Week of May 30, 2021

An unusual addition to our Florida garden is a small planter filled with INSECTIVOROUS PLANTS. I purchased these plants at the spring plant sale at Wilmot Gardens, a wonderful garden on the UF campus next to my office building. I found a stone planter and filled it with sand and peat moss, and planted five different varieties, which have thrived with new growth, flowers, and an appetite for bugs. Three are types of pitcher plants, the largest with long tubular growths with beautiful white and wine colored caps. It attracts insects into the tubes with sweet secretions, and once in the tube, there are hairs only facing downward so the insect must descend into the pool of water below, where it is digested. Two other pitcher plants include a miniature variety with tiny tubes, and a variety with large glossy leaves with small pitchers at the end of the leaves. A Venus fly trap has grown a number of its specialized leaves which clamp shut when contacted by an insect, thereby trapping and digesting the insect. Finally, a sundew has tiny clusters of stems with drops of sticky juice to adhere to the insect landing there. These plants live in warmer climates in moist areas poor in nitrogen, thereby catching insects as their nitrogen supply. We see them occasionally on our hikes in North Florida wetlands, and they make an interesting centerpiece on the table out in the lanai.