Miami Beach Botanical Garden: Charming and Tropical
Explore the Miami Beach Botanical Garden with my suggestions for visiting as well as where to stay and dine if you love gardens!
When I had the opportunity to escape from the cold winter and join my husband on a business trip to Miami, I called my mother and asked her to join us. Together we enjoyed some serious vitamin D by the pool and had our fill of delicious seafood. However, the best part was visiting the Miami Beach Botanical Garden! This warm tropical oasis satisfied our need for greenery and flowers in the month of February.
Brief Overview
Miami Beach Botanical Garden is a 3 acre tropical garden with an interesting history. This plot of land has been everything from a golf course to a mango/avocado grove, a garden destroyed by Hurricane Andrew and restored as a botanical garden in 1996. The lush surroundings are inviting and easy to explore when visiting the Miami Beach area.
Tips for Visiting Miami Beach Botanical Garden:
- Entry is free. Donations are always welcome, of course.
- Wear sunscreen and/or a hat!
- Comfortable shoes are always suggested, but I found the flat terrain and even paths suitable for sandals or flip flops.
- A water filling station is available.
- Parking Information is available here.
Keep reading for my tips and suggestions of where to stay and and where to eat.
Even though the garden is not overwhelming in size, a copy of the map is helpful to make sure you see everything Miami Beach Botanical garden has to offer.
After entering through the Entry Plaza of the Miami Beach Botanical Garden, you will encounter the Bridal Veil Plaza where you will find a Kapok tree and -you guessed it- Bridal Veil trees.
Continue left on the path (clockwise around the Miami Beach Botanical garden) and visit the Japanese Garden. Notice the red powderpuff tree pictured at the start of this post and the red bridge traversing the pond.
If you enjoy Japanese gardens, read about the Seattle Japanese Garden and all it has to offer.
In the Native Garden, enjoy the wide variety of palms including coontie palms and cabbage palms. Don’t miss the butterfly garden! This lovely Atala butterfly posed for a quick photo.
Personally, I love the Petticoat Palm with its ‘frond skirt’ gracefully draping its lower trunk found further down the path in the Gumbo Limbo Courtyard of the Miami Beach Botanical Garden.
Miami Beach Botanical Garden is small but mighty. The paths are lush and inviting with plenty of tropical flowers and critters to see.
Where to Stay:
Mayfair Hotel House and Garden is perfect for the traveling gardener. The greenery surrounds you at every turn to create restorative escape from the buzzing energy of Miami.
The Palms Hotel and Spa is oceanfront and closer to Miami Beach Botanical Garden. The name says it all. You will be relaxing under the palms outside and inside the hotel.
Where to Dine:
Glass and Vine is walking distance from the Mayfair Hotel House and Garden and is enveloped in a lush natural setting.
With so much to see and do in the energetic and vibrant city of Miami, enjoy the calm and lush surroundings of Miami Beach Botanical Garden. Thank you for exploring Beyond My Garden Gate with me!
