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Follow The Flock Quiz
Think you know how to Be Floridian and keep our waterways clean? Take the Be Floridian Challenge from our Sarasota "Follow The Flock" friends and you could win an iPad!
Complete each of the game elements for six chances to win! Questions are about yard runoff, fertilizer, pet waste, pesticides and plant choices. You can also take the Clean Water Pledge to create your own checklist of actions to Protect Our Fun!The iPad winner will be drawn in mid-September.
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Partner Profile:
Tara Solutions
The "Protect Fun" newsletter occasionally features our local business supporters who provide products or services consistent with the Be Floridian mission.
Tampa-based Tara Solutions provides eco-friendly alternatives to fertilizers for both agricultural and residential applications.
Tara's "Banmax" water-soluble, zero-nitrogen fertilizer for turfgrass is now being used by 90 lawn care companies throughout Florida. according to company president Cesar Diaz. Banmax complies with all local fertilizer ordinances barring use of nitrogen and phosphorous. Instead, Diaz said, it contains potassium and a variety of trace minerals to help grass develop durable, healthy roots that are better able to withstand Florida's stressful summers.
"We are always looking at ways to do things different from the way they've always been done, and in a more natural way," Diaz said.
Tara Solutions launched nearly four years ago with a product called Tara 14, that contains nitrogen from urea, humic acid and a variety of trace minerals. Banmax is a nitrogen-free variation of this primary product that Diaz said grew out of industry demand for a nutritional product for lawns that could be used where summer fertilizer bans are in effect.
In addition to Banmax for turfgrass, Tara Solutions produces a variety of natural and organic fertilizers for shrubs, flowers, citrus trees and home vegetable gardens -- as well as nutrients for large-scale commercial crops, groves and orchards.
We are pleased to have Tara Solutions as a Be Floridian partner. To learn more, visit www.taraisgreen.com.
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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 by clicking here
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New Presentation Available: "Healthy Yards, Healthy Waters"
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 The presentation explains the connection between our own yards and the quality of our lakes, rivers and bays, and provides tips for maintaining a healthy yard while complying with local fertilizer laws. Simple strategies for mowing, fertilizing and watering to prevent stormwater pollution are covered.
Contact nanette@tbep.org for more info and scheduling.
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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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 The Flamingos Are On Tour!
Our fabulous, flamboyant flock of artist-painted plastic yard flamingos are now on tour! Look for them at libraries, museums, arts centers and other venues throughout the Tampa Bay region from now through August 2015. They'll be at each stop at least one month.
The Art of Being Floridian exhibit serves as a unique reminder to homeowners to "Skip The Fertilizer" in the summer to protect the waterways that make living here so much fun. The display features 24 flamingos painted by 20 artists from New Port Richey to Avon Park. Each flamingo has its own name which corresponds to its colorful personality.
The plastic pink yard flamingo is a familiar and (mostly)  beloved symbol of Florida yards. That's why we chose it as our "Be Floridian" mascot to help us spread our message!
Come visit our flock at the following venues, and follow us on Facebook as we update their schedule and
post tour photos:
August: Oldsmar Library
September: Art Center Manatee, Bradenton
(Special reception Thursday, Sept. 4 at 6:00 p.m.)
October: Largo Cultural Center
November: Sunken Gardens, St. Petersburg
December: Dunedin Fine Arts Center
January: New Tampa Regional Library
February: Manatee Performing Arts Center, Bradenton
March 2015: Carrollwood Cultural Center, Tampa
April 2015: Museum of Science and Industry, Tampa
May 2015: Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport
June-August 2015: Tampa Bay History Center, Tampa
(in conjunction with Smithsonian's "American Backyard" exhibit)
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Pinellas County Takes "No Fertilizing"
Message to Roadsides
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Motorists along some roadways in Pinellas County are getting a visual nudge to have fun instead of fertilizing their lawn this summer. The portable digital signs rotate through a 3-screen message reminding residents that summer rains mean no fertilizing to protect Pinellas waters. The final screen urges them to skip the fertilizer and go fishing instead. The two sets of signs are being strategically placed along busy roadways in North and South Pinellas, and will be moved every few weeks. The City of Safety Harbor also is again using portable LED signs at key locations to remind its residents not to use nitrogen or phosphorous fertilizers in the summer.
Watch this short video to learn the basics of the Pinellas County fertilizer law, and how to keep your yard and our waters healthy in the summer without nitrogen.
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Plants for True Floridians
Florida NativeStarry RosinweedSilphium astericus
This sunny wildflower is commonly found in sandhills, scrubs, flatwoods and along roadsides of Florida's Gulf coast region. It thrives in sunny locations and is a popular pollinator plant for bees and butterflies. It likes sandy soil and is drought-tolerant and looks great in a wildflower garden. It grows from 2 to 5 feet in height but won't spread very far. Seeds are easy to collect from the deadhead flowers once they are dried. This tall, sunny plant blooms from early spring to late fall.
Florida-Friendly Non-Native
Peacock Ginger 
Pretty Peacock Ginger makes an attractive ground cover. While the tiny lavendar flowers come and go, the bright and dark green patterns on the oval leaves make this a striking ground cover for shady areas. Peacock ginger is a low-growing, low-maintenance plant. It will spread in clusters on the ground or can be used in containers on shady patios and porches with indirect light. It needs regular water and well-drained soil to establish, and is easy to propagate by division, but dies back in winter.
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Recipe for Relaxing
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Yes, it's summer in Florida ... our easy-care yards leave us more time for relaxing in the shade and sipping on a frosty, fruity drink! Toss in chunks of fresh watermelon and citrus slices to make this Passion Fruit and Orange Margarita pretty. Then sit on the porch or around the pool and enjoy!
Passion Fruit & Orange Margarita
4 ounces passion fruit juice
6 ounces tequila
2 ounces orange liqueur
2 ounces freshly squeezed orange juice
1 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons fresh-cracked sea salt
Prepare the glass by running a lime wedge around the rim.
Invert glass, and twist rim in salt.
Fill cocktail shaker with ice.
Pour passion fruit juice, tequila, orange liqueur, orange and lime juices and vanilla extract in cocktail shaker.
Shake the mix vigorously, 50 times or more.
Pour into glass; serve chilled.
Recipe and photo from FreshFromFlorida.com
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An application of iron will help to "green up" your grass in late summer without causing it to grow faster. Graphic courtesy of the Science and Environment Council of Southwest Florida, coordinators of the Sarasota "Follow The Flock" campaign
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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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