Native Plant Society and Garden Club provide a new look for PI Library
Members of the Pine Island Garden Club and the Coccoloba Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society recently participated in a county-wide effort to promote the benefits of native plants. Earlier this month the Pine Island Public Library grounds were the first to be re-planted using only native plants.
“This is just a small beginning in an effort to re-plant all of the Lee County Libraries with native plants,” said Coccoloba Chapter President John Sibley. “The purpose behind this effort is to increase public awareness and it enables us to demonstrate the benefits of native plants, some of which include the fact that most do not need fertilizers or pesticides and require very little water. They also provide habitat for birds, butterflies and other forms of wildlife.”
Pine Island Library Director Randy Briggs is pleased with the outcome of the project.
“We are thrilled to participate in this county-wide effort and look forward to the opportunity to promote the planting of natives on Pine Island and in Lee County,” Briggs said. “I am particularly happy about the fact that this will save on watering, which will be a real benefit.”
According to Native Plant Society member Caroline Murphy, more that 900 natives were planted on the library grounds.
“Among the plants we planted were gaillardia, beach daisies and golden creepers, to name a few,” Murphy said. “The most exciting thing though is the cluster of cypress tress that we planted to eventually form a hardwood hammock. We also planted several flowering shrubs and a mix of annuals and perennials.”
Much of the effort involved the removal of non-native plants which included three large Java plums.
“The Java plums are considered to be a very invasive exotic species and the rule of thumb when replacing them is to re-plant the area with cypress,” Murphy said. “Once all of the vegetation is established, they will need very little upkeep. I am very happy to know that projects like ours will be taking place at all of the county libraries and I highly encourage other groups to get involved in their communities.”
In the past, members of the Coccoloba Native Plant Society have assisted the Garden Club with other projects including establishing native plants in the Garden Club Nature Park located at Phillips Park, and also are active participants each year during the Garden Club’s Garden Gala. Other places where the Coccoloba Chapter’s presence has been felt is on many of the 20/20 Conservation lands on the island.
“Among our other projects on Pine Island is the work we did alongside the Calusa Land Trust to help restore native plants at the Flatwoods Preserve in St. James City,” Murphy said.
For more information about native plants, visit fnpscoccoloba.org for the website for the Pine Island Garden Club at pineislandgardenclub.org