The Naples Botanical Garden was founded in 1993 but the first phase of construction didn’t begin until 2008 and the current phase of the garden was not completed until 2014. The garden is located only 3 miles from downtown Naples, Florida and consists of 170 acres of open space, two lakes and several themed gardens which include a Children’s Garden, Brazilian Garden, Caribbean Garden, Florida Garden, Asian Garden, Water Garden and an Orchid Garden.
Decorative Features
I have visited many master planned urban gardens in my travels and I have found that the decorative features throughout the garden set the ambiance for the garden. This can certainly be said for the Naples Botanical Gardens. The decorative features in the Naples Botanical Garden range from brightly colored modern sculptures to vine covered archways and even carved statues that look like they came from the jungles of Central America. Some of my favorite decorative features of the garden are shown in the following photos.
Flowers in the Park
Of course, the highlight of the garden are all of the flowers. My visit to the park was near the end of spring and there were many beautiful flowers all over the garden. Some of the flowers that I photographed are shown below.
Orchid Garden
Probably my favorite part of the garden was the Orchid Garden because there were so many different colored orchids that almost looked as if they had been hand painted. Many of the orchids looked more like artwork than flowers. They seem to become more beautiful, closer you look at them.
Ponds in the Park
Water features always make urban gardens more attractive and provide a tranquil place to sit and relax. The Naples Botanical Garden has three large lakes and several ponds. Photos of two of the ponds are shown below.
Lily Pond
One of the ponds that I liked the most was the lily pond which had sever types of lilies pads and differently colored flowers. Water plants have always seemed unusual to me but seeing a flower coming up in the middle of a pond is a little mysterious to me, but really beautiful.
The Dust on My Shoes
The Naples Botanical Garden is a beautiful garden and it has a large diversity of things to see. There are several different themed gardens that have flowering plants that represent the theme of the garden.
I spent some time in the open space portion (native Florida landscape) of the garden and walking around the large lakes. Seeing those areas was nice but the themed gardens are the main attraction.
The Orchid garden was my favorite area and I went back for a second look before we left the botanical gardens.
I always enjoy going to garden spaces when I travel because I like to see the beauty of the plant life and they are typically relaxing and peaceful places to spend some time. The Naples Botanical Garden has lots of beautiful flowering plants and it is very peaceful and relaxing.
The Naples Botanical Garden is worth visiting if you like manicured public gardens.
I enjoy seeing the local plant life when I travel because many of the plants can only be seen in the location that I am visiting. Most places have really stunning plant life that are overlooked by most visitors.
Most public gardens have a section dedicated to the local flora. This allows visitors to see many of the local plants in a single location.