This is the most up-to-date listing of upcoming events for the Ixia Chapter. For a calendar of all events of the Florida Native Plant Society and its chapters, click on this link FNPS CALENDAR. You can also access all of FNPS's past Lunch & Learn series at this link LUNCH & LEARN ARCHIVE.
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FNPS Annual Conference
April 2-6, UF Hilton, 1714 SW 34th Street, Gainesville, FL 32607
The Florida Native Plant Society Conference is back live and in-person in 2025!
Follow the links below for more information about the conference:
FNPS Conference Webpage - https://www.fnps.org/conference/2025
Registration Page for Conference & Field Trips - https://forms.fnps.org/civicrm/event/register?reset=1&id=134
Conference Tees, Totes & Other Products - https://florida-native-plant-society.creator-spring.com/
Sponsorship Opportunities - https://www.fnps.org/conference/sponsorship
Business & Non-profit Vendor Application - http://www.fnps.org/conference/2025vendors
Donate to the Silent Auction – Contact Jenny Welsh at mailto:flnaturegirl@yahoo.com
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Native Park Workday
April 5, 8:30 am to 11:30 am - Native Park, 3306 Park Street, Jax 32205
This is the Ixia Chapter monthly workday in our adopted Native Parks to remove weeds and perform other maintenance. Come anytime and work for an hour or two. Bring gloves, your favorite garden weeding tools, water and any other refreshments & snacks you like. Dress for the weather & wear closed toed shoes. You will learn about native plants and meet people with shared interests in gardening and native plants. No RSVP is required to participate.
We will be collecting seeds from the plants in the park for our new Seed Collective Project. If you would like to learn about seed collection and propagation, please come out and help.
We will also be having a meeting for Plant Sale Volunteers beginning at 11:00 am during our workday.
No RSVP required. Free and open to the public. Public tours are also available.
Garden Club of St. Augustine Plant Sale & Speakers
April 5, 9:00 am to 1:00 pm – 3440 Old Moultrie Road, St Augustine 32083
The Ixia Chapter will be participating in the Garden Club of St. Augustine plant sale with an outreach table and a talk about native plants.
The sale will include plants, seedlings, garden trinkets and more. Cash, check and credit/debit cards will be accepted for payment.
Keith Fuller, retired St. Johns County Extension Agent, will speak about Native Landscapes at 9:30 am.
Walter Bryant, Ixia Chapter Secretary, will make a presentation titled Native Plants 101 at 10:45 am.
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State Park Love Fest
April 5, 10:00 am to noon - Anastasia State Park, 300 Anastasia Park Rd, St. Augustine, FL 32080
The STATE PARK LOVE FEST will be held at Anastasia State Park, 300 Anastasia Park Rd, St. Augustine, FL 32080 on April 5 from 10 am-noon. There are bills that are moving through the legislative process, CS/SB 80 and HB 209, but as currently written/amended, fall short of preventing the development threats that were fought last year. This event is so that environmental groups can act together again to provide all of the bill sponsors/co-sponsors the political cover (and nudge) they need to take the steps required to amend their bills to actually protect our parks. Please note that there is an admission fee to enter the park. Meet at the Watersport Pavilion.
LINK:https://act.sierraclub.org/events/details?formcampaignid=701Po00000l74VeIAI
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Chapter Meeting
April 9, 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm - Garden Club of Jacksonville, 1005 Riverside Ave., Jax 32204
Topic: Strange Fruits: The Exobasidium Fungi of Florida and Beyond
Speaker: Benton Willis, Collections Manager FLAS-F Herbarium & Plant Pathology PhD Candidate
Benton Willis (they/them) is a PhD candidate at the University of Florida in the Plant Pathology Department. As a part of their doctoral research, Benton is studying the fungal genus Exobasidium, which is a group of plant pathogens that infects hosts in the order Ericales, particularly in the families Ericaceae, Symplocaceae, and Theaceae. These host plants include important crop, ornamental, and native shrub species. Benton is also the fungal collections manager (FLAS-F), where they assist with over 50,000 specimens, including over a thousand type specimens. In their free-time, Benton loves to run, rock climb, and garden. In this presentation, they will provide a brief overview of the Kingdom Fungi, discuss plant-fungi interactions, and share some of their research on Exobasidium fungi.
Our chapter meetings are free and open to the public. No RSVP or registration is required. Bring a friend!
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10th Annual Native Plant Sale
April 19, 10:00 am to 2:00 pm - Native Park, 3306 Park Street, Jax 32205
Plants for sale include flowers, shrubs, trees, vines, ferns and ground covers, all native and appropriate for northeast Florida. The selections are tried and true as all have come from seeds or seedlings from Ixia volunteers’ yards & the Native Parks.
Knowledgeable volunteers will be available to answer questions and offer advice about specific plants. As for plant offerings, think coreopsis, Simpson’s stopper, scarlet sage, snow square stem, wild olive, blue porter weed, coral honeysuckle, and plenty more. And, a specialty table!
Several local commercial native nurseries and vendors will also be participating in the sale, and you will be able to purchase directly from them.
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Chapter Meeting
May 14, 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm - Garden Club of Jacksonville, 1005 Riverside Ave., Jax 32204
Topic: All Snakes Are Good Snakes
Speaker: To Be Determined
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Chapter Meeting
June 11, 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm - Garden Club of Jacksonville, 1005 Riverside Ave., Jax 32204
Topic: Gardening for the Food Chain
Speaker: Tonya Ashworth, Duval County Extension Environmental Horticulture Agent
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Chapter Meeting
September 10, 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm - Garden Club of Jacksonville, 1005 Riverside Ave., Jax 32204
Topic: Native Bees
Speaker: Dr. Rachel Mallinger, UF Department of Entomology
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Chapter Meeting
October 8, 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm - Garden Club of Jacksonville, 1005 Riverside Ave., Jax 32204
Topic: Native Plant Rescues
Speaker: Adam Arendell, Director, Florida Native Plant Society & the Ixia Chapter
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Chapter Meeting
November 12, 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm - Garden Club of Jacksonville, 1005 Riverside Ave., Jax 32204
Topic: The Emerald Trail
Speaker: Dylan Ford, Landscape Architect and Project Manager, Groundworks Jacksonville
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Winter Social
December 10, 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm - Garden Club of Jacksonville, 1005 Riverside Ave., Jax 32204
Details to be announced
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Looking for great native plant content? Check out all of FNPS's past Lunch and Learn series at this link.
The map below shows the location of Native Park
