www.ficus.usf.edu/orgs/suncoast www.suncoastnps.org The Suncoast Grapevine Newsletter of the Suncoast Native Plant Society, Inc. Volume 35 Number 5 May 2018 MAY CHAPTER MEETING At the Hillsborough County Extension Office Open Mic Presented by You Wednesday, May 9, 7 PM Due to the FNPS conference, this is an earlier week than normal. Bring a few of your favorite pictures of natives in the wild, come with questions about natives or update us on your native plantings in your yard. We hope to see or hear about the projects our volunteers are working on and we also generally request updates from grant recipients. NO Politics or Sales Pitches Please. Light refreshments are served and a native plant auction follows the presentation. - submitted by Virginia Overstreet Some polygalas at Blackwater Creek Preserve -- The Florida Native Plant Society was organized in 1980 to promote the preservation, conservation, and restoration of the native plants and native plant communities of Florida. For more information about the Florida Native Plant Society, please visit our web site: www.fnps.org The Suncoast Grapevine - May 2018 Page 1
UPCOMING SPEAKERS- June 20 - Rachel Arndt Tampa Bay Watch July 18 - Joint meeting with Sierra and Audubon, Audubon is host August 15 - TBD September 19 George Heinrich - Gopher Tortoises October 17 - Ginny Stibolt - new book A Step-by-Step Guide to a Florida Native Yard Page 2 The Suncoast Grapevine - May 2018 Thanks for helping with the April meeting - Barbara and Mike Fite for bringing snacks & Cake! JoAnn Hoffman, Bunny Worth, Janet Bowers for bringing auction plants Special Thank Yous - JoAnn Hoffman for being our extension liason and making our meeting place possible. Joel Jackson for being the plant auctioneer. Devon Higginbotham for greeting people at the door.
USF Plant Sale - April 14 & 15 The threat of severe weather cut our Spring Plant Sale short on Sunday but it was still a successful two days. SNPS had a net profit of over $2000 and brought in 10 new memberships and a renewal. The sale is vital to the work we do. Our plant sale profits pay for grants to the USF Herbarium, to public access native plant gardens around Hillsborough County and to school and community groups doing natural area restoration projects. They also enable us to give honorariums to speakers, reimburse for refreshments and pay the day-to-day operating costs of our organization. We could not do this without the help of our dedicated volunteers (and the SNPS Board of directors ~ added by newsletter editor). Troy Springer makes the sale possible through his contacts with the native plant nurseries. He orders and delivers the plants and works with the nurseries to get the best possible selection as well as good prices. Please show your appreciation for Troy by sending business his way! (Springer Environmental) Cliff Brown and Steve Farnsworth also provide a great selection of trees and plants for the sale. The sale is three days of nonstop labor from setup Friday morning to breakdown Sunday afternoon. We had a full crew on Friday to unload plants from Troy s truck, set up tables and sales areas and put out the plant ids. Mike, Nancy, Frank, Bunny, Nanette, Linda, Niki and Virginia worked really hard to get us ready for Saturday. A special thanks to Devon who carried everything over from the storage shed in her truck. Saturday morning is the busiest 3 or 4 hours of the weekend. We probably make half our sales in this one period before noon. Devon, Virginia, Nanette, Niki, Jane and Joel managed the crush of people with great skill but we could have used more help on Saturday morning. It is to our credit that I heard no complaints from the many customers. They left happy with their purchases and our friendly service. I am especially grateful to everyone who worked this shift and who like Joel and Jane, stayed late to keep helping. Janice, Virginia, Nanette and I closed out the day with very few plants left on Saturday. Sunday morning, Andy and I opened up with very little to sell except memberships and books but we did sell those and made some new friends for our organization. We hope to see some of you at the next meeting. Pat, Mike, Niki, Bunny, Janet and Nancy were all there by noon Sunday so that when USF decided to close the sale early, we were able to pack up and move out before the wind and the rain became a problem. Niki carried the canopy and stakes back to the storage shed for us. Thank you to everyone! The Fall Plant Festival is October 13 and 14 with set up on October 12. Please mark your calendars and save a few hours of your weekend to help SNPS have a successful fall sale. We cannot do this without the help of all of our members. Thank You, Tina Patterson SNPS secretary The Suncoast Grapevine - May 2018 Page 3
FNPS News. The 2018 Annual Conference will be held at the Miccosukee Resort in Miami, Florida (500 S.W. 177th Avenue, Miami, FL 33194), May 1720, 2018. The fieldtrips look great, more info at www.fnps.org/conference/2018 Lettuce Lake Update SNPS News Don t forget to send Tina any volunteer hours so that she can enter it on the FNPS website We need new Board members - please let Tina or Virginia know if you can help. If you are interested in attending a Board meeting please check with Tina or Virginia to get the details From Tina Patterson Joel Jackson has completed native plant informational signs for 4 county parks, including Lettuce Lake. The county provided concrete, stone-look edging to line the mulched path next to the garden. On Saturday, April 21, Joel and I and a new student volunteer and his mother, laid the stones and replaced the garden signs at Lettuce Lake as well as putting out new signs identifying important native plants along the park's paved trail. Lettuce Lake is the county's busiest park, so the new signs will provide an educational experience to thousands of visitors. The stones help to invite visitors to walk into the garden area. New signs from Joel Roots and Shoots, the University of Tampa ecology and environment club (sponsored by the Jane Goodall FoundaNew path edging tion), sent a dozen volunteers to the park on Saturday, also, They took canoes out onto the Hillsborough River in the morning and picked up trash from the waterways. After noon, they pulled Caesar weed and skunk vine in the area near the visitor's center and helped Joel dismantle and pack up the old signs. They even took some of the old stakes to recycle in their garden. In addition to Lettuce Lake Park, the three other county park native gardens are; Trout Creek, Morris Bridge (maintained by Mike Fite) and Flatwoods (maintained by Mary Miller.) Roots and Shoots SNPS is very grateful for the support of our volunteers! The next Lettuce Lake native plant walk is May 26. The walk is free but there is a $2 per car entry fee. See you there! Mark Your Calendar May 12 Letter Carriers' Food Drive - put Non-Perishable Donation by mailbox for local food bank May 12 Rosebud Continuum Open House, 9:00 AM 1:00 PM, 22843 Hale Road, Land O Lakes, FL 34638 May 17-20 FNPS Annual Conference in Miami www.fnps.org/conference/2018 May 26 Lettuce Lake Walk 9:00 AM, meet by the Audubon Resource Center building May 29 United Way volunteers at HCC garden in Plant City More Lettuce Lake walks 9 AM - June 23, September 22, October 27, November 24 October 13 and 14 Tampa Bay Birding and Nature Festival Page 4 The Suncoast Grapevine - May 2018
Our fieldtrip to Duette was great! We appreciate Steve Dickman arranging the details. Michael Elswick from Manatee County took us out on a wagon trip to see some remote spots that would have been too far to walk to. It was a wonderful morning and we saw several scrub jays as well as native plants. There were a lot of bluehearts, candyroot (Polygala nana) and roselings. Scrub Jay by Mike Fite In the scrub we saw Bonamia grandiflora vine, scrub rosemary, gopher apple and scrub oaks. A few of us stopped at Sweet Bay Nursery to get some plants before we headed home. More pictures on Meetup - https:// www.meetup.com/suncoast-native-plant-society/ photos/28803872/470368435/ Ceratiola ericoides Scrub rosemary Scrub oak MAY 26 FIELD TRIP AT LETTUCE LAKE PARK 9 AM by the Native Plant Garden Join us at Lettuce Lake Park for our monthly walk, there should be some good flowers blooming and the boardwalk is always a great place to get outside. Joel Jackson s new signs are installed and the native plant garden path has been updated with bordering stones. (see page 4 for pictures) The walk is free but there is a $2 per car entry fee. 2018 Field Trip schedule June 9-9AM Open house and plant sale at Troy Springer s more info to come... July - no fieldtrip, this is a good month to visit your local native nursery during the rainy season August - no fieldtrip September 22 - Polk county sites -more info to come October 27-29 - Silver Springs State Park camping, we have 2 cabins reserved - $ 62.73 per person (4 per cabin) Camping reservations for RV or tent sites can be made on your own, but should be made soon. The park entrance, campground restrooms and cabin areas were landscaped with donations from FANN and feature an incredible display of garberia which we hope will be blooming when we are there. The park staff does a good job of burning the sandhill and an October visit gives us a great chance to see prolific fall wildflowers. Contact Tina Patterson, mablepatterson@hotmail.com for cabin reservations. November - Blackwater Creek Preserve The Suncoast Grapevine - May 2018 Page 5
INTERVIEW WITH OUR NEWEST LEADER Our new Suncoast chapter Treasurer, Nicole Cribbs Question: Where did you grow up and who inspired your interest in plants? Answer: I was born in Vermont but grew up in upstate New York on my grandparent s dairy farm. My dad is an Electrical Engineer with IBM so we moved, first to Virginia then Florida. My grandparents grew corn and silage for the cows but I wasn t inspired to take an interest in plants until college. Question: What developed your interest in native plants? Answer: While in college at USF I volunteered for The Nature Conservancy on a scrub survey and realized there are native AND non-native habitats and they are not the same. Plus I like to be outdoors. It s where I feel at home. Question: What are your goals and what do you hope to accomplish in 2018 on the Suncoast board? Answer: Never having been a Treasurer for a non-profit before, I would like to identify ways to help the Suncoast chapter get our name better known and to reach new audiences. Gar did such a great job with the Treasurer position, I want to do as well as he did! Question: What is your favorite Florida native plant? Answer: It would have to be a scrub plant. Probably the Fringe Tree, Chionanthus virginicus, because it s just so beautiful when it blooms and the habitat it grows in. When the flowers pop out, you know it s spring. - from Devon Higginbotham Page 6 The Suncoast Grapevine - May 2018
Plant Profile - Coreopsis, tickseed Coreopsis spp. Family - Asteraceae Look in most of the unmowed ditches in our area these days and you are likely to see a yellow coreopsis there. Several species easily reseed every year. Plants can be started from seed or potted plants and are widely available. Coreopsis leavenworthii is an annual that grows in full sun with average to dry moisture. Coreopsis lanceolata, lance-leaved tickseed, is also an annual and can tolerate part shade. Coreopsis gladiata, southeastern tickseed, is a perennial that prefers sun. Plant Atlas link - http://florida.plantatlas.usf.edu/genus.aspx?id=356 FNPS link - http://www.fnps.org/plants/plant/coreopsis-leavenworthii ~Janet Bowers Coming soon June 9, 9 AM An open house at Troy Springer s yard in Plant City to see how great natives can look! Plus a plant sale to take some of them home to your yard. Stay tuned, more information coming. Plant City HCC Garden Update May 29th United Way volunteers will help install the walkway by our ditch area. We will need SNPS leaders for this event. We also need to get some weeding and tidying done. ~Janet Bowers Join FNPS on-line - http://fnps.org/participate/membershipinfo When it comes time to renew, FNPS will send you an email with a link in it. Your information will already be filled out, but you can edit it if it is out of date. This link is unique to you and not to be shared with others. The Suncoast Grapevine - May 2018 Page 7
Activities & Committee Chairs Field Trips (813) Shirley Denton 625-5031 Stephen Dickman 597-5888 Librarian Vikki Sinclair 989-2896 Membership Devon Higginbotham 478-1183 Newsletter Editor Janet Bowers 759-2822 Mike Fite, Assistant 977-0892 Publicity/Social media Andy Taylor Outreach Open USF Plant Sales Open USF Botanical Garden Liaison Kim Hutton 974-2329 Chapter Representative Virginia Overstreet Webmaster Shirley Denton 625-5031 Newsletter Submissions Deadline for the next issue: June 1, 2018 Please send articles and original artwork for The Suncoast Grapevine to Janet Bowers, by the deadline above- jbowers27@yahoo.com SNPS Web Address http://www.suncoastnps.org We re on Meet Up & Facebook Meetings are normally the third Wednesday of the month at 7 PM. (no December meeting) DIRECTIONS TO: Hillsborough County Extension 5339 County Road 579 Seffner Take I-4 to Exit 10 Go south on 579 for two blocks. Turn left on Old Hillsborough Ave and park on the North side of the office. 2018 Board of Directors President Open Vice-president Virginia Overstreet voverstr@tampabay.rr.com Treasurer Niki Cribbs cribbs813@gmail.com Suncoast Chapter of Florida Native Plant Society, Inc. P.O. Box 1158 Seffner, FL 33583-1158 Please deliver to: Secretary Tina Patterson mablepatterson@hotmail.com Board Members at Large Andy Taylor andytaylor6@gmail.com Page 8 The Suncoast Grapevine - May 2018