STORY BEHIND THE ART OF MARGARET FARR

Wildly Exquisite: Florida’s Native Plants

Winterberry

Ilex verticillata

Seeing winterberry in the wild is one of the true joys of a walk in the dead of winter. A glimpse of bright red berries is one of the few rewards for the roving eye in a world of brown—or better, of white. To give you an idea, one of the cultivars is called Ilex verticillata 'Sparkleberry'.

Additionally, the one in my garden travels widely, by means of accommodating birds. Every year, ten or more seedlings can be harvested from around the yard. This is a useful number, but not invasive, unlike the tens of tens of hibiscus sprouts that need constant pulling.

Winterberry is actually a deciduous holly. Leaves turn bright gold in the fall and drop off, leaving a bountiful array of berries through most of the winter, to the delight of birds and humans.

Eastern Wahoo, spring and fall

Euonymus atropurpureus

Eastern wahoo, E. atropurpureus, is an adorable native tree of the Euonymus family, not to be confused with its ubiquitous evil twin, the “winged” euonymous or burning bush, E. alatus. The later, used much by landscapers since introduction in the 1860s, is an extremely invasive Asian shrub, which increasingly appears growing “wild” in the woods. 

Better, seek the rewards of finding a true native, which has a slender graceful upright habit, smooth round wood, as opposed to “winged” or furrowed, and glorious, fat, hot-pink seedpods in the fall. These seedpods burst open to suspend on slender threads several fire engine red fruits. 

Beloved by Native Americans and settlers alike, it has other monikers, including, confusingly, eastern burning bush, and, my favorite, “Heart’s-a-poppin.”

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Read more about this artist’s work: 22nd Annual