Biosphere Buzz

April 2014

Sue Scott Bio and Info For The Back Ten Feet
Sue Scott currently works at All Native Garden Center in Fort Meyers. She had her own environmental consulting business after working for the City of Cape Coral for six years, where she created the Cape Coral Friends of Wildlife and The Burrowing Owl Festival. While there, Sue also created and found sponsors for five natural resource brochures, and created Environmentally Speaking, a nature show for the citys government access channel, which she also hosted. Sue has taught classes on landscaping with native plants without chemicals for over ten years.

Inside Biosphere Buzz

What IS The Back Ten Feet?

The Back Ten Feet (of any typical property) is a starting point for converting water wasteful, boring, unproductive turf grass yards into drought tolerant, wildlife friendly, interesting and storm protective landscapes. In The Back Ten Feet, we DO NOT use fertilizers, pesticides or any other man-made chemicals or additives, in order to keep our water clean and our yards safe for children, pets, birds and butterflies. We use flowers, shrubs and trees NATIVE to the region where we live, and we purchase those NATIVE plants from LOCAL native nurseries, in order to ensure the plants we buy are grown in our region and come from stock that is NOT treated with harmful pesticides. http://www.backtenfeet.com/

Sensational Salvias...2 Sensational Salvias..3

What to do in the Garden....4 Upcoming Plant Shows..4

Biosphere Consulting, Inc., 14908 Tilden Road, Winter Garden, Florida 34787 407-656-8277, BiosphereNursery.com Nursery open to the public, Tuesday - Saturday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

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THOSE SENSATIONAL SALVIAS!

This huge group of plants has been used in one form or other by many cultures for medicinal purposes as well as for ornamentation for over 20 centuries. This genus, usually known for their square stems and opposite leaves, are found naturally throughout the world with more than 900 species plus many hybrids and cultivars. At Biosphere we grow a number of species that do well here and provide great habitat value. Following are a few of our favorites. Scarlet Sage (Salvia coccinea) Scarlet sage is a Florida native wildflower. It is an annual but reseeds and grows so prolifically it almost acts like a perennial. This salvia can grow in a variety of areas. Growing in full sun will promote shorter plants but in full shade they will grow up to 3 feet. It is tolerant of sandy well drained soils and is drought tolerant once established. Pineapple Sage (Salvia elegans) This salvia is native to Mexico and Central America. In a highland temperate forest in central Mexico, pineapple sage was found to be one of the three most-visited species by hummingbirds. It is perennial and will grow in full sun to partial shade. It is a small, shrubby salvia typically growing 3x 3. This salvia responds well to light pruning and is drought tolerant.
How to get to Biosphere From Orlando, go west on Colonial Drive (Hwy 50) to Winter Garden. Turn south on Daniels Road and go 3miles. Look for Tilden Road on the right side . Turn right heading west on Tilden Road, go about 1 mile. Look for nursery on the left. Or you can go west on the East-West Expressway (408) to the end where it joins the Florida turnpike (NORTH), take the first exit off (429) then exit immediately to 429 south. Exit at Winter Garden Vineland Road, (CR535), take a left at the stop light to Tilden Road, turn right on Tilden go 1 mile to the nursery on the left. Give us a call (407) 656 8277. We will be happy to help you find your way!

Comptons Salvia (Salvia mexicana 'Compton's Pride' ) Is a semi-woody shrub reaching six feet. Its beautiful glossy leaves have a silvery sheen in full sun. This salvia produces large violet flowers and will grow in deep shade. Originally collected by Englishman James Compton, this selection is a darker, richer color than the standard S. mexicana.

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Indigo Spires (SalviaXIndigo Spires) This is a vigorous hybrid salvia that produces many flowers on 16 spires. It is perennial and the flowers are violet-blue in color. Indigo Spires is a non-stop bloomer and can grow up to 3 feet. Indigo Spires has a tendency to get leggy but it can be pruned back to keep a more desired appearance. Plant this salvia in full sun in well drained soil.

Mystic Spires (Salvia X Mystic Spires) An improved version of Indigo Spires. Mystic Spires keeps a more compact form with dark violet flowers. Plant in full sun in well drained soil.

Hot Lips Salvia (Salvia microphylla Hot Lips) Hot Lips was found near the Chiapas area of Mexico and was introduced by Richard Turner of the Strybing Arboretum in San Francisco, California. This is a unique bi-color salvia that has red tips and white lips. In the hotter months of summer it may have all red and all white flowers on the same plant due to warmer night temperatures, but when the night temperature drops in the fall the flowers will return to their bi-color state. This Salvia is very cold hardy and drought tolerant. Salvia microphylla Hot Lips can reach 30 tall and spread up to 48at maturity.

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Upcoming Plant Shows!

We participate in several plant shows and always enjoy seeing customers visit (and we like to see what our competitors have and how much they charge!) Well see you at each of them April 5 and 6 April 10 and 11 April 19 April 26 and 27 May 9 May 17 Bloom and Grow Garden Club show SPRING FEVER IN THE GARDEN, down town Winter Garden. Sat. 9-5, Sun. 9-4. Many Vendors. Native Plant Show, sponsored by Florida Association of Native Nurseries. Displays and classes all day Thursday and Friday. Sale of Native Plants Friday and Saturday. Osceola Heritage Park. Program Welcome Life Into Your Landscape With speaker Sue Scott of the Back Ten Feet. 10 A.M. in the greenhouse at Biosphere. Take an extra 10% off plant sales on this day. Apopka Art and Foliage Festival. Kit Land Park in Apopka. Sat. 9-5, Sun. 9-4. Open House to show off the new Nehrling Gardens, dinner and wine, tickets $50.00 each to support the gardens. 5:30-8:30. Seminole Springs Herb Farm plant festival. 10-4

SPRING IS HERE (I think!) Get ready to have the most beautiful bioscape in the neighborhood and the most birds and butterflies. 1. Plant a vegetable garden. We have veggie plants available and ready to get in the ground. If you arent a farmer you might want to try simple salad greens and perhaps a few herbs. We have good varieties of red and green lettuce and several types of tomatoes. Anyone can grow these! 2. Flowering pollinator plants look good and also provide a valuable function in attracting the insects so critical on earth. Native wildflowers are especially good and are also hardy. We have a number of varieties. Choose the right plants for high habitat value. 3. Consider taking out one or more small sections of your lawn and planting important shrubs that are functional as well as beautiful. Mulch them thick enough to eliminate weeds and use less water. We consider oak leaves a great resource! 4. Prune back shrubs and fruit trees to make them produce more branches. Dont prune fruit trees if they are already blooming. 5. Add a small water feature for a valuable addition to the habitat. This could be a simple bird bath or a small pond where your resident toad or tree frog can lay eggs. For butterflies use a shallow tray filled with coarse sand for them to puddle. 6. Add at least one or two of the native Seminole Pumpkin we introduced last year. It is a rampant vine so give it a good fence or trellis or let it become a ground cover. Our ancestors in Florida depended on this plant for food and they are very tasty. 7. Get our flyer on creating a butterfly garden and add as many larval host plants as possible. www.BiosphereNursery.com 8. Check out our September, 2013 and October 2013 as well as February 2014 issues of Biosphere Buzz to find more about our nursery, our plants and our ideas! 9. DONT FORGET TO JOIN US AT THE BIG PLANT SHOW, SPRING FEVER IN THE GARDEN, sponsored by the Bloom and Grow Society in downtown Winter Garden this weekend, Saturday and Sunday, April 5 and 6.