Attracting Birds and Bees With Native Plants
Plus, DeSantis v. Newsom, new restaurant openings, Mel the kitty, and Tampa Bay's best news roundup.
December already? In today's Navigator, Virginia Overstreet goes native. As president of the local chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society, her Seminole Heights yard embodies the native plant spirit, though it's not 100 percent native. "I do have a couple of other things. I love my cacti and succulents and orchids, but nothing in my garden is invasive. It's not high maintenance." You can learn form her mistakes, she promises. Plus, new restaurant openings, Mel the kitty needs a home, and the Tampa Bay Area's best news roundup.
CURRENTS
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TOP NEWS
U.S. Senate committee probes Citizens Property Insurance’s solvency, viability. Florida Politics
Tampa banning plastic bags from yard waste collection. ABC Action News
Tampa Police Department launches new technology for real-time updates for victims of crime. Fox 13 News
Viniks give $1.5M to Florida Aquarium in Tampa for major expansion. Tampa Bay Times $
Tampa Water Department to evaluate lead pipes in city after EPA proposal to replace them nationwide. Fox 13 News
'Cut down at an alarming rate': Tampa's urban tree canopy decreases by more than 12%. ABC Action News
Does Tampa Bay have a shot at being a hub for tech business? Business Observer $
For Republican governors, civics is the latest education battleground. The New York Times $
DeSantis calls for resignation of embattled Florida GOP chairman. The Washington Post $
Florida Supreme Court calls for adding two county court judges in Hillsborough. WMNF
TODAY’S SPONSOR
Free childcare AND a paycheck: Mary’s Little Lamb Preschool at 7311 N. Armenia Ave. in Tampa is a nationally accredited preschool seeking a qualified toddler teacher or teaching assistant. The ideal candidate must be creative, energetic, dependable, nurturing, patient, have a passion about the growth and development of the children, and be a team player. Requirements: pass a level 2 background screening, high school diploma or higher, completed or willing to start and complete the DCF 45 training hours, get CPR/First aid certified.
Interested in sponsoring the Navigator? We should talk.
BRIEFS
NEWS
Native Plant Input: The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is seeking public input on a draft addendum to the State Wildlife Action Plan. The addendum would incorporate 596 native plant species into the state’s Species of Greatest Conservation Need list. Such species are declining or are at risk of becoming imperiled in the future. Key information in the addendum will be presented at a public webinar on Thursday, Nov. 30, from 11 a.m.-noon EST. Information on joining the webinar and a copy of the presentation will be posted on the FWC’s State Wildlife Action Plan web page at MyFWC.com/SWAP. Written comments are being accepted via survey until Dec. 15.
Greenways Update: Hillsborough County residents have been learning about Hillsborough’s Greenways Master Plan and providing feedback on the future of paved and unpaved trails and recreational waterways. The feedback has informed the design of a new draft master plan to replace the original Greenways Master Plan. Residents are invited to visit the virtual engagement hub through Monday, Dec. 4, review the plan, and provide comments. On Wednesday, Dec. 6, the Hillsborough Greenways Committee will discuss, make changes, and put its stamp of approval on the Greenways Master Plan. Once approved, the Greenways Master Plan will be presented to the Board of County Commissioners for approval in early 2024.
Building Re-dedication: Hillsborough County Tax Collector Nancy
C. Millan hosted on Monday a grand re-opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate a 5,000-square-foot expansion project at the Tax Collector's North Tampa branch. The building was re-dedicated to the late Mary Alice Dorsett, a Tampa citizen and passionate advocate for the African-American community. Members of her family attended the re-dedication ceremony. The newly expanded North Tampa facility offers more lobby seating, customer service stations, and written driving test stations.
Adoption Fees Waived: SPCA Tampa Bay is waiving adoption fees on pocket pets — small birds, rabbits and guinea pigs — today through Dec. 31. More than 60 furry, fluffy, or bouncy animals in all shapes and sizes are awaiting homes. Meet them at the For-All shelter in Largo. Check SPCATampaBay.org/locations for adoption hours.
Another Panther Fatality: The remains of a 5-year-old male Florida panther (UCFP449) were collected on Sunday on U.S. Hwy 27, south of SR 17, in Glades County. The suspected cause of death was vehicle collision, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Report injured or dead panthers to the FWC Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-FWCC (3922).
Got news? Send it here.
11 QUESTIONS FOR VIRGINIA OVERSTREET
By Judith M. Gallman
Going Native
Virginia Overstreet of Tampa is a retired naval officer and the president of the Suncoast Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society, even though she lacks a background in horticulture or botany. She lives in a Seminole Heights bungalow with a small yard bursting with Florida native plants. Early on, Overstreet made many gardening mistakes. An interest in drought-tolerant plants and planting for wildlife led her to take classes through her local county extension service, and she ultimately joined the society. Here’s what she had to say about going native in Tampa.
What’s the mission of the Florida Native Plant Society?
We are absolutely not a garden club. … Our mission is to preserve and conserve Florida's native plants and native plant communities. We educate the public by encouraging them to use native plants in their landscapes and to help them identify native plants when they go hiking, camping, and cycling, or whatever, through our parks and preserves.
How does it fulfill that mission?
We go out on hikes, and sometimes at least one or two people in the group will know what a plant is that’s blooming, but if not, we'll stay there until we identify it. We've got a lot of good photographers, and if you follow us on Facebook or Instagram, you'll see a lot of the photography. I recently wrote a letter to the Plant City Florida Commissioners because there's a developer who wants to put in a large warehouse next to a wetland here in Hillsborough County. The construction of a large development like that could damage the wetland, which in turn, will cause the plants, animals, and birds that live there to either die or move away. It's things like that, and sometimes we'll hear about what we call a ‘plant rescue.’
What’s a ‘plant rescue’?
An approved development, but the developer will say, ‘Hey, there's all these plants out here, and I know they're native. Y'all have two months to come dig them up.’ Things like that happen, all which is good. Unfortunately, there's a lot of that that doesn't happen. They literally just pull those.
Can you give me any advice for somebody who likes the look of broad-leafed tropical plants?
You can't really say that one particular plant will do well throughout Florida, because if you think about the zones and the climates within — you can really divide Florida into three areas: the north, central, and the south. Some things that will do great in the Miami area are going to get killed during a Tallahassee winter. Not everything is salt tolerant. People who are fortunate enough to live on the coast have to be aware of that, whereas the people in Orlando really don't.
What about the Tampa Bay Area?
When you're buying a new plant, you have to think about a few things. What kind of light that plant wants, does it require water, because some native plants do require supplemental irrigation. But the most important thing is its mature size, because you don't want to get a native plant that's going to get 8 feet tall and put it underneath a window where you really want to maintain it at 4 feet. If you're constantly pruning it, it's not going to set buds and have flowers and fruit, which is what you want to attract the wildlife. There's one that I really like: ornamental coffee [Psychotria nervosa]. The berries look like coffee, but it is ornamental, and the birds like it. There's another one called Teabush [Melochia tomentosa]. It's really more of a south Florida plant. I've had it for about five years, and it is covered with bees from sunup to sundown. If you want to prune it, you have to go out there at sunset.
Can you talk a little bit about natives that particularly like shade or grow well in shade?
The ornamental coffee. There's another one, Marlberry [Ardisia escalloniodes], and it gets really big, up to 10 feet tall. It's nice to put along a fence line on your property line, but they will need some sun, too. They produce a black berry that birds love. It's always nice to have plants in the landscape, especially if they have berries on them during the winter, to provide a food source for our native birds and also migratory birds coming through.
What are some common misconceptions people have about native plant gardens?
They think that a native garden is low maintenance, or rather, unfortunately, no maintenance. Now, there is maintenance involved, and that's in weed control, because if you've got a native garden, and you're gardening to support wildlife, it makes no sense to go out there and constantly spray herbicides on weeds. You need to get out there and either you hand-pull them, or you hire someone to do it, and then mulch with pine straw or leaves, a native mulch. Don't buy chipped bag cypress from Home Depot or Lowe's, because that takes away our cypress trees. For the most part, it is less maintenance than a garden that has a lot of tropical plants that constantly need to be pruned.
When it comes to native plants and what's good for bees, butterflies and birds, is what's good for one good for the others?
If you want to track the butterflies, you've got to have plants that flower and produce a lot of pollen. And if you want to attract the birds, you've got to have plants that produce berries. But also if you've got plants that are the ‘host plant’ for the butterflies — where they lay their eggs that then hatch into caterpillars — you'll have a lot of butterflies, but that's good to attract birds. Birds come down, and they will eat. They will get the caterpillars and take them back to their nests. If you've got a lot of native plants, especially native trees, you're going to have more birds in your landscape. The birds like to eat bugs, and we have a saying out there: ‘good bugs eat bad bugs.’ The less you use pesticides, the less you need them, because the good bugs will be interested in eating plants. The lizards will eat them. Yes, sometimes I still jump when I see a snake, a black racer or our Florida ring-necked snake, but they love roaches, so why would you want to kill something that eats roaches for you?
What's a good way for people to get involved with native plants?
Join the Native Plant Society chapter in their county. Also, follow us on social media. We have a lot of good articles and links to other articles, and people will post photos of what's blooming in their gardens. We also do field trips, go on hikes, and those are open to the public. We have meetings once a month, on the third Wednesday of the month, and some are in person and some are on Zoom. At a meeting, and just ask questions. You're not going to offend anybody. Also, here in Hillsborough County, we have a fabulous library system, and if you just go on their website and do a search on ‘Florida native plants,’ you'll get all sorts of books.
Is there anything that's sort of the most Florida of all the native plants?
No, not really, but that is a very good question. Some people love trees because of the birds, and they will say, ‘oh, oak trees, or saw palmetto,’ which is our native tree, or ‘the hollys, those are the best native plants out there.’ Whereas someone who really likes having butterflies, they will say, ‘oh, no, Firebush [Hamelia paten] is the best.’ Or somebody who likes birds will say, ‘oh, no, coffee and Beautyberries [Callicarpa americana] are the best native plants’. So it depends on what your interest is. The answer is it depends.
Any other advice?
We really encourage you to just reach out and ask questions. If you're thinking about incorporating more natives into your landscape, take your time. People jump into it, and they just buy so many plants because at the nurseries, they'll look beautiful, and then they'll get home and then do the research. Then they'll realize, ‘oh, my goodness, this plant gets 12 feet tall and has thorns. I can't plan it right next to the front door.’ So take your time and do your research. I encourage people to visit a Florida native nursery, one attached to the Florida Association of Native Nurseries. Go there the first time with no intentions. Take pictures and ask questions. The signage is outstanding at those native nurseries. There will be a sign at each plant that will say how big it gets, what kind of light it requires, what kind of wildlife it supports, that type of thing. Take photos of those. That's really a good idea. Know the plants’ mature size. You might think it's funny if you buy three plants and you plant them 6 feet apart. The first year they might look kind of funny and lonely out there, but after a few years, if they're all going to be 4 feet wide and 6 feet tall, you're going to have a beautiful mass planting, and they'll all do better because the root systems of all three plants are not down there competing for water and nutrients in the soil.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
BITES
New Restaurant Openings
There is no shortage of new restaurants coming to the Tampa Bay Area. Here’s a list of places. Some are now open; others are coming. Call ahead before visiting.
Ash, 420 S. Nebraska Ave., Tampa: new from Chef Ferrell Alvarez newly anticipated restaurant on the ground floor of Asher Tampa, a residential high-rise (early spring 2024).
HCK Hot Chicken, 3343 S. Westshore Blvd., Tampa: spicy chicken fast-casual restaurant chain (HCK stands for Hot Chickn Kitchn) (grand opening Dec. 9). Creative Loafing
Happy Lemon, 11642 Dale Mabry Hwy., Tampa: bubble tea, juices, slushies, smoothies, and waffles.
Jekyll, 1500 W. Swann Ave. (behind Sesame): a chic, reservation-only speakeasy.
Late Start Brewing, 1018 E. Cass St., Downtown Tampa: long-awaited brick-and-mortar brewery with elevated pub eats, a wide variety of beers, and eats from associated Late Start Coffee (opening in early 2024). What Now Tampa
Lunar Coffee, 10929 N. 56th St., Temple Terrace: Craft coffee with an Asian orientation. Carlos Eats
Talkin’ Tacos, 1819 E. Fowler Ave., Tampa: tacos, tacos, and more tacos from a former food truck that’s now a chain (opening spring 2024). What Now Tampa
Ten Rooms Ybor, Centro Espanol building, 1536 E. Seventh Ave., Ybor City, Tampa: a new “creative food and retail hub” offering a art, dining experiences, shopping, small bites, and private event space. (opening before the end of December)
Trellis at Buchman, 1910 E. Seventh Ave., Ybor City, Tampa: beer and wine bar and lounge with lots o’ brews on tap, 10 wines on tap, and a wine and bottled craft beer selection.
Know of a new place to eat or drink? Send us a menu.
YOU NEED A PET
This little girl is Mel, a domestic medium-hair cat. Weighing in at 3.76 pounds, she’s about 3 months old and can be found at Humane Society Tampa Bay. Here’s what she has to say: “Not gonna lie: I am a pretty amazing cat and I am willing to give you some of my time. Bring tuna or chicken to our date. I came in as a stray, but I'm waiting for my new home!” 3607 N. Armenia Ave., Tampa, 813-876-7138. HumaneSocetyTampa.org, Adopt@HumaneSocietyTampa.org
OTHER NEWS
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BAY AREA
Water restrictions take effect across Tampa area. Spectrum Bay News 9
Retired Hillsborough County transportation leader Beth Alden ponders what went wrong. Tampa Bay Business Journal $
HCA nurses rally to denounce understaffing, unsafe conditions at hospitals. Florida Phoenix
Used car prices fall, but still exceed pre-pandemic levels. WUSF
Robbery suspect arrested in deadly stabbing at Tampa construction site, found with victim’s belongings: HCSO. Fox 13 News
V.M. Ybor residents get little help with sex offender problem. News Channel 8
Tampa police investigating case of woman accused of posing as student for sexual explotation. ABC Action News
Riverview’s population growth seventh-highest in country. Stacker
Tampa rent prices keep rising. How are USF students managing? The Oracle
FLORIDA
Florida cops who use deadly force can no longer hide identities through Marsy's Law, says Supreme Court. Creative Loafing
Industry groups urge the Supreme Court to reject a Florida tech law. WUSF
Florida has yet to release results from its new teen health survey. ABC Action News
POLITICS
It was Hannity and DeSantis v. Newsom in messy Fox debate. Politico
Fact-checking Newsom-DeSantis debate: Immigration, abortion, book bans and a poop map. Politifact
The Ron DeSantis and Gavin Newsom economies, in 8 charts. Politifact
Kathy Castor slams Mike Johnson, Vern Buchanan for cheering airport expansion after voting against funding. Florida Politics
New survey of Florida Latino voters say 79% want Medicaid expansion. Florida Phoenix
To combat climate change, builders create greener—and tougher—homes. The Wall Street Journal $
LEISURE
St. Petersburg First Friday event is suspended indefinitely. WUSF
Christmas, Hanukkah events In Tampa: Parades, tree lightings, more. Patch
No. 4 FSU faces off against No. 15 Louisville for the ACC crown. Tomahawk Nation
Mike Norvell named ACC Coach of the Year. Tomahawk Nation
Jordan Travis voted as ACC Player of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year. Tomahawk Nation
USF Women’s Basketball just broke the program’s all-time attendance record. That’s So Tampa
Bucs defensive lineman Calijah Kancey named NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month. ABC Action News
Penguins beat the Lightning 4-2 in Vasilevskiy's season home debut. Spectrum Bay News 9
COMMENTARY
What a petty pair DeSantis and Newsom made. The New York Times $
After DeSantis vs. Newsom, will debates get even more pointless? Tampa Bay Times $
Don’t fix what’s not broken. Keep sociology as a requirement at Florida universities. The Oracle
ABOUT US
Editors: Judith M. Gallman and Stephen Buel
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