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Earth Day 2024 Native Plant and Tree Sale at McKeithen Growers

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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

McKeithenSign

Welcome Sign

 

Meet the McKeithens! L-R: Patricia, Eddie, son Christopher and daughter-in-law Brittany.

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

Coontie, Zamia integrifolia

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

Firebush, Hamelia patens

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.