Florida Native Plant Restoration

Preserving True Florida

Preserving what is truly the real Florida is becoming a serious challenge. The rampant overdevelopment of land and coastal areas without regard for native plants and ecosystems is forever altering the natural ecological balance of living systems which have thrived for millennia. The Rosebud Continuum is a continuous and evolving project to restore and preserve a relatively large land and lake area in Pasco County Florida. The project will also incorporate a number of new and vibrant additions to the landscape including bee colonies, bat and bird houses, alternative energy sources, sustainable agriculture including hydroponic production, aquaculture utilizing the natural, spring lake on the property, native plant demonstration gardens, and eventually, buildings constructed to very high energy efficiency/sustainable levels for lectures, classes, research and other educational purposes. A part of the property zoned for commercial use will support a farmer’s market and organic food cafe or other similar use. The property also has a very unique historical connection as one of the owners was born on a Lakota Sioux Indian reservation in South Dakota known as the Rosebud Reservation. Part of this project’s purpose will be to create a meaningful interaction with Native American history.

The present state of the property is one of cultivated pasture along with vast amounts of invasive, non-native plant species. The following photographs show large amounts of invasive plant species which in many cases obstruct sight or movement through the property as well as reduce the ability of native plants to exist and thrive depriving the local fauna of food sources, shelter and other benefit.

Current Projects in Sustainability

As time went by the citrus groves declined and perished ultimately being replaced by numerous, native Florida plants. For a while, this ecosystem was probably relatively stable but ultimately it was invaded by many non-native species most of which were highly invasive. This drastic change in the landscape created an environment which was not desirable either to native fauna or humans. Many invasive species do not provide proper feeding or reproductive opportunities for animals or insects which inhabit the area. Removal of the overwhelming majority of these invasive species plants is one of the most important goals of this project. After removal the cleared areas will be replanted with native Florida species. At this point the clearing project has progressed very nicely as can be seen in the following photograph.