VISIT: Naples Botanical Garden

Over the weekend my camera and I visited the beautiful Naples Botanical Garden, and it was as enjoyable as always! If you haven’t been to this floral paradise, you really should visit whether you’re a local resident or here on vacation.

Located in Naples, Florida, the Naples Botanical Garden is comprised of 170 acres, with an emphasis on horticulture, conservation, and education. More than 220,000 people visit annually, and my membership is a great deal as I visit three to four times each year.

This post by The Daily Artisan is the seventh in a series of “VISIT” places I go and photograph. In addition to today’s post about the Naples Botanical Garden, the VISIT series’ earlier installments are provided below, with contact information and website links.

Naples Botanical Garden Features

One of my favorite things about the Garden is its mix of marked trails and also open spaces for exploring, and the flowers and plants you’ll see are from all over the world. Lake Tupke, Deep Lake, and Harvey’s Lake dot the property, and you can walk as little or as much as you’d like.

Highlights of the Naples Botanical Garden are the Kapnick Caribbean Garden; Scott Florida Garden; Sonne Family Ghost Orchid Boardwalk; Kapnick Brazilian Garden; Lea Asian Garden; Foster Succulent Garden; Naples Garden Club Idea Garden; Buehler Family Foundation Enabling Garden; Irma’s Garden;White Birding Tower; Smith River of Grass; Kathryn’s Garden; Water Garden; Performance Lawn; Smith Uplands Preserve and Uplands Trail; Collier Enterprises South Wetlands Preserve; and the ever-popular LaGrippe Orchid Garden.

Visitor Comforts

Comfortable benches and tables with chairs are available throughout the Garden, and the food at the (Joe and Leslie) Fogg Cafe is delicious. At the end of this blog post, you’ll find the Naples Botanical Garden’s contact information, and the Fogg Cafe menu is provided on the website.

Rounding out the facilities are the beautiful Berger (gift) Shop in the Garden, and the FGCU Kapnick Center and Auditorium. Restrooms are available, and like everything else at Naples Botanical Garden, they’re kept spotless for visitors.

Special Exhibits

Special exhibits routinely are held at the Garden, and currently the Stickwork structure is being featured. You won’t want to miss this phenomenon of 30,000 pounds of willow saplings that were constructed by artist Patrick Dougherty and his son, Sam – along with volunteers – in what’s named “Sea Change.”

Upcoming special events are “Woven: Fiber Arts Now” from April 8 through June 26, and “Blooms & Brews” on April 16. The Naples Botanical Garden also offers daily tours; special programs; educational presentations; self-guided activities; and more.

Surprises on Sunday

On Sunday, Garden visitors were surprised to see a photography session on the grounds with a young lady in an amazing dress that’s best described in my below pictures – words won’t do it justice! I don’t know the details around her being photographed but she looked so pretty with surrounding waterfalls and water lilies. (And there were butterflies everywhere!)

And even though it was a sunny day, I found a quick opportunity to take some “rain” shots of flowers with water – this was the first time I’ve been able to do this, and I kept snapping away while the water flowed!

You’re Going to Want to Visit!

Naples Botanical Garden is a special place where horticultural beauty and education shine! The staff and volunteers always are so nice; everything seems to have been thought of; and it’s just a wonderful place to spend time. It’s a 45-minute drive from my house but it’s always worth the trip.

Of course my favorite part is taking photographs of all the beautiful flowers and plants in this stunning setting at the Naples Botanical Garden!

Yesterday and the day before, I posted some of my water lilies photographs from the Garden, and today I’m posting pictures of other flowers and plants as part of this VISIT blog series by The Daily Artisan.

Be sure to check out the Garden as a visitor, or even better, as a supporting member through the variety of available memberships. The Naples Botanical Garden truly is a gem for our region of Southwest Florida and our state of Florida!

Naples Botanical Garden is located at 4820 Bayshore Drive, Naples, FL 34112 (Telephone: 239-643-7275). For more information, check out the website at www.naplesgarden.org.

Visit the always beautiful Naples Botanical Garden – and be sure to take your camera!

If you missed the water lily photographs from the last couple of days, you can find them on Facebook and Instagram @thedailyartisan, and I’ve provided thumbnails of some of them below.

VISIT is a series of blog posts about visited and photographed locations in Southwest Florida and beyond by The Daily Artisan. The previous VISIT posts can be viewed on my website at: