Welcome to our Florida Wildflower and Butterfly Garden

The sloped expanse on the west side of the McGuire Center awaits a transformation.

The site is prepped and construction of a sidewalk begins.

Segments of the sidewalk cure as others are completed.

Weeks later, Florida wildflowers decorate the landscape and water-saving mulch blankets the bare earth.

Potted trees and shrubs arrive on the south rim.

Once mature, they will serve as a lush green backdrop to accent the rich color in the main sections of the garden.

A visitor enjoys the dancing color.

Flowering plants such as tropical sage and firebush, along with Elliott's lovegrass, serve as a focal point.

Plant identification signs give the common and scientific names.

Dune sunflower is a drier-habitat beach plant, but it adapts in well-drained gardens.

A Gulf Fritillary samples snow squarestem and tropical sage.

A profusion of mixed color resembles a cottage garden.

Afternoon sun drenches tropical sage, which thrives when spent flower heads are pinched off regularly.

Grasses and mulch stabilize the back slope.

A native, but aggressive, marigold rims a nearby pond and complements the wildflower garden.

The last petals cling to a seed head before it falls to the earth, with renewal to begin in the spring.