Forever Green
Foregoing the discussions on greenification and energy independence, in art-speak we know that here in Florida, the color green found in nature can have a multiple of no less than 9,142,857 shades and hues. This is so evident when you really look at a stand of trees and shrubs set on a mantle of grass. And, how many grasses grow here in FL!?
There is an abundance of different types of Florida palm trees and shade trees that grow well here, as well as flowering trees, cypress trees and fruit trees. Oak trees, ash trees, tulip poplar trees, and weeping willows found at water’s edge are exquisite shade trees.
The Florida state tree is the Palmetto Palm that grows up to 80 feet tall on a straight trunk with a short rounded crown of palmetto leaves at the top. The official Florida state soil is called Myakka, a native soil of Florida not occurring in any other state. There are more than one and one half million acres of Myakka (an Indian word for Big Waters) soil in Florida. It is the most extensive soil in the state and a great medium for nurishing our extensive varieties of trees, shrubs, palms, and grasses.
Great for naturalists, and certainly a plein air painter’s paradise!
