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Remembering Anne MacKay

The Florida Wildflower Foundation lost one of its brightest guiding lights with the passing of Anne MacKay on September 7, 2025. A founding Florida Wildflower Foundation board member, former chair and devoted advocate for Florida’s natural beauty, Anne’s passion for wildflowers helped shape the Foundation from its earliest days.

Anne was a true champion for Florida's wildflowers. Learn more about her legacy here.

October is Florida Native Plant Month!

It's the perfect time to get out and explore Florida's natural areas, now resplendent with blooming wildflowers. It's also ideal for planting natives in your own landscapes.

We are dedicated to providing all the resources you need to bring Florida's native wildflowers into your life:

• EXPLORE - Learn about our wildflower seasons, find wildflower hotspots and beautiful driving routes.
• GET GROWING - Learn how to incorporate native wildflowers into home and urban landscapes and create habitat networks for pollinators.
• PLANT PROFILES - Discover over 400 species of wildflowers.
• POLLINATOR PROFILES - Explore a growing library of information about Florida's critical little creatures.
• PLANTING GUIDES - Resources to share with your community.

Find all this and more at FlaWildflowers.org



Pollinator Profile: Great Southern White

Like many Floridians, these unassuming butterflies love spending warm, sunny days at the beach — and some of them even get a tan in the summer!

Members of the mustard and cabbage family (Brassicaceae) are the Great southern white’s preferred host plant, including Florida natives Coastal searocket (Cakile lanceolata) and Virginia pepperweed (Lepidium virginicum).

Learn more here!

Photo by Alan Cressler

Fall Bloom Report: False foxglove — a Parasite?!

Florida is home to 17 species of False foxglove (Agalinis spp.) that light up dry sandy landscapes across the state with plentiful pink to purple fall blooms. These wildflowers have developed a fascinating adaptation for surviving in nutrient-poor soils: parasitism! They tap into other plants with specialized roots to gain some of their nutrition.

Learn more here!

Photo: Plukenet's false foxglove (Agalinis plukenetii)

Thank You, Billie!

We were honored to be a part of the Eco-action Village at Billie Eilish's recent tour stops in Miami where we connected with fans to support pollinators!

Across the country, Billie's tour is partnering with local communities to support the environment.

Seedlings for Schools 2024-25 Final Report

During this program year, we funded 40 school gardens across the state, reaching over 7,000 students! Read the report here.

Applications for 2026 open on March 1. Learn more.

Photo courtesy of Lake Orienta Elementary School

A Truly Spooky Story

Picture Halloween night without pumpkins to carve, apples to bob for or chocolate to share. Without pollinators, that scary scene could become reality — because bees, butterflies and other pollinators help produce many of the foods and flavors we love.

Native wildflowers are vital to their survival. By supporting wildflower conservation, you can help keep our pollinators — and our holidays — alive and buzzing. Give today to help make sure this doesn’t become reality.

Native Plant Giveaway!

Saturday, November 8, 11am-2pm

Sumter County Fairgrounds, Bushnell

This year, we've teamed up with the Florida Museum's Daniels Lab to support their Plant for Pollinators program with the goal of building quality habitat for wildlife in urban corridors through native plants! Come out to this family-friendly event to grab your own native plant and learn about supporting pollinators in your landscape! Full details here.

Groundcover Restoration & Enhancement Workshop

Hosted by the UF Native Plant Nursery and UF/IFAS School of Forest, Fisheries, & Geomatics Sciences

Thursday, November 13, 8am-5pm

University of Florida Austin Cary Forest

We are happy to be sponsoring this great collaborative workshop for the third year. This event is designed to solve key issues and advance our collective efforts to restore or enhance diverse native groundcover throughout Florida. Full details here.

Check out our calendar for a full listing of upcoming events across the state!