NORTHDALE — It hasn’t even been two years since a group of practical strangers befriended each other on Facebook and decided — you know what? There needs to be a beautiful community butterfly garden.
Northdale Plant Friends was founded on Facebook as a way for neighbors to swap plants — both cuttings and advice — and as the group grew, members made plans to acquire a small plot of land outside the Recreation Center and turn it into a community amenity.
Fast forward to June 2025, and the Northdale Community Butterfly Garden opened to fanfare and even more members joining the Facebook group to swap plants and lend a helping hand tending to the garden.
Now, the garden has been honored.
Hillsborough County and the UF/IFAS Extension awarded the garden the Community Water Wise Best Florida Friendly Garden in Tampa Bay, with Lynn Barber from UF presenting a decorative stepping stone to display.
“What an honor! Thank you to everyone who has helped build the garden, care for the garden, visited and shared the love!” one of the group’s admins, Cynthia Lantigua, wrote on Facebook.
Lantigua, who along with fellow admin Renata Poetzl founded the group and started the initiative to secure the parcel for the garden, added that the stepping stone is “very pretty, but also very heavy, so please don’t pick it up.”
Northdale Plant Friends, now a committee of the Northdale Civic Association, unveiled the 2,100-square-foot community garden June 14 at the Recreation Center at 15550 Spring Pine Drive. About 30 residents spent nearly nine months clearing out brush, grass and dead plants to make way for a path, butterfly-friendly and other nature-friendly plants, handmade donated decor and a plant swap hub.
The group is still going strong. Member Chris Scott installed an irrigation system. Others built and donated a birdcage-like device that holds fruit for butterflies while keeping out other wildlife. The group’s online membership, which is free, has grown to nearly 650.
The Northdale Civic Association had struggled to reestablish a community garden until Lantigua and Poetzl approached officials for approval. Google Maps images show various gardens occupied the space over the past 13 years, with varying degrees of maintenance.
Nearly everything was donated, from plants and flowers to benches and mulch. Ace Hardware Carrollwood provided compost. The total cost was about $2,000, covered by group members, local businesses and residents.
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