found more varieties from Brent & Becky’s Bulbs and planted all of them. The yellow and orange varieties were interesting and amusing as a novelty but I found the most common “Rothschildiana’ to be my favorite. These lilies originate in Africa and Asia and are toxic as well as medicinal depending on how they are used. Unfortunately, in Australia, they are highly invasive because they move into coastal dunes and push out their native plants. Because they contain toxic compounds, they also cause deaths for their native birds and other animals when parts of the plants are ingested. I’ve never heard of this being a problem in the United States but it begs for further research. Most nurseries don’t grow them due to their occasional dormancy periods but I have also seen their bulbs at Home Depot every now and then.

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Filed Under: 1, Featured, Landscape Design Tagged With: Africa, Asia, Australia, Becky, Birds, Botanical Visions, Bulbs, Climbing Lily, Coastal Dunes, Creeping Lily, Deaths, Flame Lily, Flower Buds, Further Research, Gloriosa Lily, Glory Lily, Greenish Yellow, Home Depot, India, Jennifer Mennuti, Lauderdale By The Sea, Lilies, Lily, Mature Plants, Native Animals, Native Birds, Native Plants, Native Species, Nurseries, Orange Varieties, Plant Books, Planter Box, Propagation, Red And Yellow Flowers, Rothschild, Seeds, Sprinkler System, Superba, Tendrils, Toxic Compounds, Tubers, Weed

Celebrate Earth Day on Earth Day and on Every Other Day!

March 29, 2012 By Jennifer Mennuti Leave a Comment

There’s a party with a purpose coming up on April 21, 2012 at Hugh Taylor Birch State Park in Ft. Lauderdale! Taking care of our homes involves more than our personal dwellings; we all need to care for our planet. This is the perfect place to learn how to do it and get inspired! This all day event is packed full of activities involving community, sustainability and fun! Some of the planned activities include dune restoration and Sea Oat planting, native tree giveaways for your home landscape and garden, plus live entertainment featuring Teri Catlin, the Didgeridoo Band, and a sunset Drum Circle. There will also be organic and vegan food available as well as local vendors with displays and information. Our South Florida environment is unique and the ways we can care for it are unique and varied as well. The Sea Turtle Oversight Protection Organization will be at the event to enlist volunteers to help with this summer’s Sea Turtle Rescue Program. If you live in South Florida and are interested in helping endangered turtles and witnessing the miracle of a baby sea turtle hatchout, then this organization is for you! There will be workshops throughout the day for kids and adults. The kid’s workshops are directed by Camp Live Oak, Kid’s Ecology Corps, Lori’s Beakers and Bugs Company, The Girl Scouts of America, and Trash to Treasure. Samantha Whitcraft, a marine conservation biologist with Sharksavers.org will be speaking and be sure to catch Ann Wiley’s talk titled “Making Your Backyard Your Bird Feeder.” Take a moment to get to know Trash to Treasure while you are there. They are known as the “Greenest and cheapest art store in South Florida” and they have a demonstration Community Garden in Ft. Lauderdale which contains vegetables, native plants and butterfly plants. They regularly teach rain barrel workshops so you can learn how to collect and use rain water for your garden. Come by this event and let these experts motivate you to explore and enjoy the environment and find additional ways to Go Green!

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Filed Under: 1, Featured, South Florida Events Tagged With: Baby Turtle, Birch, Bird Feeder, Botanical Visions, Butterfly Plants, Community Sustainability, Conservation Biologist, Dwellings, Earth Day, Endangered Turtles, Ft Lauderdale, Fun, Girl Scouts Of America, Giveaways, Home Landscape, Hugh Taylor Birch State Park, Jennifer Mennuti, Live Entertainment, Live Oak, Marine Conservation, Native Plants, Oat, Protection Organization, Rain Barrel, Rain Water, Sea Turtle, Sea Turtle Rescue, South Florida Environment, Teri Catlin, Trash To Treasure, Vegan Food

Help Remove Invasive Plants to Protect Gopher Tortoises

February 24, 2012 By Jennifer Mennuti Leave a Comment

Gopher Tortoises are considered “Threatened” or a “Species of Special Concern” because their numbers are decreasing, mainly from habitat destruction but also in part by people eating them and their eggs, by raccoons or other predators taking their eggs, and even by fire ants who can kill the hatchlings. The tortoises dig tunnels, which are also protected, that can reach forty feet long and are usually 7-15 feet deep which provide shelter and homes for over 350 other species including Scrub Jays, Burrowing Owls, Snakes, Lizards, Frogs, Mice, Insects, and others. At maturity, Gopher Tortoises are about a foot long and may live to about 100 years. Gopher Tortoises live in sandy, dry areas and feed on Gopher Apples (Licania michauxii), Saw Palmetto Berries, grasses and other herbaceous plants. It is important to leave natural areas in our landscapes and to incorporate native plants to support the local wildlife. Botanical Visions has been a member of the Association of Florida Native Nurseries for many years and we will be assisting with this volunteer opportunity on Saturday.

On Saturday, February 25, we need volunteers to help remove invasive plants which are threatening the Gopher Tortoises by causing habitat loss. In early March, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will be visiting the park and may de-list this critical area as a protected habitat for these tortoises. Deerfield Island Park is a Broward County Park which is only accessible by boat and due to park budget cuts, the staff has not been able to control the intrusion of invasive plants. We have only one day to get as many volunteers as possible to clean up the park. Dragonfly Expeditions is coordinating the three minute boat transport to allow volunteers onto the island to work. Tools will be provided and the island has restrooms, soda machines and water fountains. Volunteers are requested to be at the dock at 10:00am but can leave anytime on boats which will be going back and forth regularly throughout the day. Wear clothes that can get dirty, appropriate shoes and bring gloves if you have them. The park is located off of Hillsboro Blvd. on Riverview Road (on the North side of Hillsboro) which is across from the Cove Shopping Center, just west of the Intracoastal. The address is 1720 Deerfield Island Park, Deerfield Beach, Florida. If you are able to help, please RSVP to ckropke@dragonflyexpeditions.com.

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