Selby Gardens Sarasota

Marie Selby Botanical Gardens

The cosmopolitan city of Sarasota, Fl is home to the botanical treasure chest known as Selby Gardens. The originally 7 acre (now 13)property was bequeathed to the city by Marie Selby in 1971 as a botanical garden "for the enjoyment of the general public."

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The Marie Selby Botanical Gardens maintains more than 20,000 hot house plants inside 8 greenhouses and several thousand more outside on the grounds. Nearly 200,000 delighted visitors stroll its paths each year.

A massive banyan tree like the ones the Canopy Garden will be built around. This one is in a different section of the garden.

The garden is unique among its contemporaries in that it specializes in epiphytes (air plants). There is also a Canopy Garden--the world's first--in the works. Swinging rope bridges and a mangrove platform will take families into the tree tops of a tropical Children's Rainforest. There will be a waterfall, a tree house, caves and a native village.

One of the most special collections at Selby Botanical Gardens is the 6,000 orchids in the Tropical Display House.Selby is also a nationally recognized center for botanical research and plant identification.

There is a coffee shop on the grounds where you can stop for pastries, muffins or even lunch. I can't vouch for the quality of the food because I've never eaten there.

Whenever Tiny and I visit Sarasota we make a beeline for Troyer's Dutch Heritage. This is a Mennonite buffet. The food is farm fresh, home style cooking which is our favorite kind. If you go, be sure to take home a few bakery items. You'll be glad you did.

Yoders, an Amish restaurant across the street from Troyer's is also good, but it's smaller and much more crowded. The pies here are renowned in the local community. There's a window outside where you can place take-out orders and a bench you can sit on while you wait.

These are the only two places we eat in Sarasota. This is not to suggest that other Sarasota eateries are not worthwhile. We simply don't know anything about them.

Prices are reasonable at both places and the portions are large.

Selby Gardens, Sarasota is open daily (except Christmas) from 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Admission is $17 for adults and $16 for kids 6-11.

Marie Selby Botanical Gardens
811 South Palm Avenue
Sarasota, Florida 34236
941-366-5731
www.selby.org

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