Welcome to our Florida Wildflower and Butterfly Garden
The sloped expanse on the west side of the McGuire Center awaits a transformation.
The site is prepped and construction of a sidewalk begins.
Segments of the sidewalk cure as others are completed.
Weeks later, Florida wildflowers decorate the landscape and water-saving mulch blankets the bare earth.
Potted trees and shrubs arrive on the south rim.
Once mature, they will serve as a lush green backdrop to accent the rich color in the main sections of the garden.
A visitor enjoys the dancing color.
Flowering plants such as tropical sage and firebush, along with Elliott's lovegrass, serve as a focal point.
Plant identification signs give the common and scientific names.
Dune sunflower is a drier-habitat beach plant, but it adapts in well-drained gardens.
A Gulf Fritillary samples snow squarestem and tropical sage.
A profusion of mixed color resembles a cottage garden.
Afternoon sun drenches tropical sage, which thrives when spent flower heads are pinched off regularly.
Grasses and mulch stabilize the back slope.
A native, but aggressive, marigold rims a nearby pond and complements the wildflower garden.
The last petals cling to a seed head before it falls to the earth, with renewal to begin in the spring.