Tropical Florida Gardens

Do you need heirloom seeds for your vegetable garden? The Edison & Ford Winter Estates now carries Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds in the Garden Shoppe.

The Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company carries one of the largest collection of seeds from the 19^th century and its all non-hybrid, non-GMO, non-treated and open pollinated.  The company has been featured in the Associated Press, Oprah Magazine and Martha Stewart.  They now offer a collection of over 1300 varieties of vegetables, flowers and herbs.

The Edison & Ford Winter Estates is pleased to offer you a selection of Baker Creek seeds in our Garden Shoppe.  We also have an organic demonstration garden at the Edison Ford where you can see some of these seeds that we are growing.  Stop by the Garden Shoppe today and let the Edison Ford Horticultural staff help you with your selection or take a tour through our vegetable gardens and see the seeds growing for yourself.

Did you know that some of the plants represented in the movie Avatar are also grown on the Edison & Ford Winter Estates?

I found it interesting to learn that some of the plants that inspired those used in the movie Avatar were based on plants like those grown here at the Edison & Ford Winter Estates.  Many of the plants in Avatar resemble ones we are familiar with and probably grow in our own gardens.  Some of those plants are ferns, cycads and agave while others look like tropical plants we can buy at the Edison Ford Garden Shoppe.

The movie creators used a consultant from the USC Department of Botany and Plant Sciences to help create plants and names for use in the movie.  The most important and prominent plant in the movie was the home tree.  It was inspired by the Kapok tree and was the home to many of the inhabitants of the movie, as well as, the real life rain forest occupants.

The Kapok tree also grows on the Edison & Ford Winter Estates on the McGregor side of the property behind the Botanic Research Lab and the Banyan Café.  It is one of our larger trees, approaching almost 100 feet tall and nearing that in age.  

Kapok trees (Ceiba pendantra) are from South America and can reach heights of over 150 feet. They produce a seed pod that contains a silk like fiber that is very buoyant and was once used in Navy Kapok flotation vests. The fiber is still used today as an alternative filler for stuffed animals and pillows.

Another example of plants that were used in the movie Avatar that also exist on the Edison & Ford Winter Estates are a family of plants called cycads. Cycads typically have large woody trunks with crowns of large, hard and stiff leaves that can be over 1000 years old.  Cycads are often confused as being palm trees, but are only distantly related.

The largest diversity of cycads in the world are found in Central and South America.  Cycads are often called living fossils and date back to the age of dinosaurs.  Cycads were most prevalent in the Jurassic period and were often eaten by the dinosaurs.  The Edison & Ford Winter Estates has an entire garden area of cycads with a large collection of mature specimens.

Come and visit the Edison Ford today and see some of plants and trees that were represented in the movie Avatar.  On Tuesdays and Saturdays you can take a guided botanical garden tour and one of our Horticulture staff members will lead you around the gardens and point out some of these plant specimens.

November 19 & 20 9AM-4PM

Throughout the Edison & Ford Winter Estates public gardens and under the banyan tree, the Edison Ford Garden Shoppe will be selling unique tropical heritage plants and trees and will be joined by several dozen Florida vendors.

Gardeners will be delighted at this one stop shopping for unique garden items including flowering trees, unusual tropical plants and fruits, bougainvillea, orchids, roses, bromeliads, paalms, cactus, herbs, bonsai, bamboo, ginger and butterfly plants as well as garden art, honey, and gardening supplies.

• The event is FREE to the public with FREE Parkeing
• Dozens of vendors from throughout the states of Florida, tropical plants, trees, garden art and supplies
• For a map, directions and additional information please visit us on the web at: http://www.edisonfordwinterestates.org/events/annual-events/edison-garden-market/
• Free gardening demonstrations throughout the day

Do sausages grow on trees? The Sausage Trees at the Edison & Ford Winter Estates have some growing now.

The sausages growing on our trees really aren’t sausages after all. They are actually just the fruit or seed pod formed by the Kigelia Africana, commonly known as the Sausage Tree.

Sausage Tree painting by Megan Kissinger - available in the Museum Store

The brownish colored woody fruit is very fibrous and inedible, however, in the tree’s native habitat the fruit is often eaten by animals such as: Baboons, Giraffes, Elephants, Monkeys and Hippopotami. The mature fruits can reach a length of two feet long and weigh nearly fifteen pounds.

Before the tree bears the sausage-like fruit, the tree blossoms with hundreds of large, four to five inch maroon trumpet shape flowers born on long pendulous stalks. The flowers are pollinated at night in the tree’s native land by nectar seeking bats, but the lack of these bats here in Florida results in very few flowers getting pollinated and thus, very few of the sausage like fruits are formed.

The tree is native to tropical areas of Africa and is a member of the Bignoniaceae family of flowering plants. The Sausage Trees is a medium to large size tree, ranging in height from thirty to fifty feet.

The tree grows in tropical and sub-tropical climates and can stand some frost and temperatures down to 28 degrees. The tree does well here in Southern Florida and makes a great shade or specimen tree for your landscape.

The sausage tree behind the ticket office is bearing sausages now.

If you are interested in learning more about the sausage tree or would like to buy one of your own, visit the Estates Garden Shoppe and let one of our horticulturists assist you.

Have you ever wanted a Royal Poinciana Tree, but in a much smaller size? Consider our October plant of the month the Dwarf Poinciana for your next garden addition.

The Dwarf Poinciana (Caesalpinina pulcherrima) is an evergreen shrub that can be trained and pruned into a small specimen tree in frost free climate zones.

In zones 8 and 9 it can be damaged by frost, but will return in the spring and quickly re-grow.  In the tropics it is also know as Peacock Flower or Pride of Barbados and can grow up to 15 feet tall and wide. In normal garden cultivation it will grow to about 8 to 10 feet tall and wide, but tolerates pruning in order to maintain shape and form.

The foliage is very fernlike and produces many showy flower blossoms that resemble those of the Royal Poinciana tree. The flower colors vary from the common red, orange and yellow variety, an all yellow variety and another with a pinkish rose coloration.

This is a great specimen to add to your garden. The Dwarf Poinciana can also be grown in a pot or container and brought inside if there is a threat of frost or freezing temperatures.

The Edison & Ford Estates Garden Shoppe is currently featuring the Dwarf Poinciana as our Plant of the Month and offering 20% off the purchase of a 6” potted Dwarf Poinciana in OCTOBER 2011.

Our horticulturists recently went to Naples to pick up a donated stag horn fern. The plant was donated by the family of Kenneth and Ruth Ann Bruce and had been in their yard for well over thirty years. They are relocating and wanted the stag horn fern to have a great home here at the Edison Ford.

Thanks for the donation – we are happy to add a new member to our family!

In the spirit of Thomas Edison and his botanic research at his winter retreat in Fort Myers, Florida, Edison Ford horticulturists and volunteer Master Gardener Bob Soter are experimenting with sunflowers in the Edison Ford Organic Heritage Garden.

The project will determine which varieties of sunflowers will grow and thrive in southwest Florida.  Five varieties from the Edison era will be tested from the Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company.

Once the flowers bloom, visitors will have the opportunity to:

• take a photo in the garden with the flowers
• purchase the seeds and blooms at the Edison Ford Museum Store
• and enroll in a workshop and learn tips and the results of the project

The sunflowers are expected to bloom in November.

To order heritage seeds from the Edison & Ford Winter Estates Garden Shoppe, click here.

The Edison Ford Organic Heritage Garden, located in the Edison Research Gardens, is officially one year old in October!

Throughout the year, the garden has produced a wide variety of organic fruits and vegetables similar to ones grown over 100 years ago by the Edison and Ford families.  The garden had a successful summer harvest of peppers, okra, basil, long beans and several varieties of squash and eggplant.  Currently staff and volunteers are planting several varieties of tomatoes, broccoli radishes, arugula, peas, cabbage and lettuce for harvest in the fall.

Most of the plants are grown from seed in the Edison Ford Propagating Nursery with the support of Master Gardeners and horticulture volunteers. Visitors to the Edison Ford are encouraged to visit the garden and register for monthly “Edison Ford Garden Talks.”

Edison Ford fruits and vegetables, as well as heirloom seeds, plants and garden supplies are available for purchase in the Edison Ford Garden Shoppe and on Thursdays at the Fort Myers Downtown Farmers Market.

Media Release – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Chris Pendleton, President & CEO
Lisa Sbuttoni, PR/Marketing Director
293-334-7419

FORT MYERS, FLA (August 16, 2011) The Edison & Ford Winter Estates will be offering monthly Garden Talks in the Estates Garden Shoppe beginning September 10 at 9 a.m.  Estates horticultural staff will instruct participants on a variety of topics relating to gardening in southwest Florida.

The Edison and Ford families planted successful gardens in southwest Florida using tried and proven techniques that have been used for more than 100 years.  Sharing a passion for growing their own fruits, vegetables and herbs, the Edison and Ford families also planted many unique species of plants, trees, and shrubs that can be seen in the Estates gardens today.

“The talks include a variety of gardening techniques that were once used by the Edison and Ford families,” says Debbie Hughes, Estates horticulturist.  “We will be demonstrating how those techniques are used today.”

The Estates Garden Talk schedule is:
Sept. 10 – How to start your own organic vegetable garden
Oct. 8 – Building a historical herb mound
Nov. 12 – Growing citrus
Dec. 10 – Holiday container gardening
Jan. 14 – Seasonal winter plants
Feb. 11 – Rainbarrels
March 10 – Butterfly heritage plants
April 14 – Storm scaping
May 12 – Summer organic vegetable gardening
June 9 – Hot plants for summer
July 14 – Heritage tropical fruit
August 11- Orchid care and repotting

Estates horticulturists will be available throughout the day to answer questions on Florida gardening. Admission to the Estates Garden Shoppe is always free and parking is easy.
The series is free to Estates members; $5 for non-members per session. All participants will receive a $5 gift certificate to be used in the Estates Garden Shoppe.

Groups of 15 or more may call to register for customized Estates Garden Talks offered throughout the year, with advance notice and subject to availability.

The Estates is open daily from 9:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. The Estates is the winner of the 2009 National Stewardship Award from the National Trust for Historic Preservation and is an official project of “Save America’s Treasures” at the National Trust for Historic Preservation, a Florida Historic Landmark and a National Register Historic Site. For additional information call 239-334-7419 or visit the web site at www.edisonfordwinterestates.org.

Most people love to buy flowers for their gardens.  What if you could get foliage as colorful as flowers that also hold up great in heat and humidity? One of our favorites is the intricate heart and strap shaped leaves of Caladiums.

These leaves grab our attention in the many shades and patterns of pink, red, white, lime green, and orange.  What is even more interesting is that caladiums grow from a tuber.  A tuber what?  Most people are familiar with potatoes; caladiums are also tubers.

Caladiums were born in Brazil, South America; brought to America by plantsman Dr. Henry Nehrling after visiting the Columbian Exposition in 1887.  Nehrling grew his caladiums in his greenhouse in Chicago until he moved to Gotha north of Orlando, Florida with the assignment to grow tropical plants for the USDA. He later moved to Naples, FL when it got too cold for his tropical plants in Central Florida.

Most of the caladium growing continues in Lake Placid, FL.  From there, bulbs are shipped all over the world.   Every year there is a Caladium Festival in Lake Placid to celebrate!

INTERESTING FACT: Thomas Edison hired Dr. Nehrling to help him bring his gardens in Fort Myers to life.

Growing and Caring for Caladiums

If you decide that you can’t live without this summer star in your garden, here are some planting tips:

• Plant the tubers 2 inches deep and 6 inches apart
• In frost free climates, you can plant them in the fall just under your soil and they’ll be ready to pop up when temperatures climb to 80 degrees
• The time of emergence in Florida occurs in April or May, and June or July in Northern climes
• Once temperatures fall below 60 degrees, the foliage dies back and the tuber stores energy for next year’s growth
• If you are not in a frost-free climate it would be necessary to dig them up once foliage begins dormancy and store in a dry place
• If you are lucky enough to live in Florida, it is not necessary to dig, but they should be planted in an area that doesn’t flood
• While is cost effective to plant just the tubers, you can add some potted caladiums to achieve instant gratification

There are so many varieties of caladium to choose from with such names as Postman Joyner (named after a postman), Red Flash, White Christmas, Pink Beauty, and the list could go on.  At the Edison & Ford Winter Estates we planted Aaron and Mrs. Arno Nehrling – both varieties from the early 1920’s.  University of Florida has been releasing some new varieties all beginning with the name Florida.

Don’t worry about the names of the caladiums you choose, just get some of these attractive tropical beauties in your garden and you will be glad you took the time to dig.  The Edison & Ford Winter Estates sells both the tubers and the potted plants in the Edison Garden Shoppe for your enjoyment.