Gaillardia pulchella Credit: Photo by Karel Bock Shutterstock

Driving across Florida lends itself to a lot of fantasies about turning your own backyard into something that resembles the wildflower-laden stretches of land that cover parts of the state.

Early comers to the Botanical Gardens at USF’s Tampa campus this weekend will get a tutorial on how to make that dream come true. Dr. Craig Huegel’s “Creating A Wildflower Meadow” talk is just part of this celebration of native Florida plants, which includes chats on landscaping for birds and pollinators, too.

Local businesses and organizations dedicated to conservation and native plants will also be on site as the school’s plants shop knocks 10% off its inventory.

There’s no cover for the native plant open house happening on Saturday, Sept. 15 inside the Botanical Gardens at University of South Florida in Tampa.

Readers are invited to submit their own events to Creative Loafing Tampa Bay’s things to do calendar.

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This article appears in Sep 5-11, 2024.