Creative Garden Structures

Every week I want to highlight one of the native plants in my garden. So many people new (and not so new) to Florida know nothing about these great plants. This is my small way of helping to rectify this. And remember if you live near me, you can come visit my garden and see the plant in all its glory.....as well as the other natives I have growing. You can also buy most of them from me (not my plant, actually, just a nursery-grown plant), if you want to go home with one. Just give me a call first and let me know what you are looking for.

The first plant I want to show you is a native shrub. In my garden it is just finishing up blooming. It is called Simpson's Stopper (Myrcianthes fragrans). Here is a close-up of the flower.

The flowers are small but numerous and their fragrance is out of all proportion to their size. I would call it a rich, thick, honey-like perfume. Up close it will knock you out...but a little distance and the softer aroma is just right. I have only one at this time and it's just outside my screen room. It is highly attractive to pollinators, especially to bees (this is a GOOD thing). Later in the year, the berries are enjoyed by song birds.

Here is an even closer photo of the flower.  You can just see the honey bee's "pollen basket".

My reference book says that in size it will grow to be about 5 to 20 feet tall and spread from 3 to 15 feet.  It's an evergreen shrub that is excellent as a specimen plant or for softening the corners of houses. The bark is reddish, flaking and ornamental and the berries are orange to bright red. It's pretty adaptable in its soil preferences and will take full sun to shade and it is very hardy for those occasional cold winters. I'd say it was a nearly perfect plant!!