Special Projects of the Pinellas Chapter

Shirley's Trail
Stroll this interpretive trail when you visit Heritage Village at Pinewood Cultural Park. It has been planted with tree and shrub species that are native to Pinellas County and which had special uses for Florida pioneers and Native Americans.

In Harmony with Nature
These two complementary educational presentations suggest ways to make choices in your garden that conserve resources, nurture wildlife, preserve a "sense of place" and, of course, include native plant species.

Little Bayou Park

Little Bayou park is in Pinellas Point in southernmost St. Petersburg. It is a 30-acre wild, passive park split into roughly equal halves by a south-flowing stream which spills into Little Bayou. The bayou is a tidal lake with mangrove, buttonwood and other coastal species growing along its edges. Invasive species removal is being done on the south side, in an oak hammock that was filled with air potato, syngonium (arrowhead), runaway native grapevine, Senegal date palms, guinea grass, bamboo, snake plant and pothos. Rubbish from years of dumping has also been removed. An interior, pine flatwoods area had been overrun with shoebutton ardesia, which was what first brought the area to Pinellas FNPS Conservation Chair Ray Wunderlich's attention. Ray enlisted the cooperation of the city of St. Petersburg, which has done a good job in killing the invasives and hauling plant material and rubbish away. Ray has organized several volunteer work days at the park, and the city is continuing to spray the remaining air potato, syngonium and bamboo.

Currently, a SWFWMD grant for $5000.00 is being sought to replant these two areas, and a "Give a day for the Bay" event in cooperation with the Tampa Bay Estuary Program (TBEP) is planned for November 2008, with over 1000 plants and 100 pines to be planted.

 Park at Rainbow & Mars  

MLNP Butterfly Garden

This native garden is just outside the classroom building at Moccasin Lake Nature Park, where we hold our monthly membership meetings. It includes plant species that provide nectar for adult butterflies and larval food for their caterpillars. Native plants in the garden include:

beach sunflower
beautyberry
black-eyed susan
blanket flower
coralbean
elderberry
false indigo
firebush
greeneyes
dotted horsemint
maypop
partridge pea
pineland lantana
privetleaf senna
rosinweed
scorpiontail
tickseed
trailing porterweed
wax myrtle
wild coffee
wild lime


American beautyberry


trailing
porterweed


dotted
horsemint


rosinweed

Click here for a list of plants for Florida butterflies and their caterpillars (PDF file).

Click here to read the article "Attracting Butterflies to your Central Florida Yard" by Hernando Chapter member Sharon LaPlante

Copyright 2003-2008 Florida Native Plant Society --- Revised July 14, 2006
Direct web site comments/corrections/suggestions to Pinellas FNPS Webmaster