Havana Scullcap, Scutellaria havanensis, is native to the rocklands of Dade County. It has beautiful half inch blue flowers that attract bees, yet not butterflies, and provide seed to many bird species.
Havana Scullcap has rounded half inch leaves and only grows to about 12 inches tall. This is a drought, not salt, tolerant perennial groundcover that expands via underground rhizomes to form a mat. It prefers average soil although the addition of organic matter will improve its appearance.
Individuals planted 18 inches apart form a border and groupings with odd shapes provide a nice base to show off plants like Lignum Vitae, Joewood, various palms and other specimen plants.
Since it doesn’t compete with its neighbors, it can be mixed with other well behaved plants like Coreopsis, Pineland Petunia, Twinflower, mimosa and low grasses like Pineland Dropseed.
This is a natural Loblolly Bay Swamp in Stuart. This picture comes from the east edge of Seabranch Preserve State Park. This is an unusually diverse blend of Swamp Redbay, Slash Pine, Lyonias, Cinnamon Fern, Swamp Fern, Sweetbay Magnolia, Sabal Palms, Sedges, Grasses, Wildflowers and many other species.
If you have a moist portion of your yard with lots of organic matter, this is the kind of plant mix that will give you great pleasure. Please do not purchase Cinnamon Fern unless it is grown from spores at a trusted plant nursery. It is endangered.
Native Bamboo in Gainesville
Wet Canebrake or Giant Cane, Arundinaria gigantea ssp. gigantea, is our only native bamboo and is found in floodplains and streambanks from central Florida to North Carolina and other states. It grows in thickets underneath wetland tree species like Red Maple, Sweetgum, oaks and many others.
A wet area of the yard that is not flooded for long is a good place to create your own Canebrake, or thicket . Just keep in mind that this plant sends out below ground horizontal spikes several feet from the plant. These send up new plants over a large area and must be given lots of room or a barrier.You can also just mow the shoots as they are sent up from the root.
Everglades Solution Hole
This is a natural Solution Hole in Everglades Park. These are sunken areas where the limestone has dissolved underneath the coral rock causing it to collapse.
They may have standing water in the bottom, which is often at groundwater level. You will find many tree species, Chapman’s Cassia, Quailberry, Ferns, Locustberry and wildflowers taking advantage of the moisture.These are watering holes for local birds and wildlife.
The appearance of a Solution Hole can be easily created with various sizes of limerock, or even cement lining a small pit. Don’t forget to add mosquito fish if the water pools for more than two days.
Kalinick Entrance at Six Years
At Six Years, this planting is separating into the various levels of plants that I imagined. Even the Key Thatch and Silver Palms are rising above the Dune Sunflower.
Other trees have been added to the back left including Inkwood and Bahama Strongbark. The Slash Pines here blend in with the Slash Pines naturally occurring in Barwick Park in the background.
Kalinick Entrance at Three Years
After three years, this planting has grown in very nicely. The Dune Sunflower in the front, Slash Pine, Thatch Palms and Firebush in the rear look great. On the right side of the drive are Beach Creeper, Pines and many other species.
The area between the cars is moist to wet most of the year due to runoff from the roof.I took advantage of this and planted Pond Cypress, Needle Palms, Pond Apple and other wetland species.
Kalinick Front Entrance at Three Months
This is the Kalinick home three months after planting. Starting from the foreground are Dune Sunflower, Key Thatch, Southern Slash Pine, and Silver Palm.
This took a lot of work to remove the Purple Nut Sedge and other persistent weeds with chemicals. Cardboard or at least three layers of newspaper with mulch on top would have been easier.This should be done a month before planting.
Start of Abbey Delray Butterfly Garden in June, 2023
This is the start of the butterfly garden at Abbey Delray, a retirement community in Delray Beach. Some Rosemary was left along with a specimen Jatropha.
Abbey Delray Butterfly Garden at Four Months.
In just four months, from June to October, the bare site above top has grown into a crowd pleasing garden with several species of butterflies breeding here. These include Zebra Longwings, several types of Sulfur butterflies, Giant Swallowtails, Monarchs and Atala Hairstreaks. Hopefully Palemedes Swallowtails, Gulf Fritillaries and Ruddy Daggerwings will come too.
The shrubs and trees include Redbay, Shortleaf Fig, Blackbead, Inkwood, Firebush, Coontie, Chapman’s Cassia, Bahama Strongbark and Pavonia. Most of the flowers are long lived and include: Twinflower, Silkgrass, Fogfruit, Mimosa and Seaside Goldenrod.
The short lived wildflowers include: Gaillardia, Southern Beebalm, and Southeast Sunflower. These provide a burst of color, but will need to be cut back and fertilized in order to regrow and bloom again. It may be necessary to rub the seedheads over the ground and nurture the seedlings that come up or just replant these again next year.
Delray Historical society Foundation Planting
Going from left to right is Snowberry, Bahama Strongbark, Florida Boxwood, Simpson Stopper and Firebush.
Delray Historical Society Florida Keys Planting
Instead of a boring foundation planting, try this mix of plants native to our Florida Keys. These include: Saw Palmetto, Necklace Pod, Marlberry, Paradise Tree, Myrsine, Coralbean, Dune Sunflower, Seaside Goldenrod and Maidenberry.
