The Spiderwort are blooming all over central Florida here at the beginning of April. You can see these in fields, along the side of the road and in my flower bed. This wonderful native plant is a beautiful addition to any landscape.

Spiderwort are easy to grow, like all of my favorite plants they like to be left alone. They bloom for weeks, butterflies love them and they are back every year looking better and better. Each flower lasts only one day, I see the bright blue flowers early in the morning in March and April in Florida.

The sap from a Spiderwort can be used as a medicinal salve on insect bites or scrapes. I have often used the clear sap of broken leaves or stems of the plant while hiking or in my backyard.

Spiderwort can also be part of a great meal. The leaves and flowers can be eaten raw in a salad. The stems can be cooked, I recommend pan frying with a little butter, garlic and salt and top off with some flowers and buds at the end for color. Green Dean over at www.eattheweeds.com makes a great omelet with Spiderwort.

It is great to have this versatile native plant growing in our area. I plan to have a lot of these growing at the 40 acre woods.