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Plant Type Lists
Floridata categorizes each species by assigning each one or more "type" pages. Here are a few examples of recent updates. See the Plant Tag Lists page for the complete set or select from this menu:
New Profile!
In its native Australia this tree is called argyle apple but in The States it's know as the silver dollar tree. Florists use the showy silver-blue leaves in both fresh and dried arrangements. In the early sixties my Mom had a bunch of "milk glass" (translucent white) vases that always hosted a bunch of this fragrant foliage. I have a silver dollar tree in my yard so maybe I'll surprise her with a fresh bouquet of silver dollar stems when I go back home to Kentucky this fall for a visit. Click here for more on this colorfully fragrant small tree for USDA Zones 8-11.
Feature Lists
Floridata has a standard set of Feature Tags, each represented by an icon that signifies a particular attribute, characteristic or use. Display a list of plants with a particular attribute by clicking these icons or selecting from this menu:
 Edible Plants
Herbs, vegetables and fruits - click this icon to display a list of all 125+ plants in Floridata with parts suitable for human consumption:
 Fragrant Plants
This icon identifies plants that produce fragrant blossoms, foliage or other parts.
 Butterfly Plants
Click this icon to display a list of plants that serve as nectar and larval food sources for butterflies - like this one:
 Hummingbird Plants
This icon identifies plants whose blossoms attract hummingbirds:
A self-seeding patch of Texas scarlet sage a bloom in your yard will transform it into a popular hangout for both hummingbirds and butterflies.
 Drought Tolerant Plants
This icon identifies plants that require little or no supplemental watering and are tolerant of dry conditions like:
 Plants for Shady Places
This icon identifies plants that tolerate low-light conditions and are suitable for growing in shady areas like:
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Good Dog Memorial
Putting Bubba "to sleep" was one of the most difficult things that I have ever done. He could no longer walk, even with the help of powerful pain and anti-inflammatory meds. For weeks I postponed the inevitable until last Wednesday. Bubba looked up into my eyes, took his paw and placed it on his bad back leg. I knew he was telling me that it was time for him to go. Our other Dane, Susie, had died six weeks earlier, exactly two months after her master passed away. When BJ died I think we all knew that our time together was quickly coming to an end. Bub and Sue were an amazing source of companionship and comfort throughout those many difficult years of caring for BJ as crippling arthritis and Alzheimer's slowly erased him away from us. I am so grateful to have been their human and will miss them forever.
I googled Bubba on Floridata and found that he made several appearances in my video blogs and Gardener's Journal posts: in the March 2004 Journal he takes over as my main dog when Petey, his predecessor
Great Dane, died; in my Journal post for April 2008 I write about when a copperhead snake bit him; he consoled me in the January 2005 post when I buzzed my hair off with the dog trimmers and he appears in the "Dementialand" video called Taking Care of BJ and Bubba.
Resources & Articles
In addition to Plant Profiles and Lists, Floridata features articles and other resources. Look for new pictures, pages and updates in this section.
Picture Gallery
I pinched a piece of this tropical vine when I was in Orlando a few years ago. The glorybower vine (Clerodendrum thomsoniae), as it is also commonly called, can't take our Zone 8 freezes in the winter so I grow it in a pot. It was hit by last winters record cold snap and I thought it was dead for sure. The appearance of a green shoot in April was a surprise and I'm impressed that it's recovered quickly and began blooming last week. Click to download a large version (800x600) of this tropical beauty with the gory name (it's strange that a beautiful flower should inspire an association with a traumatized body part?).
The 'Autumn Beauty' sunflower (Helianthus annuus) mix contains a number of smaller growing cultivars whose flower heads range from about 3 to 6 inches in diameter. Color varies from yellow to orange to mahogany - some are two-tone and all are beautiful. Click to download a large version (800x600) of this easy to grow annual to display on your computer desktop (I can't believe the deer haven't eaten this particular one yet!).
Tomatoes don't grow very well in the lean sandy soil here where I garden so I don't bother with them. This year I saw these 'Celebrity' cherry tomatoes
(Lycopersicon lycopersicum) at the garden center. The label said they were selected to do well in containers to grow on decks, balconies and patios. The plants are short and stiff and the tomatoes are flavorful and delicious. Next year I'm going to grow several of these pretty little plants. Click to download a large version (800x600) and put this 'Celebrities' on your desktop.
Floridata's Daily Plant
Here's another of Floridata's gadgets - it serves up a new plant for you each day. Add our Daily Plant gadget to your Google homepage - just click the "+ Google" button below!.
 Link to Floridata!
Enhance your web pages - use the Plant1 "Get Link" link in the title area of the Plant Profiles and the system will create a snippet of HTML that contains a botanical name and link to that Profile. Click here for more info.
The Transplanted Gardener
Ginny's new article, The Science Behind Southern Grasses, Including Turf explains why you should NOT use Yankee lawn care advice when you're managing a southern lawn. The typical advice for minimum lawn care is to fertilize with a slow-release fertilizer or compost in the fall. This is bad advice for southern turf because it will be going into dormancy with cooler weather and shorter days.
Win Gil Nelson's new book, Best Native Plants for Southern Gardens: A handbook for Gardeners, Homeowners, and Professionals by leaving a comment on the Florida Native Plant Society's blog by August 4th. This book covers the 8 southeastern states from Virginia to Louisiana, but it does not include tropical south Florida (planting Zones 10 & 11).
Best Native Plants for Southern Gardens is filled to the brim with important information on native plants and is a must for any serious gardener in the southeastern region of the country.
While this is a beautiful book that would look great on your coffee table, I predict that once you get your hands on it, that you'll mark it up and really use it to increase your success growing native plants. It has enough information and detail for professional landscapers and native ecosystem restorers, but it's an easy-enough read for the more casual gardener as well.
Read Ginny's full review on the FNPS blog. Good luck!
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