Florida Botanical Gardens

06/19/2026

Slithering in the weekend with our Creature Feature Friday!🐍
The banded water snake is non-venomous and semi- aquatic, making them great swimmers. When threatened, they flatten and let out a foul smelling musk that wards away threats. They mostly eat fish and frogs, but have been seen preying on small turtles, small snakes, birds, and earthworms. These snakes give birth to live young, rather than hatching eggs. Banded water snakes are commonly mistaken for other nearby species of snake, such as the venomous copperhead, which has hourglass bands instead of the banded water snakes stripes.

06/17/2026

What a fun idea!

🇺🇸🐦 Create a Patriotic Birdhouse for Your Garden! 🐦🇺🇸

🌟Join the Belleair Garden Club on Wednesday, July 1, from 5:00–7:00 p.m. for a fun and creative evening of painting, learning, and community.

🌟You’ll paint and personalize your own wooden birdhouse while learning how birdhouses can be incorporated into wildlife-friendly gardens and outdoor spaces..

🌟We’ll also discuss how birdhouses can be incorporated into wildlife-friendly gardens and outdoor spaces, providing shelter for birds while adding beauty and interest to the landscape.

✨ All ages welcome
✨ All supplies included
✨ Light refreshments provided
✨ No painting experience necessary
✨ Patriotic photo opportunity

Bring your imagination and patriotic spirit and enjoy an evening of creativity, learning, and community.

We hope to see you there!😍🇺🇸🐦

06/17/2026

What's in Bloom today? Beauty and the Beast.
Crown of thorns (Euphorbia milii)👑
The crown of thorns is known for its long-lasting, tiny flowers, which bloom nearly year-round in warm climates. That's the beauty. The beast is the sharp thorns that line the stems. They are native to Madagascar, and were introduced in France in 1821. The plant thrives in full sun, requires well-draining soil, and is drought-tolerant. They thrive in USDA Hardiness Zones of 9-11, making them hardy as the climate in southwest Florida continues to warm. Just be cautious of their toxic milky white sap. Better to look and don't touch.

06/11/2026

Are you looking for something fun for your kids to do on a Friday morning? Then sign them up for our Nature Navigators camp! Last week's theme was Junior Gardeners and tomorrow's is Native Plants 🌿 The camp runs from 9am-12pm for kids ages 6-10. This week they will learn all about Florida's native plants and pollinators. Cost is $25 for non-members and $20 for members. Register here: https://flbgfoundation.org/content.aspx?page_id=4091&club_id=479557&item_id=2942770

06/10/2026

This week's what's in bloom is the Plumeria rubra! 🌸
Also known as the frangipani, the plumeria is often grown as a shrub or small tree. It is native to Neotropical climates, but are also grown tropical regions and even desert climates (with proper irrigation). This plant is actually a very large succulent. They flower from early summer to fall and have 5 petals. These blooms are highly fragrant, especially at night. The flowers are a meaningful symbol in the Hawaiian culture, symbolizing aloha, positivity, love, renewal, beauty, devotion, and immortality, among others. It can be used medicinally in various ways. These plants require 6-8 hours of direct sunlight with exceptionally draining soil. It has a USDA Zone of 10-12 and cannot withstand cold and frosts

06/05/2026

Creature Feature Friday is back with a Florida native, a Spot-winged Glider found in the Majeed Discovery Garden! 🌺
This dragonfly variety is known for relying on temporary water pools and their flight endurance, with estimates of being able to travel 3,700 miles within one lifespan! 🤯 With 360 degree vision, these insects are excellent hunters, killing 30 to over 100 mosquitoes every day! 🦟

06/03/2026

New summer blooms are appearing this week in The Vinery 🌿, where our Chaste Tree is displaying its fragrant flowers! 🪻Not to be mistaken for a lilac bush, these plants are similarly known for their spiked purple flowers and being a magnet to native pollinators! 🐝 Although this tree may look delicate, it's an extremely drought tolerant species that thrives in USDA Hardiness zones 7b-11, making it perfect for Florida's summer heat! ☀️

05/29/2026

It's time to jump into Creature Feature Friday!
This weeks creature is the Eastern Shieldback Katydid. It's a flightless insect closely related to grasshoppers and crickets. The bugs get their names from the large shield shaped pronotum on their backs and they appear as a mottled brown with the intent of camouflaging in dead foliage. These katydids are nocturnal and will spend days hiding in the underbrush. It eats both foliage and smaller bugs, including harmful and invasives! They are only found in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and Alabama. Be careful if you attempt to handle as they can bite!

05/27/2026

Could you pass the tea...bush please?☕️🤭
Our What's in Bloom Wednesday featured plant is the Gulf Teabush or Pyramid bush.
(Melochia tomentosa)
This is a resilient Florida native bush that grows to about 8 feet tall and blooms from April all the way to October. They have tan branches and fuzzy leaves with tiny purple/pink flowers.
This bush does well in the sun and likes dry soil. They are drought-tolerant once established. In fact, it has no trouble with the drought we're in and is blooming quite nicely. Occasional pruning is good to get thicker foliage, but avoid pruning past late spring or you might loose some summer flowers. It thrives in an USDA hardiness zone of 9-11. This specimen is located at the parking lot entrance of the Majeed Discovery Garden on the left of the path.

05/22/2026

You've been waiting all week. It's finally here. 😉
It's Creature Feature Friday!! 🐸 The American green tree frog (Hyla cinerea / Dryophytes cinerea) is so common but also so beautiful!

This colorful hopper is an abundant, native, arboreal "New World" tree frog that lives here in Florida. "New World" referring to native Western Hemisphere amphibians from the "Old World" species in Europe. They are small, green, smooth skined, and have a pale yellow stripe that runs from the upper lip down along the side of the body. They're closely related to California tree frogs, Pacific tree frogs, and the Squirrel tree frog. Their characteristic "quank-quank" call is easy to hear and they are nocturnal hunters, eating bugs. They are usually found within 100 yards from a permanent water source.