Miami Beach Botanical Gardens: Everything You Need To Know

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Take a break from the South Beach hustle and bustle to enjoy the wonders of nature at the Miami Beach Botanical Garden. Here you can find tranquility throughout the distinct garden areas to explore. Bring the family to enjoy the activities and events throughout the year.

About Miami Beach Botanical Garden

The City of Miami Beach created the Garden Center in 1962 opposite the Miami Beach Convention Center. At the time, it was a City Park and the garden situated on the Collins Canal.

In 1996 a group of Miami Beach residents approached the City Council to create the Miami Beach Botanical Garden Conservancy. It is a non-profit organization that has a mission to restore the gardens. Today it is a public-to-private partnership place owned by the City of Miami Beach.

It is a dynamic venue that presents a guided garden and self-guided audio tours and has arts and cultural programs with cultural tours and environmental education for all.

Things To Know Before Going To Miami Beach Botanical Garden

Miami Beach Botanical Gardens @flickr

When visiting the Miami Beach Botanical Garden, general admission is free, so you can easily spend the day with the family at this fabulous place. Still, there are a few things visitors need to know to plan a visit to the Miami Gardens.

Hours and Days of Operation

The botanical garden, garden center, and Botanical Boutique are open from Tuesday to Sunday at 9 am and close at 5 pm. The garden is closed to visitors on the 4th of July, Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day.

Admission and Tickets

Admission to the garden is free, but fees are payable when particular events occur. You can find metered parking along 19th Street, a parking lot between Meridian Avenue and Convention Center Drive, with standard rates applied.

There are parking garages on 17th and 18th Streets with an hourly rate. The hourly rate is $4 for street parking and surface parking lots. The parking garages cost $2 per hour, and you pay $1 per hour for registered Miami residents.

To plan your visit, you can download the garden map to follow the routes when you visit the Miami Beach Botanical Garden.

Photography Policy

You can take souvenir snapshots, commercial photography, personal portraits, and film shoots. All fees must be paid before the photo/filming sessions.

For individual shots used for personal photography, weddings, and groups of six people, you need not make reservations, but it helps to call in advance.

The rate is $150 per hour, and no dressing rooms are available. You need permits and a reservation for all other photo sessions to film. For these sessions, you can reserve an air-conditioned dressing room in advance.

Pets

The only pets allowed are service animals for the disabled.

Contact Details

The Miami Botanical Garden is situated at 2000 Convention Center Drive, Miami Beach, FL 33139, and the contact details are 305.673.PALM (7256).

Things To See Inside Miami Beach Botanical Garden

red bridge at Miami Beach Botanical Garden

Enjoy a relaxing family day at this South Beach facility with plenty to do and see.

Japanese Garden

You can enjoy the cascading waters in the Zen garden at the Japanese Garden, showcasing collections of different bamboo specimens. A small red bridge crosses two pools rippling over the river rock. Here you can see later pagodas to many other fabulous things.

Another great thing is gathering in small groups for photo ops and ceremonies.

Edible Garden

See the garden’s beauty to see vegetation used in culinary from around the world. The garden contains:

  • Papaya (Carica papaya)

  • Pineapples (Ananas comosus)

  • Pomegranates (Punica granatum)

  • Coffee (Coffea arabica)

  • The common fig (Ficus carica)

  • Jaboticaba (Plinia cauliflora)

  • Brazilian cherry (Eugenia brasiliensis)

  • Macadamia tree (Macadamia ternifolia)

  • Starfruit tree (Averrhoa carambola)

  • Lychee tree (Litchi chinensis)

The fantastic thing is that the botanic garden harvests its own food, from fresh herbs and veg/fruit for mixers and events to workshops. You can find the seeds for sale at the gift shop.

Orchid Garden

In the plant kingdom, orchids are one of the largest flowering families, and each is unique. Explore the Orchid Garden to see how this magnificent plant thrives in the humid climate of South Florida. The orchid remains part of the exotic plants found in the world.

Flowering Trees

Smell the intoxicating Ylang-ylang tree as you enter the garden. Another tree with an exotic smell is the Frangipani and native Florida plants outdoors like the Fiddlewood. Behind the executive office, you find the White Scented Garden you should not miss.

Native Garden

Here you have a wild area defined by woodchipped pathways, and densely planted tropical plants, trees, palms to shrubs. The corky stem attracts the state’s butterflies, and you see a lot of water conservation for wildlife in the garden.

Palm Garden

A symbol of the tropics is the palm tree found throughout Miami Beach. In the Palm Garden. Here you can find over 100 species growing in this section, providing beautiful spaces for you to explore.

Water Show

The Miami Beach Botanical Garden is a water display with water features found everywhere. You have the refurbished circular fountain outside the offices with the main pond to cascading polite fountain with water lilies.

Collins Canal Prominade

At the Collins Canal Promenade, you find a walkway with a 352-foot waterfront that flows into the gardens from the northern perimeter. Here you find a shaded area of plans with other trees and wildflowers that attract pollinators.

With the pathway, you get access to the iconic cultural institutions of Miami Beach.

Wildlife

The Miami Beach Botanical Garden is a sanctuary for different wildlife found in the urban area. You see different birds passing through with some permanent residents, like hawks, herons, and egrets. There are a lot of butterflies to moths feeding on the nectar of plants.

Even the bird feeders you find displayed in the view. See turtles residing in the ponds to cichlid and koi fish.

Rental And Other Interesting Things at The Botanical Garden

You will find a nursery with a propagation center to outdoor classrooms at the garden center. You can discuss the right indoor plant to grow in your garden with the experts or pick up a bag of compost.

The Botanical Boutique is a lovely little gift shop with jewelry and garden seeds for gift ideas for garden lovers. Here you find gardening tools to other equipment to use at home. Whether it is a t-shirt, baseball cap, or reusable water bottle, you can find it here.

While you do not find any eateries inside the garden, you can find a restaurant or snack stand outside the vicinity to enjoy cold drinks and more. Still, you can host an event or visit some of the events.

A highlight, except for seeing native plants, paved walkways, and the holocaust memorial, you take yoga classes on a Sunday. Vending machines are also available, but you cannot rent motorized wheelchairs.

Still, with the beautiful spaces, and so many butterflies, you can hold a wedding there. Host an event at the canopied terrace with a breathtaking setting and beautiful plants. It is a charming place to watch the sunset.

You can also find a small garden to host other events.

Frequently Asked Questions

There is a pool area, but food is not allowed within the Miami Beach Botanical Gardens.

No pets are allowed, only service dogs for the disabled.

The Miami Beach Botanical Garden hosts tours, and you can find out more about them on their tour page. There are also self-guided tours with audio in different languages and a map available. There are two entrances, but the map you find at the main entrance.

You can get a membership card at the Miami Beach Botanical Garden, providing you with discounts to gift shop items and events. You also get free magazine subscriptions.

Whether you want to buy, sell or simply reach out to other plant enthusiasts, Plantly is the right place to be!

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