Busy June at the KW Tropical Forest & Botanical Garden

Thursday, June 16, at 12:30 pm, Susan Reutling, Master Gardener and Tropical Forest Nursery Coordinator, presents “Using Native Plants to Attract Pollinators“. Getting low yields on your container gardens or fruit trees? Many plants depend on insects to help reproduce. The natural population of pollinators in turn require specific plant species to supply the nectar or pollen they and their young depend on for survival. Butterflies are among the insects that may not thrive among non-native plants.

Saturday, June 25th at 1:30 pm, Constance N. Miller, retired Clinical Herbalist and long-time Docent at the Forest, will repeat her well-received presentation on “Medicinal Uses of Native Plants of the Keys and Caribbean”. Drawing on various traditions of alternative treatment, she details benefits for the nervous, immune, reproductive and digestion systems. Her presentation focuses on healing properties of 23 native plants and trees growing in the Key West Tropical Forest.

Both sessions take place at the Garden Chapel. Admission is free for KWBGS members and students; $5 for others. Information: www.kwbgs.org; 305-296-1504.

Art Garden continues through July. Encounter the works of local artists as you stroll the pathways through the greenery. Our “wet” season is also when most of our native plants burst into bloom, filling the air with their enticing fragrances to enhance your enjoyment of Nature.

The Forest is open daily, 10am – 4pm. Entry on the first Sunday of each month is free for local residents.