American Beautyberry is a Florida Jewel

The American Beautyberry (callicarpa americana) lives up to its name: it is an outstanding shrub of the verbena family that loves northeast Florida so much it grows wild or cultivated with equal ease. Also known simply as beautyberry or French mulberry, this native plant is known for its characteristically eye-catching clusters of purple berries in the summer and fall months.

American Beautyberry responds well to transplanting and will propagate from seed or soft-wood cuttings in soil. Birds are known to eat the berries when there is not much else to eat in the colder months, but it is not their first choice for food. This is good thing so that the beautiful berries remain in the garden. Beautyberry leaves are a known food source for some caterpillars so they make a welcome addition to the a butterfly garden.

Currently in the Palm Coast, Ormond Beach, and St. Augustine area of Florida our beautyberry bushes are just getting their leaves back after a cold season. Soon we will have the tiny lavender flowers that will lead to the lovely magenta berries. Landscapers welcomes your questions regarding hardy species such as American beautyberry for Flagler, St. Johns, and Volusia landscape design - and of course we are also topmost experts when it comes to more sensitive and exotic varieties of plants.

🦚Article by Connie Helena, author of The Green Orchid 🦚

Flower of July: Crape or Crepe, This Myrtle Tree is Florida Friendly

Hello summer and beautiful, colorful crape myrtle trees! One of the first signs of warmer weather in these parts of northeastern Florida is the blossoming of our many crape myrtle trees that, being deciduous, may have died back over the winter and were trimmed and pruned to perfection by a landscaper.

Crape (or crepe - either spelling is fine) myrtle trees are fast growing and retain their blooms for what seems like forever, as long as 120 days to be exact. They come in gorgeous shades of white, purple, pink, and red. Lagerstroemia indica is a rewarding addition to your Florida landscape design.  It is very versatile and can be used in a variety of plantings.

Crape myrtles like a lot of water but they will tolerate dry soils also. They are affordable trees that come in endless choices of types and sizes. Although pruning the trees back is common practice, it is also possible to let them grow to their full size which can be quite large.  You cannot miss the crape myrtle trees in bloom all over North Florida this time of year.

Landscaping pros will gladly incorporate the lovely, hardy crape myrtle tree or shrub into your landscaping plan for your home in Ormond Beach, Daytona Beach, Palm Coast, and the surrounding areas of Florida.  We also design, install, and maintain luxury landscaping in St. Augustine.

Although the crape myrtle is native to India, it is still considered Florida Friendly.  It is drought tolerant and welcoming to pollinators such as bees and butterflies. To see more photographs of this beautiful tree, go to the National Arboretum Crapemyrtle Page.

🦚Article by Connie Helena, author of The Green Orchid 🦚

Florida Friendly Plant: Lantana

Common lantana (lantana camara), also known as shrub verbena, is a lovely summer and fall flowering plant that tends to pop up in the natural landscape on occasion. In the tropical areas where lantana is native, it is evergreen but here in northeast Florida it will die back during frost only to rise again beautifully when spring comes. Lantana is a favorite among butterflies and the less rain the better as more flowers form with drought conditions. Lantana will grow in sun or part shade and will tolerate many different types of soil including poor ones.

If you are lucky enough to have one of the pink/orange lantana bushes grow naturally in your yard, you may like to keep it as part of your xeriscape design. Because of new state laws and views, Florida Friendly landscaping is enjoying a new prominence and lantana is a nice addition to this particular landscape style. In frost-free climates such as Hawaii, lantana is such a hardy grower that it is consider invasive.

🦚Article by Connie Helena, author of The Green Orchid 🦚