Happy Birthday Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve

The Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve turns 36 tomorrow! Happy Birthday! It was formed by the United States Congress and signed by President Ronald Reagan on Feb. 16, 1988 to “preserve certain wetlands and historic and prehistoric sites in the St. Johns River Valley, Florida.” Read More …

Why Do We Eat Black-Eyed Peas on New Year’s Day?

James Beard Award-winning author Adrian Miller shares his family recipe for the New Year’s Day staple. On New Year’s Day, millions of people will dutifully eat some amount of black-eyed peas with the hope that it will lead to prosperity throughout next year. This superstition Read More …

Christmas Decorating Tips From the Biltmore

If you’ve been, you know: One of the most spectacular holiday installations in the southeastern United States shines in Asheville, North Carolina. Biltmore, George Vanderbilt’s 8,000-acre estate, puts on a show for Christmas like no other. Lizzie Whitcher, Biltmore House’s Floral Manager and the architect Read More …

The Poinsettia, a Christmas tradition

History of the Poinsettia Euphorbia pulcherrima is a shrub or small tree, typically reaching a height of 2–13 ft. The plant bears dark green dentate leaves that measure 2.8–6.3 inches in length. The colored bracts—which are most often flaming red but can be orange, pale green, cream, pink, white, or Read More …

Dazzling Nights

More than a million holiday lights will twinkle in the forests of the arboretum for the third holiday season. They’ll also have a 40-foot snowglobe perfect for snowball fights, neon flowers, a laser-beam forest and a nightly “snowfall.” Info: dazzlingjax.com Nov. 24-Dec. 29 at the Jacksonville Read More …

Deck the Chairs

The annual Beaches holiday festival features elaborately decorated lifeguard chairs, plus a nightly light show, local music and dance groups, appearances by Navy Band Southeast and the Civic Orchestra of Jacksonville and Gator Bowl pep rallies. New this year: Ten of the chairs will be Read More …