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THANK YOU to everyone who came to the Earth Day Native Plant sale at McKeithen Growers, 24005 71st Ave E, Myakka City, Florida 9:00am-4:00pm, Saturday, April 20, 2024
This was a great opportunity to visit a family-owned and operated native tree farm not normally open to the public except by appointment. We celebrated Earth Day in the Florida countryside and brought nature home. Native wildlife, including pollinators, need native trees and plants.
PHOTOS FROM THE EVENT
Welcome Sign
Meet the McKeithens! L-R: Patricia, Eddie, son Christopher and daughter-in-law Brittany.
ABOUT MCKEITHEN GROWERS: Eddie and Patricia McKeithen started tree farming in their backyard in 1995. From the beginning, Eddie knew he wanted to focus on native trees to help preserve Florida’s environment. He knew natives would be easier to grow and not require nearly as much water or fertilizer. Today, the McKeithens grow over 90 varieties of native trees and plants on their 25-acre farm in Myakka City, Florida. McKeithen Growers supplies other growers, landscape companies, environmental firms and retail nurseries and garden centers. Eddie’s son, Christopher, and daughter-in-law Brittany have recently moved nearby to learn the family business, with the intent of becoming the second generation owners of McKeithen Growers.
The McKeithens were excited to “pull back the curtain” and share their world of native tree farming.
ACTIVITIES WE HAD
From Seed to Tree: McKeithen Growers Magic in Behind-the-Scenes Tours
at 10am, Noon and 2:00pm
LOCAL MEDIA COVERAGE
yourobserver.com/news/2024/apr/10/myakka-nursery-earth-day-plant-sale/
FOOD TRUCK: NautiStyleDogs from 11am-4pm. Included Nathan’s hotdogs, toppings, specialty dogs, chips canned drinks, and combo.
Installation – local tree or shrub installation services were available. Given the chance to buy a big, beautiful Florida native tree where someone else did all the planting work for you!
TABLE TALKS
Plant a Patch for Pollinators! LIVE talk with Evan and Beata from Florida Native Plants Nursery
EXHIBITORS/VENDORS
PLANTS WE HAD
Bahama Strongback/Strongbark, Bourreria succulenta, 1 gallon
Bald cypress, Taxodium distichum, various sizes from 1 gallon & up
Beach Mistflower, Ageratum maritimum
Beautyberry, Callicarpa americana
Black-eyed Susan, Rudbeckia hirta
Blue-eyed Grass, Sisyrinchium angustifolium, 1 gallon
Coral Bean, Erythrina herbacea, 3 gallons
Coral Honeysuckle, Lonicera sempervirens, 3 gallons
Corky Stem Passionflower, Passiflora suberosa
Dwarf Blue Palmetto, Sabal minor, 3 gallons
Elderberry, Sambucus nigra subsp. canadensis, 1 gallon
Flatwoods Plum, Prunus umbellata
Florida Privet, Forestiera segregata, 3 gallons
Giant Ironweed, Vernonia gigantea
Goldenrod, spp
Grayleaf Tea Bush, Melochia-tomentosa
Green Buttonwood, Conocarpus erectus
Key West Morning Glory (Blue Jacquemontia), Jacquemontia pentanthos
Saw palmetto, Serenoa repens (green & silver available)
Longleaf Pine, Pinus palustris, 1 gallon
Magnolias, Magnolia grandiflora + various cultivar selections
Muhlygrass, Muhlenbergia capillaris
Necklace Pod, Sophora tomentosa var. truncata
Oaks, Quercus species, various and varied sizes
Paurotis Palm, Acoelorraphe wrightii, 3 gallons
Pink Milkweed, Asclepias incarnata
Purple Lovegrass, Eragrostis spectabilis, 1 gallon
Red Maple, Acer rubrum, 3 gallons
Scorpiontail, Heliotropium angiospermum
Silver Buttonwood, Conocarpus erectus ‘Silver’
Silver Saw palmetto, Serenoa repens ‘Silver’
Slash Pine, Pinus elliottii, various sizes & varieties
Spiderwort, Tradescantia ohiensis
Spotted Beebalm, Monarda punctata
Stoke’s Aster, Stokesia laevis
Sugarberry, Celtis laevigata, 1 gallon
Swamp Dogwood, Cornus foemina, 1 gallon
Sycamore, Platanus occidentalis, various sizes
Tickseed, Coreopsis leavenworthii
Tropical Sage, Salvia coccinea, in red, white and pink forms! Salvia coccinea
White Twinevine, Funastrum clausum
Wild coffee, Psychotria nervosa
Winged Elm, Ulmus alata, 1 gallon
FANN thanks our wholesale growers EarthBalance, Green Seasons Nursery & Sandhill for contributing their beautiful plants to this one-day event.
SCHEDULE
9:00am – Open to the Public
10:00am – Farm Tour
11:00am – NautiDogs Food Truck set up!
12:00pm – Farm Tour
2:00pm – Farm Tour
4:00pm – Event ends — Thank you for coming! See you next year!
Plant experts were on hand all day where they brought various garden/landscape vision to life!
Event benefitted the Florida Association of Native Nurseries (FANN), a nonprofit network of professionals that grow, design and plant native for a living world.