Gardening can be a spectator sport

A woman once told me she never gardened, but enjoyed reading my column. I consider that high praise.

I invite all, especially winter visitors, to enjoy Florida gardening as a spectator sport. My sister loves gardens and never misses a public garden in her travels.

"Why would I need one of my own when all of this is out there?" she says.

The best public gardens are the ones closest where you would go most often. One of the best places to do this in the Seffner/Brandon area is the Bette S. Walker Discovery Garden at the extension office at 5339 County Road 579 in Seffner. It is open from 8:15 a.m. until 4:45 p.m. Monday through Friday and is mostly in the courtyard within the building.

This one is still free. It is small but both lovely and inspiring. Eureka Springs is a county park and the nearest public garden to me. When I asked someone about it as a newcomer they said, "There isn't much there." So I didn't go for quite a while. When I did, I found there was plenty there, and now I go as often as I can. My sister goes to the parks partly for a good place to walk, and she knows much more about birds and nonplant nature than I ever will. When she is here in the winter we often meet at parks.

Like all Hillsborough County parks, Eureka Springs costs $2 per car. That may be a blow, since until a few years ago, they were free; but it is a small amount for the enjoyment — and the fees help maintain the parks.

It is always worthwhile to visit the USF Botanical Gardens, which are full of both native and exotic plants from groundcover to giant trees. If you have only seen the gardens during a plant sale, come when they aren't crowded and enjoy the peace and serenity. It costs $5 per person. If you get a membership, it costs $25 for an individual and $35 for a household, and that is 100 percent tax-deductible. Membership gets you free/early admission to garden plant sales and festivals, a discount off all workshop fees and purchases from the Elizabeth W. Johnson Plant Shop, a quarterly newsletter, annual rare plant distribution to members, and reciprocal benefits to more than 150 gardens in North America.

Even without visiting parks, you can enjoy the gardens you walk or drive past, just by noticing the plants. Ask your hosts what the plants are, and if they don't know, go to the library and get some books, especially my "Landscaping with Tropical Plants." It has many photos and also tells northern gardeners which plants they might take home and how to grow them there.

Today's pick: Azaleas grow well in our mostly acidic soil. Don't plant them if you are on the water where the soil is usually alkaline. They thrived in Philadelphia but shriveled in my part of southern Ohio where glaciers had left an alkaline soil. They do well in the shade, but like extra water to do their best. They also need to be mulched deeply and cultivated only shallowly for the roots are very near the soil top.

Now's the time to enjoy looking around at all the glories of a Florida spring if we don't get any more frost. Pray we don't, for if we do it will nip all this early new growth. I am both an active and a spectator gardener for ultimate enjoyment.

I finally have learned to enter material on my website myself. My former webmaster retired. If your garden has been featured in this column, isn't up yet and you would like it there, please email me to say so.

• March 7: Master gardener Al Latina will present a free program on pruning from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Bloomingdale Library, at 1906 Bloomingdale Ave. in Valrico.