March in Bloom

There’s so much in bloom this month at USF Botanical Gardens in Tampa. I’m taking you with me.

 

And a few articles worth sharing this month:

From The Bitter Southerner: The fight to save the Indian River Lagoon, the most biodiverse estuary in North America.

Been waiting for this for a long time! Homegrown hero Carlton Ward’s work on the Florida panther is featured in National Geographic. Getting my hands on a print copy as soon as I can to savor these stunning photos. 

Florida finally bans 16 invasive reptiles species

Related: I rode my bike by the fire station dedicated to my grandpa. It was crawling with invasive reptiles. The African redhead agama lizards are spreading like wildfire and they eat our native endangered butterflies. Pictured here with a couple large-headed anoles, which I’ve spotted around my house. 

Thanks for being here! 🙂

10 Comments March in Bloom

  1. Tammy Bearden March 30, 2021 at 5:24 pm

    Beautiful pictures. Thank you for sharing.

    1. suwanneerose March 31, 2021 at 11:42 am

      Thanks, Tammy!

  2. misti March 31, 2021 at 10:15 am

    Thanks for the tour! I miss all of those lovely tropicals!

    1. suwanneerose March 31, 2021 at 11:08 am

      Thanks, Misti! Sorry I didn’t take the time to identify all the plants in the post.

  3. Coley March 31, 2021 at 10:54 am

    That redheaded lizard is equally and fascinating and terrifying. Kinda reminds me of a bomb pop. These pictures gave me a much-needed dose of foliage – I felt like I was walking through the botanical gardens with you!

    1. suwanneerose March 31, 2021 at 11:42 am

      They do look like a bomb pop! The colors are shockingly vivid in person. Both of those in the photo are way bigger than our typical lizards- almost a foot long. It’s definitely creepy seeing how fast these things are taking over.

  4. Mary Ann Shambach April 19, 2021 at 4:06 pm

    Hi there. Get the fish and wildlife app called “Ivegotone”, open the app and post the pic of the lizard and it’s location to report it to them. Glad you visited grandpa’s fire station. If he was there he would have killed it with a pellet gun ?

    1. suwanneerose April 28, 2021 at 9:35 pm

      Thanks for the laugh, Aunt MA! I’ll report those invasive lizards for sure. Love thinking of Grandpa taking a pellet gun to his fire station and eradicating them.

  5. Thomas Plaza May 1, 2021 at 7:54 pm

    Stumbled on your page after researching USF. My wife and 2 cats are moving there for work from the PNW. We were concerned about leaving the natural beauty here, but your page set my mind at ease. You’re work is magnificent and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

    1. suwanneerose May 27, 2021 at 1:58 pm

      That made my day. I know it must be hard to leave the dramatic beauty of the PNW. I love it there, too. There’s still endless untamed beauty here in Florida once you leave the cities behind. If you’re near USF, Hillsborough River State Park is a good place to start. I hope you and your wife are happy here. I know the cats will be!

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