Spartan Dad's 2nd Annual Ty Cup Fishing Tournament

Pollinators are the key to a healthy ecosystem.  They play a vital role in plant reproduction:  one out of every three bites of our food, including fruits, vegetables, chocolate, coffee, nuts, and spices, is created with the help of pollinators.  At the Abess Center, students study all aspects of a healthy ecosystem:  soil composition, relationships between insects, plants and animals in the ecosystem, the role of sunlight and water, the difference between native and tropical plants, and the impact that humans have on the environment.  They found that native pollinator gardens not only support and increase local biodiversity, but once established, they require very little maintenance, because the plants are supposed to be here.

 

Creating a native pollinator garden can be as simple or as elaborate as your space and imagination can take you! Whether you have a few feet of space on your apartment balcony, a full yard, or several acres of land, you can plant Florida-friendly pollinator plants and make a difference!  Follow this easy step by step guide to build your own pollinator garden and help ensure that the future is filled with pollinators.

Planning Your Garden
Careful planning is essential to creating a successful pollinator garden!  Students in the Abess Center researched pollinator plants that are native to Miami-Dade and Broward County.  Follow our easy steps to make sure you have everything covered before making an investment!

Choosing Your Location
While flowering plants can grow in both shady and sunny locations, consider your pollinator friends!  Butterflies, bees and other pollinators like to bask in the sun, and some of their favorite food sources grow best in full or partial sun, with some protection from the wind.  You may also need to consider the local green iguana population.  Students found that an isolated area near the canal resulted in a loss of plants, as the iguanas ate the flowers, leaves and stems.  In choosing a new location, we chose a spot with more foot traffic that is away from the water.  Also of note, students found that iguanas found non-native tropical varieties of flowering plants to be tastier than the local, native varieties!

Identifying Soil Type and Sunlight
Take a look at your soil - is it sandy and well-drained or more clay-like and wet? You can turn over a test patch or check out the soil mapper for your county to learn more. Your soil type and the amount of sunlight it gets will help determine the kinds of plants you can grow.

 

Choosing Your Plants
Research which varieties of wildflowers do well in your soil and sunlight conditions and are native to your area, especially milkweed and lantana. Tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica is sold at many big box stores and nurseries but is harmful to monarch butterflies.  Because tropical milkweed flowers year round, it interferes with the monarch’s migratory cycle, encouraging them to linger in southern states instead of making their way to Mexico.  Tropical milkweed also carries a parasite, commonly known as OE, that is fatal to monarch butterflies.  Thus, native plants are the ideal choice, because they require less maintenance and tend to be heartier. Find a nursery that specializes in native plants near you - they’ll be familiar with plants that are meant to thrive in your part of the country. Students in the Abess Center have been pleased with the plants at Pro Native Consulting.  It is very important to choose plants that have not been treated with pesticides or insecticides. You’ll also want to focus on selecting perennials to ensure your plants come back each year and don’t require a lot of maintenance.

 

Planting Your Garden
When you’re ready to start planting, you’ll need your seeds or plants along with essentials like gardening tools to break the soil as well as extra soil or compost and mulch.

Prepping Your Garden
If you’re converting an existing lawn, you’ll need to remove grass and current plant cover and turn your soil to loosen it up. If you’re planning on using raised beds or containers, there are a lot of pre-made options available, as well as simple designs to build your own. No matter where you decide to plant your garden, you’ll want to add organic nutrient-rich compost or soil to improve the success of your garden.

Add Variety
In order to have the best possible habitat for pollinators, you need a variety of plant species. This can be achieved even if you have a small garden bed or pot. In South Florida, there are a wide variety of plants that are pollinator friendly. Below is a list of species that are native to Florida. Students in the Abess Center verified that the plants were native by using the Seek app.

• Florida Firebush - Hamelia patens 
• Wild Sage - Lantana involucrata
• Coontie - Zamia integrifolia
• Tropical Sage - Salvia coccinea
• Fog Fruit - Phyla nodiflora
• Giant Milkweed (Crown Flower) - Calotropis gigantea
• East Coast Dune Sunflowers - Helianthus debilis subsp. debilis 
• Wild Lime - Zanthoxylum fagara
• Butterfly Milkweed - Asclepias tuberosa
• Swamp Milkweed - Asclepias incarnata
• American Beautyberry - Callicarpa americana
• Sunshine Mimosa - Mimosa strigillosa
• Corkystem Passionvine - Passiflora palida
• Leavenworth Tickseed - Coreopsis leavenworthii
• Seaside Goldenrod - Solidago sempervirens