Garden Variety

During our past visits to the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens in Sarasota, Florida, Lindsay has always enjoyed playing among the sprawling roots in the site’s Banyan Grove. But during our most recent trip she played above and within the trees, thanks to the new Children’s Rainforest Garden.

 

The years-in-the-making, recently opened spot helps kids understand the interconnectedness of the natural world while giving them a new perspective on what might be growing around them. A canopy walk and wobbly rope bridges offer a bird’s-eye view of the banyans’ gnarly roots and the plants growing among their upper branches.

As a waterfall splashed in the background, we meandered along the walkway, darting in and out of caves and examining lithophytes, the types of plants that grow in or on rocks. Several spots along the way offer opportunities for hands-on fun. An elevated, thatched-roof hut houses binoculars, magnifying glasses, and a tent set-up for playing field biologist.

 

Additional huts on ground level contain please-touch-style stations where kids can check out shells, pinecones, and seed pods and try their hand at building their own tree house–like structures. There’s even a “hugging tree,” where Lindsay enthusiastically made like one of the epiphytes or “air plants” clinging to the giant banyans.

This new addition adds even more pint-sized appeal to the already family-friendly spot. To learn about other ways to explore Selby Gardens with kids, read this story I wrote for Visit Sarasota County.