A native-plant landscape produced by the City of Sopchoppy, Wakulla County, in its Sopchoppy Depot Park in 2018 has won the 2021 Award of Excellence, institutional category, from the Florida Native Plant Society. The selection was announced May 22 by FNPS.
Documentation provided by the Sarracenia Chapter in support of the nomination chronicled the overture by Sopchoppy’s mayor (Lara Edwards) to Sarracenia, and a Sarracenia member’s (Lynn Artz) subsequent direction of planning and volunteer services. Volunteer contributions of expertise by professional landscape designer Betsy Smith were also critical, as were the planning inputs contributed by several Sarracenia members in addition to Lynn. Considerable capital input by the City, and turnout of Sarracenias and many other citizens for four planting workdays held thus far, have provided the wherewithal to realize the garden design.
In a parallel development, Sopchoppy Depot Park has now won a $3,000 grant from the Florida Wildflower Foundation for further native-plant installations, including a naturalistic wildflower meadow to be planted in fall 2021.
The Park is located on Sopchoppy’s main street across from the town’s long-defunct rail depot, now a museum.
photo David Roddenberry
