Marie Selby Gardens

Believe it or not, yesterday was the first time I have ever visited the Selby Gardens! Established back in the early 1970s, Marie Selby left her original 5 acres of land on Sarasota Bay for the creation of these public gardens. Today, the downtown campus encompasses 15 acres of very prime waterfront real estate including spectacular views and boardwalks through the mangroves.

The current exhibit is titled Roy Lichtenstein: Monet's Garden Goes Pop! This might lead you to believe there are works by Lichtenstein on display, but this is not the case. There are whimsical pop art touches in the gardens and an indoor exhibit of photographs depicting Lichtenstein's life and art. We decided to skip the indoor exhibit as our reason to visit was mainly for the gardens.

The main attraction at this time of year is all the gorgeous flowering plants. There are various gardens which offer a glimpse of different ecosystems: rainforest, desert, and native Florida landscapes. The Selby Gardens are known especially for epiphytes or air plants. These are plants that live on other plants without harming them. Examples include orchids, bromeliads, and gesneriads. You have probably seen orchids growing in pots, but in nature they grow on other trees, with their roots exposed to the air. We saw quite a few lovely specimens blooming up in the trees.

One of the most stunning trees was this Red-Silk Cotton Tree. On a drive to Manasota Beach, I recently spotted one of these beautiful trees in bloom. I had no idea what it was, only that I'd never seen one before. Serendipidously, I found the exact same tree in bloom at Selby! 

My favorite spot was the koi pond. (You can tell because I took numerous photos of the colorful huge fish!) The fish seem to be looking for a handout, but I didn't see any food available for feeding them.

Near the Kids Garden, there is an enormous ficus tree with roots reminiscent of a giant sea serpent! If I were a child still, I'd want to play in that sculptural root system all day long.

The admission price for Selby is not cheap: $25 for adults. But memberships are available for those who want to visit many times over the course of a year. There is a small cafe and a food truck run by Michael's on East offering some decent selections for lunch, as well as coffee, tea, wine, and beer. Sandwiches are about $12-$13. This option makes it easy to spend the whole day.

Have you visited Selby Gardens yet? If not, what are you waiting for??