Green Isle Gardens is a nursery that specializes in native Florida plants and wildflowers, with a focus on highland plant species. The nursery has 8 acres in production and offers a wide selection of hard-to-find native trees, shrubs, azaleas, grasses, perennials, ferns and palm trees. You can visit their website for descriptions and images of the plants they offer. If you're looking to start a design with native plants, consider what grows naturally in the area and then find the plants that fit your needs.
Green Isle Gardens also offers a subscription to their annual native plant locator and other information for industry professionals. Bulbs and wildflowers are also well represented at Green Isle Gardens, with native species such as Asclepias, Crinum, Helianthus, several species of Iris, Lobelia, Phlox, Stokesia, Echinacea, Rudbeckia, Spigelia, Sage, Ruellia and Vernonia. The Florida state flower, Coreopsis, is also available. It's important to preserve Florida's native diversity by growing native plants in your garden.
Plant Delights also sells some woody perennials native to Florida such as Erythrina, Amorpha, Nolina, Yucca and Solidago. Florida's semitropical climate and large size mean there is an impressive variety of plants native to the area. Swampy gardens may include Eleocharis, Hibiscus, Hymenocallis and Canna. There are also many interesting candidates for the temperate garden from the oak and pine thicket regions of the upstate.
These include Arisaema, Dryopteris, Thelypteris, Trismeria and Osmunda. FANN will host the South Florida Native Plant Seminar on Wednesesday as a continuing education and networking event for the horticulture and landscaping industry. This one-day workshop focuses on restoring Florida's native vegetation cover and is open to FANN members and native plant partners.
