BROWARD COUNTY COMMISSION
NEWS RELEASE
Parks and Recreation Division ▪ 950 N.W. 38th St., Oakland Park, FL 33309
Phone: 954-357-8100 ▪ Fax: 954-561-5359 ▪ www.broward.org/parks
For Immediate Release
Date: August 26, 2009 Phone: 954-357-8115
From: Michael Mills E-mail: mmills@broward.org
It’s a Sale!
- Fern Forest Nature Center hosts native plant sale and related lectures -
WHAT: Let’s say you’re ready to landscape around your new home. Using a variety of resources – books, friends, nurseries, the Internet – you develop what seems like a suitably varied list: palms (areca, Chinese fan), vines (wandering Jew, pothos/devil’s ivy), a shrub (lantana), trees (schefflera/umbrella tree, weeping fig, orchid tree, mimosa), flowering plants (four o’clock, ground orchid), and fruit trees (mango, guava, sapodilla). Sounds great, right?
Wrong! All these plants (classified variously as non-native, invasive, or exotic) have been accidentally or purposely introduced into the South Florida landscape and have since gone wild in our yards, parks, and natural areas and on our roadsides and canal banks. The vast majority pose no threat, but some grow out of control, competing with native vegetation and gradually displacing it, forever altering ecosystems that have developed over millions of years.
The most notorious invasive plants – Australian pine, melaleuca, and Brazilian pepper – have long been targeted by intensive campaigns to curb their spread. But you can also do your part simply by paying closer attention to what you grow in your own yard. Don’t trust older editions of landscaping guides, which may contain outdated information, and don’t buy plants just because they’re pretty or your friends or neighbors recommend them. And by all means don’t put indiscriminate faith in the Internet, which is rife with misinformation. Finally, don’t toss out houseplants that might take root and spread until they run amok.
The key is educating yourself on what you put into the ground, and for help with that you can turn to Broward County parks. On Saturday, September 12, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Fern Forest Nature Center in Coconut Creek will host its Go Native in Broward County Plant Sale, where you can stock up on plants to help you design beautiful, environmentally friendly landscapes that will save time and money, protect our natural resources, and provide wildlife habitat. Native-plant nurseries and vendors will display and sell plants native to South Florida, including plants suited to butterfly and wildlife gardening. There will also be a Mobile Extension Office with Florida Master Gardeners distributing materials on sustainable landscaping, water and soil conservation, gardening with native species, pruning, butterfly gardening, rain barrels, and integrated pest management; a diagnostic clinic will provide answers to your common gardening questions.
A lecture series will be held in conjunction with the plant sale, featuring the following topics: “What Is Bugging Us Now?” by Sandy Granson of the Parks and Recreation Division’s Extension Education Section (9-9:30 a.m.); “Butterflies/Atala Butterfly” by Sandy Koi of the Friends of the Anne Kolb Nature Center volunteer group (9:40-10:10 a.m.); “Parks Beautification” by Julie Brown of the Parks and Recreation Division’s Markham Park Nursery (10:20-10:50 a.m.); and “Sustainable, Florida-Friendly Landscaping” by John Pipoly, also of Extension Education (11-11:30 a.m.).
WHERE: Fern Forest Nature Center
201 Lyons Rd. South, Coconut Creek
954-970-0150
WHEN: Saturday, September 12
9 a.m.-1 p.m.
WHO: For all ages.
For further information, call Fern Forest at 954-970-0150 or Extension Education at 954-370-3725. The nature center is accessible via Broward County Transit Routes #31 and #42.
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Individuals with disabilities requiring accommodations in order to participate in County programs, services, and activities must contact the Special Populations Section at 954-357-8170 or TTY 954-537-2844 at least ten (10) business days prior to the scheduled meeting or event to request an accommodation.
