Planting Projects
Dig in to our Florida native planting projects.
There are a number of Chapter members who love to get their hands dirty establishing native plants. They help plan the beds, eradicate invasive plant species, and talk to the passerby about native plants. You're welcome to lend a helping hand on any of our active projects. If you're interested, please reach out to us at hcfnps@gmail.com.
Nature Coast Botanical Garden
The Nature Coast Botanical Garden features over 20 themed gardens. Within the Florida Native Plant Demonstration Garden, volunteers from the Hernando Chapter, FNPS, and volunteers from the Spring Hill Garden Club have been removing exotic species at a steady pace since 2012 when Hernando Chapter FNPS adopted the garden. Species such as Camphor trees (Cinnamomum camphora), Air potato (Dioscorea bulbifera) and sword fern (Nephrolepis cordifolia) were choking out the original 2006 plantings and blocking the sunshine.
We encourage you to visit the demonstration garden to experience the plants of our county's sandhills, wetlands and hammocks. We also feature a special exhibition of Florida's native wildflowers. The garden is at 1489 Parker Ave, Spring Hill, FL 34606.
Behind the coonties, the sandhill planting of the Florida native plant demonstration garden explodes into summer bloom.
Challenger K - 8 School Planting
On Sunday February 15th, 2021, members of the Hernando Chapter FNPS assisted with planting a native plant garden at Challenger K-8 School in Spring Hill. This garden was a joint effort with FNPS and Hernando Audubon and is one a series of native plant gardens at the school that have been installed to support pollinators and other native wildlife. Marcie Clutter, the project organizer, is a member of both FNPS and Hernando Audubon, and has volunteered at the school for several years and (prior to COVID-19) led a student Audubon Club.
Hernando UF/IFAS Extension Office Planting
The Extension Service has now released a video capturing the 7-month journey of planting Florida native plants and wildflowers at the UF/IFAS Extension Office Hernando County, Florida. This movie introduces the Master Gardeners who helped design, plant and maintain the native plant gardens. You'll also see the plant species selected for sun and shade, as well as the pollinators that now come to visit.
See the video on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyc2OyHmUc0
Alice Smith, Project Leader for the Extension Office's native plant gardens, has become a very effective ambassador for Florida native plants in our area. She is a Master Gardener, a key member of the Hernando Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society, and a volunteer at the Nature Coast Botanical Garden, coordinating volunteers for the Florida Native Plant Demonstration Garden.
Alice's expertise on native plants has been featured on the Virtual Plant Clinic sponsored by the Extension Service and she brings information on native plants to their Facebook page. For example, see her talk on Native Groundcovers. Thanks to Alice for her efforts to promote Florida's native plants – right on mission!