Deborah Hartz-Seeley

Deborah Hartz-Seeley is a Master Gardener whose yard is certified as Florida Friendly. With a master’s degree in agricultural journalism, she’s written for the Sun-Sentinel, Miami Herald, The Coastal Star, Cook’s Magazine, Florida Food & Farm and Florida Design. If she’s not out back growing things, you’ll find her wandering a garden path or exploring nature on foot, on a bike or in a kayak.

Ponce Inlet is a calm ocean-front town at the tip of a barrier island. It has free parking, the tallest lighthouse in Florida (which you can tour) plus parks, a beach and places to eat fresh seafood.

The Mai-Kai Restaurant is a beloved historic landmark that is re-opening later this summer or fall after four years of careful restoration. Great effort went into maintaining the Polynesian mystique of the Fort Lauderdale icon.

In the rural Redland area in Homestead, you can tour Fruit and Spice Park, where you taste exotic tropical fruit. The big Redland International Orchid Festival is here May 17 to 19, 2024.

Spring in Florida is blueberry season. Blueberries have become one of the most popular u-pick crops in the state. Our guide helps you find farms where you can go in the fields and experience where food actually comes from when you’re exploring Florida’s backroads.

The impact of Seminole Indians is everywhere in Florida, but this is THE place to learn about them. This interesting museum in the Everglades is worth the drive. Here are six takeaways from our visit.

Christmas, Florida, is an old-time roadside attraction that is a throwback to another era. It’s close to the outstanding Orlando Wetlands Park.

Florida harvest festivals and farm tours demonstrate that you can soak up a little autumn spirit, even in Florida. All across Florida, farms create family fun with traditional harvest activities like pumpkin patches and corn mazes.

Coral Castle is a 100-year-old site made of 30-ton blocks of limestone somehow arranged by a lovesick eccentric into a Stonehenge-like work of art.

Like a lot of original Florida tourist attractions, it can be corny, playing up a mystical angle. But it is also listed on the National Register of Historic Sites and is strange and wonderful in its own way.

Orlando Wetlands Park is a must-stop for birders and wildlife fans; it’s home to over 100 roseate spoonbills, 1,700 alligators and 200 species of bird. What’s even better: A half-mile boardwalk opened this winter providing great views of nesting birds in a cypress island. It’s only 20 minutes off I-95.

Stroll along the delightful paths through the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens in Delray Beach and discover the outdoors in a new way with these tips.