The Florida 50 Essential Plant Cards: Turning Landscape Knowledge into a Hands-On Learning Deck

Transforming Landscape Expertise into Custom Educational Cards

At Shuffled Ink, we love projects that turn deep expertise into something tactile, accessible, and genuinely useful. The Florida 50 Essential Plant Cards do exactly that—transforming decades of landscape design knowledge into a beautifully designed, hands-on educational tool.

Created by graphic designer Katrina Crocker for her mother’s business, Victoria’s Bloomers, this deck is both a family collaboration and the brand’s very first physical product. Designed specifically for Central Florida gardeners, the cards make plant education approachable, visual, and fun.

About The Florida 50 Essential Plant Cards

The Florida 50 Essential Plant Cards highlight fifty must-know plants for Central Florida landscapes. Each card offers clear, practical information paired with real-world imagery, helping gardeners understand plant selection, placement, and design more intuitively.

While Katrina had designed card decks for clients before, this project marked a meaningful milestone—it was the first deck she designed for her mom, and the first tangible product launched for Victoria’s Bloomers.

The inspiration behind the deck comes directly from Victoria K. Crocker, a Clearwater, Florida–based landscape designer with over 30 years of experience in the nursery and landscape industry.

Originally from Massachusetts, Victoria had to relearn plants entirely when she moved to Florida—navigating the trial and error of a new climate, new soil, and unfamiliar species. Over the years, she built a successful landscape design practice and discovered a growing passion for educating others—helping people feel confident designing their own gardens and connecting more deeply with nature.

When Katrina began helping with the educational side of the business, the idea clicked: create a deck of cards featuring the 50 Essential Plants for Central Florida. For Katrina, the cards also solved a personal learning challenge—she needed a hands-on way to absorb plant knowledge. The deck made the information tangible, flexible, and easy to explore.

Designing an Educational Card Deck

The Florida 50 Essential Plant Cards were designed using Adobe InDesign, with content structured carefully to balance clarity and consistency across all fifty cards.

One major advantage of the project was Victoria’s extensive photo archive. After decades of landscape design work, she had thousands of plant photos, allowing the deck to feature authentic, real-life imagery rather than stock photography or illustrations.

This approach grounds the deck in real-world application—showing gardeners exactly what these plants look like in actual landscapes.

Introducing the deck to customers has been incredibly rewarding. While many people knew the project was in the works, the reaction once the cards were physically in hand exceeded expectations.

Customers loved the feel, the usefulness, and the thoughtful details—especially the hidden butterfly on the back flap of the packaging, which has become a favorite moment of discovery when someone opens the deck for the first time.

Even more rewarding has been repeat purchases, with customers returning to buy additional decks for friends and family.

Overcoming the Biggest Challenge: Proofreading

The biggest hurdle in creating the Florida 50 Essential Plant Cards was something many card creators underestimate: proofreading.

With a large volume of educational content, maintaining accuracy and consistency all the way through final print was intense and, at times, stressful. But the effort paid off, resulting in a polished, professional deck that customers trust.

The motto behind this project was refreshingly bold:
“Let’s jump and then build the parachute on the way down.”

Rather than overthinking, Katrina and Victoria moved quickly and intentionally. The idea was born in late September, content was assembled in October, the cards were designed in just a few days, and after rigorous proofreading, the deck went to print.

Preorders opened immediately, and the finished decks arrived just before Christmas—allowing every customer to receive their orders on time.

Advice for New Card Creators

Katrina offers invaluable advice for anyone designing their first card deck:

• Create a master Word document or spreadsheet with all card content
• Establish word or character limits for each section early
• Proofread everything together before placing text into designs
• Decide on punctuation and capitalization standards upfront

This approach saves enormous time and prevents costly revisions later in the process.

Where to Buy The Florida 50 Essential Plant Cards

The Florida 50 Essential Plant Cards are available online at:
https://www.victoriasbloomers.com/gardener-gifts/p/florida-50

Orders ship within 24 hours, and most customers receive their decks within just a few days.

The brand has also expanded to TikTok Shop, with plans to host live videos demonstrating how to use the cards for landscape design.

Looking ahead, the team plans to expand the Florida 50 series with new decks for South Florida and North Florida, along with the launch of their first educational courses.

Why Shuffled Ink

When selecting a manufacturer, Katrina was drawn to Shuffled Ink’s focus on doing one thing exceptionally well—printing high-quality cards. Competitive pricing, responsive customer service, and professional finishing made the decision easy.

The final decks exceeded expectations, and thoughtful production details—like inside and outside shrink wrapping—ensure the cards stay clean and protected, even in nursery environments.

Connect with Victoria’s Bloomers

• Website: victoriasbloomers.com/gardener-gifts
• Substack: floridalandscapedesign.substack.com
• Social Media: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook & YouTube — @victoriasbloomers