Naples Botanical Garden: Gardens with Latitude

This month I had the pleasure of visiting the Naples Botanical Garden.   As a winter weary New Englander who has never traveled to warm and sunny climates during this time of year, I could not help but wonder at my lack of judgement in this regard.  Another takeaway is how much I have to learn about the habitats and cultures represented within its collections.

Encompassing 170 acres, the Naples Botanical Garden is just over ten years old.  It is sited on a former garbage dump and parking lot. That the garden was conceived and created in such a short time is an amazement. A visit, in person or virtually, provides a perfect antidote to a snowy February day.

In 1993 a visionary group of local plant enthusiasts began the process of planning for the garden.  Seven years later, philanthropist Harvey Kapnick, Jr. donated $5 million to purchase the land. In 2006 a master plan was completed by the “Dream Team” of  Ellin Goetz, Ted Flato, Raymond Jungles, Herb Schaal, Bob Truskowski and Made Wijaya.  Two years later construction began.

The garden focuses on the plant communities between 26th latitude north, where Naples is located, and 26th latitude south. It showcases gardens that encircle the globe between these latitudes and features some of the world’s most diverse plant communities and cultures. These include Asia, Brazil, the Caribbean and Florida.

A center for horticulture, art, design and ecology, the Naples Botanical Garden, is featured in the book Gardenlust: A Botanical Tour of the World’s Best New Gardens, by Christopher Woods. Woods describes the garden as a successful bridge between the natural and the manmade that “translates the native environment for those who do not know it” and provides a civilized approach to understanding the fragile ecosystems beyond its boundaries.

At the garden’s center is the Mary and Stephen B. Smith River of Grass, a filter marsh that pays homage to the Everglades.  Central to the garden’s design, the River of Grass was first described by Marjorie Stoneman Douglas the conservationist whose advocacy preserved the Everglades from development.

The Water Garden, designed by landscape architect Ellen Goetz to evoke Claude Monet’s water pool,  is at the center of the River of Grass adjacent to the performance lawn.

The  Marcia and L. Bates Lea Asian garden, is described as a romantic tribute to the iconic landscapes of  Southeast Asia, from Bali to Vietnam.  Designed by Made Wijaya, this distinctive space includes temples, sculptures and a Thai Pavilion set in a lotus pool.

Artwork, including modern mosaics and traditional pieces, enhances the Asian Garden and complements the ornamental plantings.  The plantings include many varieties of bamboo and an important collection of crepe myrtle species.  The garden’s rich colors and textures reflect the cultural, spiritual and botanical diversity of Southeast Asia.

The Balinese shrine of Dewri Sri, the goddess of rice and fertility, is reached by a stepping stone path.  Touch it (as I did) and you will have good luck.

Designed by Robert Truskowski, the Caribbean Garden features ethnobotany (the study of how people use indigenous plants) showcasing the impact of natural and human influences on the landscape of the Caribbean.  Its plantings, which include those from the Pre-Columbian era as well as an explorers garden with Post-European flora, reveal the history of the islands.  A chattel house, hammocks and a gracious lawn area (used for a yoga class on my visit) provide opportunities for relaxation.

A Brazilian Garden celebrates the work of Roberto Burle Marx, regarded as the one of the greatest nature artists of the twentieth century and the creator of the modern garden.  Designed by his friend and protegé, Raymond Jungles, the garden includes a ceramic mural deigned by Marx which is sited over a two-tiered waterfall and pool.

The confluence of water and land is felt throughout the garden which includes an uplands trail and 90-acre wetlands preserve, home to 300 species of native plants.  Dedicated to preserving natural habitat, conservation and the ecology of these fragile environments, the Naples Botanical Garden’s conservation programs protect several species of plants threatened with extinction.

When I visited, Reflections on Glass in the Garden featuring the work of German artist Hans Godo Frabel was on display.  Sited throughout the  garden, these fragile, delicate glass-blown creations capture and interpret “the essence of plant life and the inspirational beauty of glass.”

Frabel’s piece, Large Cube with Imploding Glass Spheres, adorns the Florida Garden.  

The intense colors and textures of the individual plant species is highlighted throughout the garden.  In the LaGrippe Orchid Garden species and cultivars from around the world are cultivated.  This tranquil garden includes native stone water features made from Florida coral limestone.  Silver trumpet trees provide filtered shade and a natural armature for the plants.

Other major gardens include a Children’s Garden designed by Herb Schaal and the recently redesigned Scott Florida Garden, featuring native plant species.  Kathryn’s Garden evokes the lush, tropical landscape depicted in the paintings of Henri Rousseau, Irma’s Garden features plants described as charismatic and an enabling garden provides “structures, tools and techniques that reduce barriers and enhances peoples’ abilities to garden.”

The Naples Botanical Garden’s mission is to develop and conserve collections and habitats representative of the flora and cultures between the 26th latitudes; to discover, research and share knowledge about these plants and their gifts to us of beauty, tranquility, sustenance and well- being; and to engage and inspire everyone to care for the plants around them and become stewards of the environment.

It is the youngest garden in history to receive the American Public Gardens Association’s prestigious Award for Garden Excellence, a well-deserved accolade.

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