This morning, on my 2nd day in Naples, I left early to tour the Naples Botanical Garden on Bayshore Drive.
In 1993 a group of 8 Naples residents founded the garden with nothing more than the dream of creating a world class botanical garden. In 2000 a generous gift enabled the purchase of an extraordinary 170 acre site. An existing strip mall and parking lot were transformed into a collection of plants found between the 26th latitude north, where Naples is located, and the 26th latitude south. The subtropical location gives the unique opportunity to showcase gardens that represent countries and regions from around the globe, including Asia, Brazil, and the Caribbean.
The botanical garden is separated into the children's garden, the butterfly house, the Brazilian garden, the Caribbean garden, the river of grass, the water garden, the Asian garden, the Florida garden, the enabling garden, the wetlands preserve, and the uplands preserve.
