Become a gardening guru

Rockledge Gardens expands with new education

center

FLORIDA TODAY SATURDAY, MAY 20, 2017

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SEE THE LITTLE BIRDIESTips on attracting wildlifeto your garden

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Garden nurseries aren’t just for plants anymore.With the opening last month of the Harry and Mary

Witte Center pavilion and gardens, Rockledge Gardenshas upped the ante on what to expect from a garden center.

“We want the center to be a place toeducate people on how to be successfulwith their gardening projects. But justas important, we want this place to be ahub for the community,” said Liz Lark-Riley, events and marketing directorfor Rockledge Gardens.

Named for Rockledge Gardens’founders, the new center will first andforemost be a hub for education.

“The Wittes especially prized knowl-edge and education,” added Lark-Riley.

Rockledge Gardens has an interest-ing history.

In 1948, bulb farmer Harry Wittesettled in Brevard County with his wife,Mary. His business was essentially aroadside stand on U.S. 1 and run on thehonor system, with a sign that said“grab a bag of soil and leave your mon-ey in the can.”

From those modest beginnings, Witteeventually opened a traditional nurseryin 1960. The Witte’s six children tookturns working the business. Harrypassed away in 1998 and Mary, now inher mid-90s, lives with youngest daugh-ter Theresa and her husband, Kevin, whoown and manage the large garden centerthat includes a hydroponic farm. They’rejoined in the day-to-day operations bydaughter Aurelia, son-in-law Kris, sonJoseph and daughter-in-law Liz.

Theresa and Kevin are carrying onTheresa’s parents’ legacy with the newcenter, which was designed by Joseph,a theatrical set designer.

“We were in Taiwan for six monthswhile Joseph was working for a theatercompany and Kevin did the buildingwhile we were gone,” said Lark-Riley.

Rockledge Gardens has long hostedgardening classes, workshops, talksand special events on its four-acreproperty. The new center will allow theGardens to expand offering to includeeverything from cooking to danceclasses. The Rileys plan to rely on theplace for their popular farm-to-tabledinners, which resume in the fall.

The Gardens were already a popularbackdrop for family and wedding pho-tos; the new center raises the opportu-nity to enjoy the colorful nursery to thenext level.

Because it is at the far end of theGardens and secluded from the main

MARIA SONNENBERGFOR FLORIDA TODAY

IF YOU GO2153 S. U.S. Hwy. 1321-636-7662rockledgegardens.com

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Last month, RockledgeGardens opened the Harryand Mary Witte Centerpavilion and gardens.

An important principle of Florida-Friendly Landscaping is to attract wild-life. This is a popular hobby for manypeople since it is fun to go outside andenjoy the butterflies and birds. It is alsovery easy to attract wildlife by plantingthe correct plants that provide themfood and shelter.

There is a long list of trees that canbe planted to attract birds. Some of thetrees are small like our native Fringe-tree (Chionanthus virginicus), whichproduces gorgeous white, fringed flow-ers in the spring before the foliage isproduced. Another small native tree isSweet acacia (Vachellia farnesiana),which is also a nitrogen-fixer. It is al-ways great to have leguminous plantsin the yard to supply some nitrogen toplants growing near them! Sweet aca-cia has small foliage that provides dap-pled shade for plants growing beneathand produces small, fragrant yellowpom-pom flowers throughout the year.

A large growing tree for attractingbirds would be our native Hackberry(Celtis laevigata), which is also calledsugarberry. Be sure to plant a hack-berry away from the home, patio, deck,and driveway because they can cause amess. The Asian wooly hackberryaphid creates honeydew, a clear stickysubstance, that falls from the tree andcoats whatever is below it such as cars,patio furniture, etc. Southern red cedar(Juniperus silisicola) is a native ever-green tree that will provide great nest-ing cover, plus female trees produceberries for the birds. It is very impor-tant to make sure that southern redcedar trees grow with a single trunk, orcentral leader, because the wood isweak. Multiple leaders will result intrunks being blown down during windyor stormy weather.

If you are considering the additionof a new tree or like the idea of attract-ing birds to your yard, here are somemore trees to consider: Blackgum (Nys-sa sylvatica), Cherry laurel (Prunuscaroliniana), Chickasaw plum (Prunusangustifolia), Hollies (Ilex spp.), Elms

(Ulmus spp.), Geiger-tree (Cordia seb-estena), Green cocoplum (Chrysobala-nus icaco), Gumbo limbo (Bursera si-maruba), Hercule’s club (Zanthoxylumclava-hercules), Loquat (Eriobotryajaponica), Oaks (Quercus spp.), Marl-berry (Ardisia escallonioides), Mayhawthorn (Crataegus aestivalis), Per-simmon (Diospyros virginiana), Pigeonplum (Coccoloba diversifolia), Hicko-ries (C. glabra, C. floridana), Pond ap-ple (Annona glabra), Pygmy fringetree(Chionanthus pygmaeus), Redbay (Per-sea borbonia), Red mulberry (Morusrubra), Satinleaf (Chrysophyllum olivi-forme), Seagrape (Coccoloba uvifera),Simpson’s stopper (Myrcianthes fra-grans), Southern magnolia (Magnoliagrandiflora), Sparkleberry (Vacciniumarboreum), Summer haw (Crataegusflava), Swamp bay (Persea palustris),Swamp dogwood (Cornus foemina),Sweetbay magnolia (Magnolia virginia-na), Wax myrtle (Myrica cerifera),White stopper (Eugenia axillaries),Wild lime (Zanthoxylum fagara), Wildolive (Osmanthus americanus), Wingedelm (Ulmus alata) and Yaupon holly(Ilex vomitoria).

These trees are native species ex-cept for the Loquat which does produceedible fruit, as does the native red mul-berry. To find out more about theirheight and spread, do a search on theinternet using the scientific name.

Birdfeeders can also be used to at-tract birds. You may have better suc-cess by using just one type of bird seedin the feeder, such as safflower seeds,which can result in less waste. Birdscan be picky eaters and fling out theseeds they don’t want. Also, be sure tohang the feeder close to a window sothat you can see them easily. One moresuggestion is that the sound of movingwater from a fountain is another great

way to attract birds to your yard.For those who would rather attract

hummingbirds instead, the key is toplant several red, nectar-rich flowers inyour yard. The closer they are plantedto your house, the more likely you willbe to see the hummingbirds when theyvisit. Many people believe that we don’thave hummingbirds here, but we do, itis just hard to catch a glimpse of themwhen they do visit. They are both smalland fast and they hear us before weeven aware they are nearby. The min-ute they hear us, they split!

Trees that attract hummingbirds arethe Red bottlebrush (Callistemon citri-nus) and the Coral bean (Erythrinaherbacea), which is also a nitrogenfixing plant like the sweet acacia. Rightnow, my coral bean tree is full of seedpods — proof that my tree has beenvisited by hummingbirds multipletimes this spring. If you would like toadd a larger tree that produces gor-geous bright orange tubular flowers toattract hummingbirds, the Geiger-tree(Cordia sebestena) would be perfect.

Planting a tree is a great way to addshade to your yard and attract birds.So, go outside and check out your yard.If it is sunny and hot, why not plant anew tree or two to bring a little shadeand attract birds at the same time?

Sally Scalera is an urban horticul-ture agent and master gardener coor-dinator for the University of Florida’sInstitute of Food and Agriculture Sci-ences.

How to attract birds to your gardenSallyScaleraGARDENING

GETTY IMAGES / ISTOCKPHOTO

It’s very easy to attract wildlife by planting the correct plants that provide them food and shelter.

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garden center, the covered pavilionand its picturesque gardens are alsoavailable to rent for private events,such as weddings, anniversaries,birthdays, corporate meetings, re-treats and fundraisers.

“The primary purpose was tohave space for our classes, but thespace is very versatile,” said Lark-Riley. “We’ve already hosted severalweddings there.”

The pavilion is also the site for aquarterly Baby Clothing Swap, whenparents bring outgrown baby clothesand pick up next-size outfits fortheir tiny ones at no cost. The nextSwap takes place from noon to 4 p.m.Sunday, June 4.

“We encourage expectant momsto come by even if they don’t haveanything to trade, because we al-ways have plenty of newborn cloth-ing that we donate at the end of theevent,” said Lark-Riley.

This weekend should prove aperfect time to explore the LearningCenter, for Rockledge Gardens ishosting its Third Annual Fairy Gar-den festival from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. onSaturday, May 20, and from 11 a.m.until 3 p.m. on Sunday, May 21. Ac-tivities include fairy adventure gar-den make-and-take for kids andgrown-ups, a scavenger hunt and avisit by Tinkerbelle.

Ultimately, however, visitors needno special reason to visit the Learn-ing Center.

“We hope to see to see peoplecome in to enjoy a picnic or justhang out with a good book,” saidLark-Riley. “It warms my heart tosee people wanting to be surroundedby the beautiful greenery.”

The 8,000-square-foot Harry andMary Witte Center includes a 2,000-square-foot pavilion, outdoor kitchenand bar and firepit. The pavilion cancomfortably host 120 guests for asit-down dinner and up to 200 formore casual events. Rental packagesbegin at $300, depending on functionand length of rental time.

There is no charge for individualswho may want to use the center as aspot to relax and reconnect withnature.

PHOTO BY MARLIESE CARMONA

Rockledge Gardens is a popular spot forweddings, work retreats, birthday partiesand more.

GardenContinued from Page 1D