I first observed Scleria lithosperma a few months ago, on May 31, 2012, in Key Largo, Florida. This is the only Scleria species listed as Endangered in Florida. Including S. lithosperma, I’ve now observed nine of the ten Scleria species known from Florida.  Scleria is a genus belonging to the monocotyledonous family Cyperaceae.  All Scleria species of Florida are native here, except for Scleria lacustris.

The fruit of all Scleria species is an achene (as is true for all other species of Cyperaceae).  An achene is a dry, indehiscent, one-seeded, fruit.   Species of Scleria, like species of other cyperaceous genera, are distinguished from one another largely according to features of their achenes.  All ten of our Scleria species have white achenes (an atypical feature among Florida Cyperaceae, overall) and their achenes are minute - ranging, collectively, from one to four mm long.   Because the achenes are so small, the beginner requires a microscope to see them clearly and to identify Scleria plants to species.

Florida species of Scleria appear, superficially, grass-like and weedy, and the average person would consider them unremarkable.  Yet, their achenes appear unique and beautiful under the microscope. I’ll now review selected features of the achenes.  While doing so, I’ll refer to the handout which I’ve distributed today. ¹ 

Celebrate your special moments at the Garden this summer! We are having a special promotion from June 1st through September 30th, so don't miss this opportunity to save big bucks on your special day. 

Dates: as available

Daily from 10:00am-4:00pm/ (6) hour rental

Special events include:

Summer BBQ's

Birthday Parties

Corporate/Business Events

Summer Weddings

Private Garden Parties

Bridal/Baby Showers

The First Annual Food Fest and Member Give Back Day, on Saturday, April 28th, was a huge success!

We had 573 visitors, sold 19 memberships and collected several large bins of food for St. Matthew's House.

The food trucks were a hit, and the live musical performance by The Wholetones was amazing. Also, the fruit display prepared by Garden Staff Member, Taylor Walker,  was awesome!

The Garden would like to extend a warm thank you to everyone who participated and helped make this day a success.

 See you next year!

On Saturday, April 7th the Garden hosted its annual Egg Hunt which was a huge success!

Between 9am-12:30pm we had 1,178 visitors came out to the Smith Children's Garden to celebrate the spring holiday weekend.

If you were not able to attend here's what you missed...

Recently, amidst the hectic approach to our Annual Flower Show, Dr. George Wilder delivered an  overview of a category of plants that people don't frequently include in arrangements or showings, but which are remarkable and beautiful in their own way - Weeds.

Dr. Wilder collects weeds from all over but has found some remarkable ones right here in the Garden!

Read on to learn more about his collections of weeds from the Garden and his thoughts ons some of his more interesting and rare finds...

Dr. George Wilder is a Botanist, Professor and our Herbarium Curator here at the Garden. We are extremely lucky to have him, especially since he shares his knowledge during our bimonthly staff meetings with his amazing and sometimes humorous presentations. We thought it was time to share these reports with our readers. Enjoy!

On Friday, February 17th, the Garden hosted the Inaugural Garden Party to celebrate the opening of the two-month ZimSculpt exhibition.

The evening began with a dramatic entrance where guests were greeted by African drummers. Following this was a stroll through the Garden where guests enjoyed the sculptures placed throughout the Asian,  Florida and Brazilian gardens, just to name a few. During there evening walk, guests viewed an on-site carving demonstration by Patrick Sephani while enjoying cocktails and hors' d’oeuvres.

The ZimSculpt stone sculpture exhibit is making a big impression on our visitors since its debut at our First Annual Garden Party on Friday, February 17, 2011.

The exhibit features more than 100 stone carvings arranged throughout the cultivated gardens. Not only are the stone sculptures wonderful to look at, but also serve to educate visitors on the cultural heritage of Zimbabwe. Themes of family, nature and spirituality clearly inspire the creativity of these magnificent stone carvings.

On Wednesday, February 1^st the Garden launched a kick-off party for a group of community members to learn about our new mobile app and website. In addition to learning about our Live Map integration into the free Mobile App, guests were even able to view their mobile posts go LIVE on our site!

We are kicking off the month of February with pointed red caps, full beards and a smile. That's right, we are celebrating the Gnomes returning to the Smith Children's Garden and they are expected to arrive on February 11, 2012.