Gardens Blog
Marie Selby Botanical Gardens
Bougainvillea are familiar to us as common thorny shrubs, vines, or trees bearing colorful papery “flowers” which are in fact modified leaves or bracts enclosing three simple waxy true flowers that are normally white or off-white in color. They are members of the...
Mistletoe has had a variety of meanings and uses throughout many different times and cultures, including the well-known holiday tradition of kissing under the mistletoe. This week, one of Selby Gardens’ botanists found mistletoe growing in a laurel oak tree on the...
In summer there are exciting new blooms throughout Selby Gardens. Take inspiration from our own horticulturists this summer, and add a little extra splash of color to your own garden. Stop and take a closer look at these plants that are blooming in August at Selby...
UPDATE: Our Selenicereus the spectacular night-blooming cactus, appears ready to bloom tonight, May 31! Join us from 8 to 11 p.m. in front of the Botany Building on Palm Avenue* to witness this annual blooming. The event will take place rain or (moon)shine. Things to...
What do you get when you cross one of the world’s most foul-smelling plants with another purely putrid-scented plant? The world will soon find out. Audrey and Seymour - Selby Gardens’ two corpse plants - are having babies. Lots and lots of babies. In summer 2016 when...
Decorating with plants for the holiday season should go beyond wreaths and garland, especially in Sarasota’s subtropical beauty. Marie Selby Botanical Gardens’ Director of Horticulture, Mike McLaughlin, shares his top five holiday-inspired plants that can make a...
Tabebuia spp. (Bignoniaceae) Trumpet trees (Trumpet Tree family) Origin: tropical Americas We have featured a couple of Tabebuia species in this feature before, and we will certainly feature more in coming years. This time around we’re going to focus less on a species...
Tillandsia fasciculata (Bromeliaceae) Cardinal air plant (pineapple family) Origin: Southeastern U.S. to northern South America Florida is home to a large variety of epiphytic plant species; mostly orchids, ferns, and bromeliads. The most noticeable from the ground...
Pleopeltis polypodioides (Polypodiaceae) Resurrection fern (Polypody family) Origin: Subtropical Americas, including the SE United States; Africa Florida is home to dozens of species of epiphytic plants, mostly orchids, bromeliads, and ferns. The most common epiphytic...
Conocarpus erectus (Combretaceae) Origin: coastal areas of Florida and the Caribbean to South America. Coastal areas can be tricky to landscape. Salt is poison to most plants, and the difference between a true coastal native and a plant sold as “salt tolerant” at the...