Located south of Milton and Interstate 10 at Bagdad, Yellow River Marshes Preserve State Park is a sweeping open wild prairie along the shores of Blackwater Bay. There are no trails, just a parking area from which to explore Florida’s biggest burst of pitcher plant blooms in March and April.

One of the best, easiest, and child-friendly places to see a rosemary scrub up close and personal, Johnson Pond is a gentle walk in the woods out to an observation deck over its namesake and through a variety of habitats, most notably the moss-filled rosemary scrub. It is one of the northernmost botanical sites in Citrus County.

The Citrus Tract of Withlacoochee State Forest is full of surprises, from a big dose of scrub along Loop A to a scattering of sinkhole-and-cave habitats with unique ferns and mosses along the western side of the forest.

While especially notable for its exposed fossil reef, Windley Key offers an easy walk through a tropical hammock where tropical plums of every sort – from poisonous to sweet – bear fruit that attract birds from all over. Ironwood and other heavy tropical woods thrive in this remnant tropical forest as well.

Home of the Florida Folk Festival and the Wild Azalea Festival, White Springs is all abloom each March along the Suwannee River with both native and cultivated azaleas throughout historic Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park. In addition to spring blooms, year-round glory comes from the Florida champion catalpa and some immense live oaks in yards along River Street.

Best noted for its springs, Wekiwa Springs State Park is also home to botanical beauty, including one of the most southernmost groves of tulip poplars and dense clusters of needle palm along its waterways.