Having a chapter sponsored native plant garden gives members who are interested in learning more about the cultivation of native plants an opportunity to do so. More importantly, it provides an educational site where the public can actually see native plants and, hopefully, recognize their beauty and incorporate them in their landscape plans. Secondarily, we hope that by providing native larval food and nectar plants we will facilitate an increase in local native butterfly populations.
In January, 2008, a steering committee was organized that decided the garden would have three main elements:
- Groupings of native plants that are especially attractive to butterflies, including numerous native larval plant species, and a diversity of native nectar plants to ensure that nectar is available year round.
- A showcase of Florida endangered or threatened plants as supplied by Bok Tower Gardens from its Center for Plant Conservation nursery.
- Plants representative of those found naturally in our area.
The Committee also established criteria for the garden:
- Plantings that contain a minimum of 75% Florida native plant species. Non-native plants (not exceed 25% of plant species) might include such plants as Scarlet Milkweed, Asclepias curassavica, and Tall Pentas, Pentas lanceolata, which are attractive to butterflies and established large plants already in place, especially those planted as memorials.
- No plants listed as the Category I and II on the current Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council's (FLEPPC) List of Invasive Plant Species.
- Signage with a minimum of common name, scientific name and status of highlighted plants.
We approached Bobbi Rodgers, the Resource Manager at Cedar Point Environmental Park, where several of our members already volunteer, to see if we could establish a native plant garden on the property. Bobbi Rodgers, herself, serves on the Mangrove Chapter Board. Bobbi was wholeheartedly in support of this idea. Since this is a County facility, we contacted Kathy Connor, Parks Division Manager for Charlotte County and again won enthusiastic support for the concept.
An area approximately 3,500 square foot next to the Education Center was selected for the garden site. At that time the area contained a somewhat neglected butterfly garden with few larval food sources and many non-native plants; an overgrown area of Saw Palmetto, Shiny Lyonia and Slash Pine overgrown with Rosary Pea, Grapevines and Smilax; and a grassy area leading to a memorial from the Lemon Bay Conservancy.
Charlotte County gave its permission for the removal of the plants listed as the Category I and II on the Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council's (FLEPPC) 2007 List of Invasive Plant Species, and native plants that are well represented in contingent areas around the Educational Center. Work clearing the garden area and creating paths and beds for the future garden began. The County provided dirt for the beds and mulch for the paths. Our volunteers provided the muscle.
In February, 2008, Cheryl Peterson, Conservation Program Manager, Bok Tower Gardens visited the site and selected 16 species of endangered plants that would be appropriate for the garden. Most of these plants are not native to this area but will provide a public showcase of Florida Endangered plants. We agreed to report the success of the endangered plants in our garden to add to their study of the endangered species growth requirements; specifically how it grows outside its normal geographical range. On March 21, 2008, Cheryl Peterson, Conservation Program Manager, and Dr. Pilar Maul, volunteer, brought 56 plants of 12 species of plants and chose planting locations. Our crew helped with the planting.
In March, 2008 the Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program conditionally approved the micro-grant request for funding for the Cedar Point Environmental Park Butterfly Garden Improvement. Funds from that grant were used to buy a total of 45 plants, representing 30 species. At least 20 volunteers from both Cedar Point Environment Park and the Mangrove Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society helped plant and maintain the plants.
In April, 2008, we were awarded a Chapter Grant from the Florida Native Plant Society providing money for signage. We chose to purchase weather resistant commercial signage simply identifying the plant by common name and scientific name with additional information such as whether the plant is a native, introduced, or endangered plant.