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Have You Taken The Pledge?
You could win cool prizes!
Whether your idea of summer fun is boating, fishing, reading a book on the beach, or simply enjoying a grouper sandwich at a waterfront restaurant, we've got you covered!
Take our online pledge to skip the fertilizer and instead do something FUN to enjoy our beautiful state this summer.
You'll be entered to win weekly prizes of "Pink Flamingo Bling" such as mousepads or plastic pink yard flamingos.
And, four lucky grand prize winners selected at the end of June will receive free yard makeover consultations from our fabulous garden coaches and landscape designers: Pam Brown, Cynthia Glover, Laurel Schiller and Lisa Strange. These ladies are experts in gardening for Florida's unique and challenging climate.
Don't delay: The contest ends June 24!
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Night Blooming Cereus: Queen of the Dark
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Photos by Marcia Biggs
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If you live in a frost-free area of Florida you may be lucky enough to spot the elusive Night Blooming Cereus. This amazing cactus, also known as Queen of the Night, appears as vine-like fingers clinging to the trunks of trees. Inconspicuous and nondescript most of the year, the cereus puts on a show worth losing sleep for in summer, when it blooms with magnificent white fragrant flowers, each blossom lasting only one night. Night Blooming Cereus (Selenicereus grandiflorus) is found in the desert regions of North America and South America, as well as tropical and sub-tropical areas. The snakelike vines attach to tall trees such as palms and oaks where they can absorb direct sunlight during the day. Buds generally begin appearing in June.  It's fun to follow a Night Blooming Cereus as it progresses from bud to bloom. Look for buds that appear fuzzy and white. They will enlarge over the course of a week, evolving into large pods and finally opening into spectacular 7-inch white blossoms. Serious cereus followers (sorry, we couldn't resist!) will know when the pod is ready to open and return after sunset to watch the progression. They are richly rewarded around midnight, as this is when the blooms are fully open.  The following day, faded blooms will appear as large pink flamingo heads bowing to the ground (That's what they look like to us!). It's a melancholy sight for Night Blooming Cereus fans, but there is always the promise of an encore performance next year! |
The 2013 issue of the Guide for Real Florida Gardeners is available online and chock full of useful articles, information and tips on native plants and landscaping. Produced by the Florida Association of Native Nurseries, the 24-page booklet features topics on native floral arrangements and bouquets, planting for moths, growing Florida salvias, and more. The guide also contains a statewide directory of native plant nurseries and native plant society chapters by county. Be Floridian gets a shout-out on Page 20 too! |
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Need some expert advice on
Gardening Like A Floridian?
Check out the Garden Coaches, Landscape Designers, Lawn Care Companies and Nurseries that support our mission to protect the waterways that make living in Florida fun!
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http://www.befloridian.org/partner-companies/
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Classes and workshops offer free or low-cost instruction on how to save time and money by practicing Florida-Friendly Landscaping™ principles. Check out your county extension service to get started or to learn advanced skills. Most workshops are free or very low cost.
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| Be Floridian Fun Fact | |
99% of all the insects on earth are either helpful or harmless to humans!
Assassin Bug: A Good Guy
Give Bugs A Break!
Learn more at:
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Skip The Fertilizer:
Give Yourself and Your Yard A Summer Vacation
 Summer fertilizer bans begin June 1 in Manatee, Pinellas, Sarasota, and Tampa. The restrictions help protect the waterways that make living in Florida so much fun, by reducing the risk of fertilizer washing off our yards during our almost-daily summer rains.
While you must steer clear of nitrogen and phosphorous from June 1-September 30, don't sweat! You can still have a great-looking yard by following these tips:
Pump Some Iron
An application of iron will keep your lawn green during the
summer, without promoting growth (this means less mowing!). You can find iron at most garden centers.
Micro-size It!
All fertilizer bags have labels with three numbers, for Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium, in that order. Look for products where the first two numbers are "0" (zero), such as 0-0-6. These fertilizers contain no nitrogen or phosphorous. Potassium-only fertilizers may also contain beneficial micro-nutrients such as molybdenum, manganese and zinc.
More and more companies are making "summer-safe" fertilizers that help protect our bays, lakes and the Gulf of Mexico. Do a "Bag Check" by browsing our list of ordinance-compliant products and support these manufacturers who Protect Our Fun!
Cut The Grass
Want to save money and spend less time on yard work this summer? Remove some of your grass, and replace it with water-thrifty, low-maintenance shrubs, flowers and groundcovers. Plants adapted to Florida's hot, humid climate need less water and fertilizer year round.
Take Control of Your Sprinkler Overwatering is the NUMBER ONE cause of problems with turfgrass! Water your lawn only when it needs it -- look for folded grass blades or footprints left when you walk on it. Know your designated watering days and times, and make sure you have a working rain sensor. Learn how to operate your irrigation timer so you can turn it off when we start to receive regular rains! Help can be found here. |
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Plants for True Floridians
 Coral Honeysuckle
(Lonicera sempervirens)
Wherever coral honeysuckle grows, hummingbirds, butterflies and songbirds will find it. This woody vine, also known as trumpet honeysuckle, is guaranteed to attract wildlife to your yard with its colorful clusters of tube-like flowers that mature into red berries in the fall.
Coral honeysuckle can often be seen growing wild along roadsides and in open woodlands. It is easy to grow on a fence or trellis, is drought tolerant and prefers full sun but will tolerate partial sun. The tubular flowers appear summer long when they are irresistable to ruby-throated hummingbirds. Coral honeysuckle sails through West Central Florida winters without a care.
Florida Friendly/Non-Native
Queen's Wreath  | |
Photo by G.A Cooper@USDA-NRCS
Plants Database
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(Petrea volubilis)
For all you wisteria lovers, this is about as close as we can get in Florida. Also called bluebird vine and sandpaper vine, queen's wreath is adorned with long-lasting tresses of purple flower clusters that appear year-round. It's a stunner on pergolas and arbors.
Drought-tolerant once established, this fast-growing vine is native to Mexico and Central America. It may need protection in Zone 9 gardens during freezes. Queen's wreath does best in full sun, but tolerates part shade.
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Recipes for Relaxing
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Celebrate summer with this salad featuring fresh Florida produce and wild-caught Gulf shrimp --perfect for a light dinner on the deck or by the pool. It's one of many recipes available on the "Fresh From Florida" website. Check it out!
Cucumber, Mango and Wild Shrimp Salad
Ingredients:
4 large Florida cucumbers, peeled, and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 large Florida mango, peeled, pitted, and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 pound medium Florida shrimp cooked
3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
3 tablespoons Florida sugar
6 tablespoons French style Dijon mustard
6 tablespoons mayonnaise
3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
Florida hot pepper sauce
10 lettuce leaves
Preparation:
Mix vinegar and sugar in small bowl until sugar completely dissolves. Add mustard and mayonnaise. Cover and chill..
Combine cucumbers, mango, shrimp, and dill in large bowl. Pour dressing over; toss to lightly coat. Season with salt and hot sauce. Arrange 2 lettuce leaves on each plate. Top with shrimp salad. Garnish and serve.
Recipe and photo from Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Affairs.
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| Celebrate In Native Style | |
 Now here's an idea we love...
Our friends at Florida Native Plants Nursery in Sarasota County have launched a new business creating custom bouquets, floral table arrangements and "growing bowls" featuring plants native to Florida.
Imagine a bridal bouquet of blanketflowers, beach sunflowers and wild coffee. Or a stunning centerpiece of silvery buttonwood, broomsedge, and coontie accented with lovely lilac-tinted climbing asters.
Nursery co-founder Laurel Schiller came up with the concept of "William's Wildflowers" (named for her father) as a way to show that native plants can be just as beautiful as calla lilies, baby's breath, roses and other flowers people are more familiar with seeing at events, parties, weddings and trade shows.
Laurel and daughter Annie create and deliver the beautiful arrangements after consulting with their clients on personal preferences and overall theme.
"We are an environmentally friendly option for people who want to champion local and natural at their event," said Annie Schiller, the nursery's co-manager for media and marketing.
They hope to increase appreciation and, hopefully, use of native plants, not just for special occasions but also for everyday enjoyment in our own homes and landscapes.
For more info, check out http://williamswildflowers.com/.
You can also admire their floral creations on Pinterest
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Are you proud of your Florida Yard?
Enter it in the Water-Wise Awards!
It's not too late to enter your landscape in the Community Water-Wise Awards, sponsored by Tampa Bay Water! Deadline is June 30, with awards given to water-conserving landscapes in unincorporated Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties and the cities of New Port Richey, St. Petersburg and Tampa.
 Is your landscape composed mostly of drought-tolerant plants? Have you eliminated or reduced the amount of grass in your yard? Do you use rain barrels to collect water? Do you have pervious pathways that absorb rainfall?
If you answered yes to more than one of these questions, you could be a winner!
We KNOW many of you have water-conserving landscapes; that's why you support Be Floridian! Why not fill out the simple online application for this award? If you meet the minimum criteria, judges will come to your house to check out your landscape in person (and you don't even have to be home when they do).
Even if you don't win, you will receive detailed advice to help you make your landscape more water-thrifty and eco-friendly. What have you got to lose?
Need more motivation? Check out these videos featuring the homeowners who have received Water-Wise Awards in recent years, talking about their yards.
Here's one of the videos, featuring homeowners describing how they decided what plants to use and where to put them in their landscapes.
 | | Tampa Bay Community Water-Wise Awards: Landscape Design and Plant Selection |
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What's Be Floridian?
Be Floridian is an educational campaign sponsored by the Tampa Bay Estuary Program. Our partners include Manatee, Pinellas, and Sarasota counties; the cities of Clearwater, St. Petersburg and Tampa; and a variety of landscape designers, gardening coaches, fertilizer companies and lawn care specialists. We are calling on all Southwest Floridians to help protect what makes Florida so fun -- our bays, lakes, rivers and the Gulf of Mexico -- by skipping the fertilizer in the summer to prevent water pollution and creating landscapes that flourish in harmony with Florida's quirky climate.
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