Florida Wildflowers - What's blooming?

What's Blooming - Wildflowers in Florida Yards
To report what’s blooming along roads in your yard-mail the site location (and photo, if you have one) to executivedirector@floridawildflowerfoundation.org with “Wildflower Yards” in the subject line. We would prefer that all photos be reduced to 72 dots per inch (dpi) and not larger than 4 to 6 inches wide.

Please note: You must own the rights to any photo you send the Florida Wildflower Foundation. The submission of a photo or photos to the Foundation for this feature gives the organization permission to post it on its Web site. The Foundation is not responsible for photos that are copied from its Web site and displayed elsewhere. Please note the photographer’s name so we can credit him or her.


swamp leather flower (Clematis crispa)	Backyard with woodland sunflowers (Helianthus strumosus) and tall ironweed (Vernonia gigantea)

shiny coneflower (Rudbeckia nitida)	light blue skullcap (Scutellaria integrifolia)

6-22-2009: Despite the general lack of rain in my Pinellas County yard, spring has given way to summer and a host of new wildflowers are in bloom - replacing those of spring. In my backyard, the most noticeable are the woodland sunflowers (Helianthus strumosus) and tall ironweed (Vernonia gigantea). Both of these began blooming in early June and will keep at it for the next month or so.

Along my side yard slope, the black-eyed susans (Rudbeckia hirta) have been joined by yellow coneflower (Ratibida pinnata), and butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa) and the lower wetland wildflower planting adjacent to it has shiny coneflower (Rudbeckia nitida), swamp leather flower (Clematis crispa), and a wide variety of St. John's-worts (Hypericum spp.) and yellow-eyed grass (Xyris spp.).

In the front yard, a great many new wildflowers have joined the regulars in my xeric flatwoods/sandhill garden. The most interesting right now is the soft-hair coneflower (Rudbeckia mollis) and the light blue skullcap (Scutellaria integrifolia). The latter re-seeded throughout the planting area from last year's flowers and they are quite beautiful.

But, the most special of all right now are the scrub morning glory (Bonamia grandiflora) in the front scrub garden and the Bartram's ixia (Calydorea caelestina). Both of these beautiful wildflowers bloom for only short periods in the morning hours, but their exquisite flowers make growing them worth the time.

Reported by Craig Heugel, Pinellas County


Amsonias ciliata	Penstemon australis

Sacoila lanceolata	Amsonias tabernaemontana

5-5-09: As spring marches on, more and more of the wildflowers in my home landscape in Pinellas County start to bloom. A few days ago, my Sacoila lanceolata began opening its flower stalk for another year. Other highlights for me are my two species of blue stars - Amsonia. The tall eastern blue star, Amsonia tabernaemontana occurs in small groupings in my shady forest understory and has bloomed there now the past 3 years. About the same time, I planted several fringed blue star, A. ciliata, in my open "sandhill" planting out front. As sometimes happens, mine are more white than blue. I also have been enjoying my patches of pink beardtongue, Penstemon australis. The attached photo gives clear evidence of where this genus gets its name. I have all three species in various parts of my yard, but this one does best in full sun and sandy soils.

Reported by Craig Huegel, Pinellas County

5-6-09: Despite lack of rain this spring, Tina Drake's Mount Dora wildflower garden is showing plenty of color.

5-10-09: The butterfly garden at Woodville Elementary, Tallahassee, is bursting with wildflowers planted last September. The garden was funded with a grant from the Florida Wildflower Foundation.

- Reported by Lisa Roberts, Photograph by Gary Henry

Phlox-pilosa

4-23-09: Spring is here and almost gone in my yard in Pinellas County. Most of the really early blooming species have finished; the native azaleas (Rhododendron spp.), trillium (Trillium underwoodii), violets (Viola spp.), and green-and-gold (Chrysogonum virginianum) as well as the spring-blooming trees; silverbells (Halesia diptera), fringe trees (Chionanthus virginicus), redbud (Cercis canadensis) and the like.

But, many others are just coming on. In my backyard woodland, I now have lance-leaved coreopsis (Coreopsis lanceolata), Blue star (Amsonia tabernaemontana), little brown jugs (Asarum arifolium), jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum) and green dragon (Arisaema dracontium). What really excites me right now, however, is my fringed campion (Silene polypetala) and my downy phlox (Phlox pilosa). The woodland phlox (Phlox divaricata) is long gone. In my wetland, many of my St. John's-worts (Hypericum spp.) are beginning to bloom, while around the edge the black-eyed susan (Rudbeckia hirta) and rosinweed (Silphium asteriscus) are kicking in. I have developed a scrub and a xeric sandhill/flatwoods garden in the front. In the scrub, many of the woody mints are still blooming. These include the red basil (Calamintha coccinea), Ashe's savory (Calamintha ashei), and two of the conradinas (Conradina canescens and C. grandiflora). My beargrass (Nolina brittoniana) also is in full bloom.

Of course, some plants seem to nearly always be in bloom. My wife, Alexa, and I enjoy these dependable wildflowers that seem to give us just a little color both early in the season and late. These include the green-eyes (Berlandiera subacaulis and B. lyrata), the red salvia (Salvia coccinea), spiderwort (Tradescantia ohiensis), and the blanketflower (Gaillardia pulchella).

At present, we have more than 100 species of herbaceous wildflowers in our home landscape. As the seasons progress, I will be updating you all on what's in bloom here in over-developed Pinellas County.

Silene polypetala

Reported by - Craig Huegel, Pinellas County

4-7-2009: It's spring! The blue flag iris (Iris virginica, above) in my pond is just finishing an exceptionally spectacular show of almost a dozen beautiful flowers. My yard is exploding with blooms of blue-eyed grass (Sisyrinchium atlanticum), tropical sage (Salvia coccinea), tickseed (Coreopsis lanceolata), spiderwort (Tradescantia ohiensis), passionvine (Passiflora incarnata) and more.

Reported by Lisa Roberts, Florida Wildflower Foundation Executive Director

3-25-2009: My crossvine (Bignonia capreolata) is just beautiful right now!
Reported by - Karen Ahlers, Interlachen

11-10-2008: Tina Drake's wildflower garden was full of flowers earlier this fall. Blanketflower (Gaillardia pulchella) and Goldenaster (Chrysopsis mariana) were just two of the plants that caught the eye. Nearby, Spotted beebalm (Monarda punctata) was heavy with blooms.

Photos by Tom Drake

11-1-2008: Mulhy grass and senna are making a fine show for fall in Carol Hebert's West Melbourne yard.

9-10-08: Karin and Walter Taylor's front yard in Winter Park is planted with wildflowers and native plants - no St. Augustine grass anywhere. Seminole County several years ago honored Walter and Karin for their efforts with a citation and a demand that they clean up their "unkempt" yard. The citation was dropped after Walter had a friendly conversation with county representatives about the benefits and beauty of Florida native wildflowers. And in September, more recognition came Karin and Walter's way - the best kind this time - when their front yard was chosen as their subdivision's Yard of the Month!

The yellow flowers are skunk daisies (Verbesina encelioides), the purplish ones are spotted beebalm (Monarda punctata),. There is also red salvia (Salvia coccinea), lovegrasses (Eragrostis spectabilis, Eragrostis elliottii), fountaingrass, Pennisetum setaceum. Others plants not in flower include garberia, Garberia heterophylla, Baptisia lecontii, Muhly grass (Mulenbergia capillaris), greeneyes (Berlandiera subacaulis), goldenrod, Solidago fistulosa. The tree is tulip poplar, Liriodendron tulipifera.

7- 8-2008:These scarlet hibiscus are blooming on corner of Market Street in Apalachicola near Orman House.

Reported by Rosalyn Kilcollins, Magnolia Chapter, Florida Native Plant Society

5-16-2008: Blackeyed Susans (Rudbeckia hirta) keep the butterfly garden in my side yard gay. I won the Rudbeckia and a goldenrod plant (Solidago fistulosa) during a raffle at a meeting of the Tarflower Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society -- another reason to love our FNPS friends! One of the latest visitors spied at dusk in my garden was a hummingbird, which a friend mistook as a moth. It's easy to do in metro Orlando, where the birds are a rare sight.

Reported by Lisa Roberts, Florida Wildflower Foundation executive director, Maitland

5-15-2008: Sanford -- Purple flag, once recovered from the St. Johns River a few generations ago, now is in a magnificent spring bloom in a pond in my back yard.

Reported by Bill Belleville

5-4-2008: Alachua -- FWF board member Terry Zinn has acres of Coreopsis basalis popping up at his farm, Wildflowers of Florida Inc. As soon as they go to seed, the harvesting will begin. He and other Florida wildflower farmers produce thousands of pounds of seeds annually, much of which is used by the Department of Transportation for roadside projects. To learn more about the Wildflower Seed and Plant Growers Association Inc., visit its Web site, www.floridawildflowers.com.

Reported by Terry Zinn

4-19-2008: You would expect nothing less than an abundance of wildflowers in the yard of Dr. Walter K. Taylor, aka "Mr. Florida Wildflower," and his wife, Karin. Why? Taylor is the author of two books on Florida's wildflowers, a professor emeritus of biology at the University of Central Florida and a FWF board member. Here's what he says about "what's blooming" in his front yard:

"The two yellow ones are tickseed (Coreopsis basalis) -- predominate one with dark center -- and skunk daisy (Verbesina encelioides). The white on the left is yarrow (Achilles millefolium), the purple one is spiderwort (Tradescantia ohiensis), and the red in the left corner is coralbean (Erythrina herbacea).

"Other things not readily visible are greeneye (Berlandiera subacaulus), pennyroyal (Philoblephis rigida), pineland wild indigo (Baptisia lecontei), garberia (Garberia heterophylla), moss verbena (Glandularia pulchella), blue-eyed grass (Sisyrinchium angustifolium), polysfoot (Dichondra caroliniensis) and mullein (Verbascum virgatum). The tree is tulip poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera) which is starting to leaf out. Red salvia (Salvia coccinea), Elliott's lovegrass (Eragrostis elliottii) and purple lovegrass (Eragrostis spectabilis) are also in the landscape."

Reported by Karin and Walter Taylor, Winter Park