Victoria's Bloomers

08/31/2026

08/29/2026

When I was driving back from vacation, I stopped at Earth Works nursery in Jacksonville, Florida. Many of you recommended it to me and I really wanted to check it out. I have been doing research for zone 9 for the next deck of plant cards and it has been really fun visiting different nurseries and botanical gardens in that zone to hear from people who work with those plants every day. If you are in the Jacksonville area, go check them out!

08/28/2026

I know you are going to ask me where I got this, and I don’t have a good answer! 🙈 I have bought these at various fairs and festivals from local artists so I don’t have any specific place to tell you to go find these. You can find mass produced ones, but if you know of any artists that make them, please tag them below! 🐝🐝 happy bee watering!

08/27/2026

This is Vitex, or Chaste Tree, it is a Florida-friendly plant, and it will grow anywhere in Florida, zones 7B-11. It gets 10-15ft tall, but can be pruned and kept smaller. It can also be trained as a tree. It’s a great pollinator attractor, and it can be a great substitute for Lilac if you are missing that from up north. 🐝

08/11/2026

This property is a mixture of Florida native plants and Florida friendly plants. Here are some of the ones you see here - this garden is in zone 10A.
Native Trees:
Florida Maple, Slash Pine, Winged Elm, Magnolia

Native Shrubs:
Beautyberry, Cocoplum, Simpson Stopper, Firebush, Coontie Palm, Muhly Grass, Fakahatchee Grass, Dwarf Walter’s Viburnum

Florida Friendly:
Pentas, Salvia Mysty, Firespikes, African Iris

08/09/2026

Landscapes Unlimited Nursery is an amazing nursery featuring Florida Friendly and Native Plants for Zone 9A and 9B. If you are located in these Zones, this nursery is worth driving to. You can find cold-hardy plants that will survive the dips in temperature that occur in this area. Landscapes Unlimited Nursery 18291 April Blvd Alachua, FL 886-462-7752

07/29/2026

Three plants that will attract hummingbirds to your Florida garden: Firespike, Native Firebush, and Blue Plumbago. Firespike grows in partial shade in zones 9B and 10. Firebush takes full sun to part shade, and prefers zone 10. Blue Plumbago likes full sun to part shade and will grow in 9B to 10.

07/25/2026

I was just on a road trip up North and decided to stop at a nursery that one of you recommended in Alachua, FL, located just north of Gainesville in Zone 9A. Having been a nursery owner for 23 years, I was very impressed with Landscapes Unlimited Nursery It is laid out like a large garden with meandering pathways and groupings of plants along the pathways for sale. It immediately gives you inspiration for your own yard just by how the plants are laid out. Most nurseries have a parking lot and then blocks of plants in front of you- this is completely different. You feel like you are being led into a secret garden. There are trees and structures throughout the nursery to create shade for plants requiring it, as well as for the people who are shopping. The day we arrived, it was mid-afternoon and the temperatures were in the high 90’s yet it was very comfortable to spend an hour walking around.

I was greeted almost immediately and had all my questions answered. Everyone was so friendly and knowledgeable- even in the 95 degree heat!!

There was a lot of signage in the garden displays, with the names of the plants and many signs with information such as sun/shade, size, whether the plant is native, etc. This is so important! For people new to Florida, choosing plants can create a big confusion so a nursery that is giving you information about the plants makes those decisions much easier. Additionally, the plants were well placed around the property in the light exposure that they should be in your own yard. You can walk along the paths and realize that you have an area exactly like this under an oak tree at home and here are the plants displayed that will grow well there. Compare this to a box store where all the plants are in the same light conditions on benches under shade cloth. You have no idea where the plants should be planted.

To read the full article, head over to my Substack: https://floridalandscapedesign.substack.com/p/field-trip-alachua-fl-landscapes

07/24/2026

Shop the Florida 50 Cards: https://www.victoriasbloomers.com/shop/p/florida-50

These are 50 Florida-Friendly Plant Cards, including 12 Florida Natives, For Zone 10A and 10B. Each card contains one plant with a photo, essential information such as Zone, Sun/Shade, Size, Color and more.

I wanted to create a physical resource that is fun to use and makes designing easy. You can bring the cards out in the yard to visualize how the plants will look or you can lay them out in front of you when you draw a sketch.

When you are done deciding which plants you will use, you can bring them into your local nursery and hand them to the salesperson and say, I want 3 of these and 2 of these etc and get exactly what you want since each card has the botanical name as well as common name.

Cards are grouped into categories, Shrubs, Perennials, Grasses, Vines, and Ground Cover, as well as Large, Medium and Small, making it easy to sort, plan, and design.

With just these 50 plants, you can confidently design your entire Florida landscape: foundation beds, border plantings, butterfly gardens, entryways, and patio areas. Every plant in the deck is proven to thrive in Florida’s sun, soil, and seasons, making this the perfect set for Zones 10A and 10B.

Each deck also includes access to downloadable resources that walk you through a complete landscape project from site prep to planting to finishing touches.