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Florida-Agriculture.com
Division of Marketing and Development
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
Mayo Building, M-9
407 South Calhoun Street
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0800
(850) 617-7300

Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
Adam H. Putnam, Commissioner

Golden Grove

Robert Butler painting of a Golden Grove

Golden Grove

Citrus, like many foreigners who came to these shores, has flourished under diligent stewardship. Florida — and Polk County, in particular — came to be called the "Citrus Capital of the World." A long and illustrious pedigree was developed from the original citrus brought to the New World in the hold of Spanish ships. Today, many countries have a thriving population of New World citrus creations.

It seems that the fabled gold once sought by explorers is finally discovered. The "Land of Flowers" is not a place of broken dreams after all.

I grew up in a small town in southern Florida, a state forever splendid And enchanting in my mind’s eye.
A place where smiling blue skies, dressed up with fluffy white clouds And lavished the land with diamonds that fell from the sky. A place where the earth smiled back with lush-green decadence and accents of orange and yellow gold. — Poem by the artist.

© Robert Butler 1999

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