Key West Tropical Forest & Botanical Garden

05/29/2026

🇺🇸 Honoring Those Who Serve 🇺🇸

The Key West Tropical Forest & Botanical Garden is proud to participate in the Blue Star Museums program!

From Memorial Day through Labor Day, active-duty military personnel and their families receive FREE admission to explore our beautiful tropical oasis. 🌿🌺

Thank you for your service and sacrifice. We look forward to welcoming you to the Garden.

📍 5210 College Road, Key West, FL 33040
🕙 Open Daily | 10 AM – 4 PM
🌐 www.keywest.garden

05/27/2026

https://keysweekly.com/42/meet-christopher-rackley-native-son-grows-native-plants/

No matter how many individuals appear in the pages of each edition of Keys Weekly, there are always so many more of our community members who deserve to be recognized. In an effort to shine a spotlight on more of the incredible individuals who live and work in these islands, Keys Weekly is proud to....

05/20/2026

🌿 Wellness Wednesday 🌿

Beneath tangled roots and layers of green, the forest reminds us that healing doesn’t always happen in silence or stillness. Sometimes it happens in the feeling of being held by something older, deeper, and alive.

Nature meets us where we are, inviting us to slow down, breathe deeply, and reconnect through the simple act of being present. 🌱

When was the last time you allowed yourself a quiet moment in nature to simply breathe, reflect, or heal?

05/19/2026

💙 A little piece of the migration journey perched right here in Key West.

The Indigo Bunting is a migratory songbird known for the male’s brilliant blue coloring, a color so vibrant it almost looks unreal in the Florida sun. These birds breed across much of the eastern United States and southern Canada before migrating south through Florida, the Caribbean, Central America, and northern South America, often traveling more than 1,200 miles along the way. Key West serves as an important stop along that journey.

Spotted here at the Key West Tropical Forest & Botanical Garden, this beautiful visitor is a reminder that the Keys are more than paradise for people. They are part of a vital migratory pathway supporting resident and seasonal bird species alike. 🌿🐦

The Garden is proud to feature a designated birding trail, is part of the Florida Birding Trail, and is recognized as an official eBird hotspot for birdwatchers documenting species in the Lower Keys.

📸 Indigo Bunting by Jonathan Dowell; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library | eBird
📍 Key West Tropical Forest & Botanical Garden
📅 March 31, 2026
🔗 https://f.mtr.cool/pcrmkzlgcg
🔗 eBird Hotspot: https://f.mtr.cool/xyxthcozlg

05/19/2026

🐢🌿 What will we discover in the Garden today?

Will we spot spiders spinning webs around the courtyard? Tiny insects hiding beneath the leaves? Butterflies fluttering through the trees? Or maybe even catch a glimpse of one of the turtles that call the Garden home! 🦋🔍✨

Join us this morning for another fun-filled Storytime in the courtyard, where little explorers can enjoy stories, crafts, nature discoveries, and creative play beneath the trees. Every Tuesday brings something new to notice, imagine, and explore together. 🌞🌴

After Storytime, families are welcome to enjoy the rest of the Garden and playground during their visit!

📚 Weekly Storytime
🕙 Every Tuesday | 10–11 AM
📍 The Key West Tropical Forest & Botanical Garden
🎟️ Free entry & free Storytime
💚 Donations welcome

We are so thankful to the families whose support helps us continue creating meaningful nature-based experiences for children and our community. 🌱✨

05/16/2026

Beautiful day in the Garden today. Ceraunus blue butterfly sitting on a West Indian Trema tree (maybe laying eggs?)

05/16/2026

🌿 Nature & Nurture at the Garden – Saturday, May 16th 🌿
Celebrate connection, creativity, and sustainability in the heart of Key West’s tropical garden. Nature & Nurture brings the community together for a full day of community & learning within the Garden’s immersive, living landscape.

🪴 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Native Plant Sale | UF IFAS Plant Clinic | Compost Drop-Off & Demonstration

🎨 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Nature is ART – Children’s Nature Art Workshop
Cost: $10 | Members: FREE

🎤 1:00 PM – Speaker Series at the Garden
Cost: $5 | Members: FREE
Guest speaker: Liah Continentino
Environmental Horticulture Agent & Master Gardner Coordinator
UF/IFAS Extension Monroe County

Water-Smart Gardening: How gardening practices influence water quality!

🌱 The Key West Botanical Garden Society, Inc. is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation. Donations are deductible under the Internal Revenue Service Code.
🌿 The Garden is publicly owned and operated as a passive, natural resource-based public outdoor recreational site.

05/10/2026

Key West Tropical Forest & Botanical Garden’s Cuban Chug Exhibit makes the news. CBS Sunday Morning reviews Cuban history with the US and showcased the Garden’s chugs.

3 likes. "Next: Cuba?"

05/07/2026

Congratulations to the Community Foundation of the Florida Keys for their May 6th, 30th Anniversary of community support, generosity, and philanthropy, doing good to the Florida Keys!

I was proud to be in attendance with over 60 community members last evening for the major milestone. After the Key West Botanical Garden’s recent anniversary, I know how important it is to recognize each milestone in the organization’s timeline.

Congrats all.

05/07/2026

The fight for LGBTQ+ visibility and free speech in Key West is far from over. The ACLU of Florida is suing the City of Key West after residents and activists were threatened for protesting the removal of the iconic rainbow crosswalks at Duval and Petronia. These crosswalks were more than paint, they were a symbol of pride, inclusion, and the history of our community.

State officials claimed the rainbows were “political,” yet there’s never been evidence they created safety issues. Now, instead of protecting residents’ constitutional rights to peacefully protest, the city is being accused of silencing dissent.

We cannot allow LGBTQ+ people and allies to be erased from public spaces or punished for speaking out. Pride is not a distraction. Visibility is not a crime. Key West must stand on the side of freedom, equality, and the right to protest.

https://live-awp-florida.pantheonsite.io/press-releases/aclu-of-florida-sues-key-west-for-violating-residents-right-to-protest-the-removal-of-duval-streets-rainbow-crosswalks/