Florida/local

These laminated, fold-up identification guides-- FoldingGuides-- speak for themselves. Written and illustrated by local experts who know their stuff, waterproof and indestructible, theyre the perfect choice for beginners and intermediates who want to know what theyll encounter in their particular locale.

A Land Remembered has been ranked #1 Best Florida Book eight times in annual polls conducted by Florida Monthly Magazine.

In this best-selling novel, Patrick Smith tells the story of three generations of the MacIveys, a Florida family who battle the hardships of the frontier to rise from a dirt-poor Cracker life to the wealth and standing of real estate tycoons. The story opens in 1858, when Tobias MacIvey arrives in the Florida wilderness to start a new life with his wife and infant son, and ends two generations later in 1968 with Solomon MacIvey, who realizes that the land has been exploited far beyond human need. The sweeping story that emerges is a rich, rugged Florida history featuring a memorable cast of crusty, indomitable Crackers battling wild animals, rustlers, Confederate deserters, mosquitoes, starvation, hurricanes, and freezes to carve a kingdom out of the swamp. But their most formidable adversary turns out to be greed, including finally their own. Love and tenderness are here too: the hopes and passions of each new generation, friendships with the persecuted blacks and Indians, and respect for the land and its wildlife.

A Land Remembered was winner of the Florida Historical Society's Tebeau Prize as the Most Outstanding Florida Historical Novel. Now in its 14th hardcover printing, it has been in print since 1984 and is also available in trade paperback.

Andrea says: The best novel about Florida history ever written. If you love Florida, you’ll love this book!

A starter guide
to cultivating plants that flourish in Florida

Ideal
for gardeners new to Florida and residents who want to try their hands
at gardening for the first time, this starter guide helps readers learn to grow
plants in the state's unique natural environment. Botanist and lifelong
gardener Ginny Stibolt shares helpful stories, advice, and tips from her own
experience moving to Florida, where she discovered that the rules she had followed did not apply.

Stibolt
tells readers what they can do to avoid the beginner mistakes she made and
dispels common misconceptions about which plants to grow and how to grow them in
Florida. Introducing Florida's water features, natural areas, and native plant
communities, Stibolt shows what a "Real Florida" landscape looks like and
explains how working with this knowledge makes gardening easier and more
successful. She explores useful topics including gardening for birds and
butterflies, growing food, composting, and stormwater management. Stibolt also
points to resources for digging deeper into these and related subjects based on
the reader's needs and location within the state.

Full of
friendly, reliable, and commonsense expertise, Adventures of a Transplanted Gardener sets aspiring
growers on the fast track to cultivating plants that flourish in Florida. This
book is the perfect resource for anyone interested in the challenges, rewards,
and beauty of gardening in the Sunshine State.

Today's Everglades City was originally called "Everglade" when it was but a vast formidable wilderness. Following county namesake Barron Gift Collier's arrival and subsequent establishment of both the county government seat and the company town, it became Everglades (plural) in 1923. This former desolate acreage, located approximately 45 miles south of Naples, was soon bustling, with not only shops and homes but also the construction of the Tamiami Trail, which was completed in 1928. Everglades City is home to the Western Hemisphere entrance of the Everglades National Park, bringing in tourists from around the world. The annual Everglades City Seafood Festival, held the second weekend in February, began 50 years ago to initially raise funds for playground equipment. A former commercial laundry building, dating back to the 1920s, now houses the Museum of the Everglades. Approximately 500 residents live in Everglades City year-round today.