Have you ever thought of any of our local gardens as an attraction? Why not? They have so much to see, various special events and cultural programs and so much more. Let’s explore a few of our local gardens.
Mounts Botanical Garden (West Palm Beach)
Discover a 20-acre tropical oasis, where you’ll find more than 7,000 species in a collection of tropical and sub-tropical plants including plants native to Florida, exotic trees, tropical fruit, herbs, citrus and palms. With 25 unique garden areas such as the Rose and Fragrance Garden, the Garden of Tranquility, the Bulb Garden, the Butterfly Garden, the Edible Garden, the Rainbow Garden, the Sun Garden of Extremes and others to numerous to list. Imagine a tropical paradise with ever-changing beauty, that you can stroll through for relaxation, inspiration or information. Each garden within their collection is a living exhibit, with plants chosen specifically to tell a story to visitors about choices they can make within a challenging subtropical climate. The gardens illustrate what Palm Beach County residents can emulate in their own spaces, large or small.
Currently running on display at Mounts until May 12th, is “Origami In The Garden”, with 20 larger-than-life sculptures merging Origami art with nature. Origami, meaning “folding paper” in Japanese, reflects the essence of creativity: making something out of (basically) nothing. Start with a simple square piece of paper. Apply the art of origami, folding the paper in a creative way to produce an elegant object—a soaring bird, gliding plane, galloping pony, floating boat, or an emerging butterfly. Now imagine this Origami paper art becoming large museum quality life-size metal sculptures scattered throughout the gardens. Magnificent!
Stop by for one of their garden “special events” during the season. They have events like Dogs Gay in the Garden (every 2nd Sunday of the Month) where you can bring your dog to wander the grounds and see the plants. Mounts periodically has plant shows and sales. This season come by for their Palm & Cycad Sale or the huge Plant-A-Palooza Spring Plant Sale. Come and buy a plant or two for your home.
Morikami Museum & Japanese Gardens (Delray Beach)
Further South, down in Delray Beach is Morikami Museum & Japanese Gardens, 16 acres which surround Morikami’s two museum buildings that include expansive Japanese gardens with strolling paths, resting areas, a world-class bonsai collection and lakes teeming with koi and other wildlife. The wider 200-acre park features nature trails, pine forests and picnic areas. Morikami’s gardens, named Roji-en: Garden of the Drops of Dew, were designed to be a living exhibit as an extension of the museum. Its six distinct gardens are inspired by, but are not replicas of, significant gardens of Japan. Designer Hoichi Kurisu has created a unique garden conceived and constructed in the spirit of the masters. Each garden is intended to express the character and ideas of a unique counterpart in Japan without attempting to duplicate those gardens, and seamlessly flow together as one garden.
Visit Morikami for some of their Special Events such as Family Fun Day, where you can bring the whole family to participate in monthly arts and crafts or Sunset Stroll, where you can wander the grounds at sunset and enjoy musical performances as well as food. Plan a day to relax at Morikami!
Take a moment out of your busy schedule this season and relax and revitalize on one of these picturesque gardens. Ramble and…explore!