The Florida Association of Native Nurseries (FANN), a premier provider of practical native plant education for design and green industry professionals, is hosting the first ever Central Florida Native Plant Seminar, a continuing education and networking event, at the Bok Tower Gardens in Lake Wales, Florida on Wednesday and Thursday, October 16-17, 2024. In addition to FANN’s own Central Florida Proven Natives micro-credential, the seminar will provide CEUs for landscape architects, FNGLA certified professionals, ISA certified arborists and other horticulture and landscape industry certifications.

Education about Florida’s natural environment is a core component of the Garden’s mission, with large areas of longleaf pine forest being restored and multiple large ecosystem gardens featuring the native plant communities of a pine savanna, oak hammock, wetland prairie and bog. FANN is particularly pleased that visitors see Florida native plants right away, at the entrance, and can observe beautiful specimens of more than 175 native species throughout the Garden. Bok Tower Gardens is a beloved place of beauty and peaceful contemplation, created in the 1920s as a gift for the American people by Edward Bok, an immigrant who achieved great business success in magazine and publishing industries, in advocacy for education and design, and as a philanthropist.

FANN’s Seminar will cover a variety of native plants but highlight twenty species ready to use now in Central Florida landscapes, including trees, shrubs, wildflowers and groundcovers, as part of FANN’s Central Florida Proven Natives professional micro-credential for 2024. Credential applicants will have the opportunity to walk the gardens with FANN experts to learn how to select, use and maintain these twenty great native species.