I've spent many hours there viewing the rare and exotic species, especially the renowned Marie Selby orchid and bromeliad collection. One side boasts a 10-foot wall of volcanic rock, sculpted to look like a mountainside. Waterfalls tumble down the rocks and moss, and the humid air is heavy with the scents of the orchids, gingers, ferns, heliconias, and other exotic plants. If you look up toward the glass roof, you'll see orchids tucked into the overhead beams. On the ground, unusual gingers emerge, and other rain forest plants weave themselves into a tapestry of color and shapes.
Every corner holds a treasure.
As flowers fade, staff gardeners move plants to one of the seven greenhouses and substitute blooming specimens. Of the approximately 200 botanical gardens in the nation, the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens is the only one that specializes in the study and propagation of epiphytic plants, often called air plants, because they usually don't grow in the ground. They prefer to perch in branches or on tree trunks, and even on rocks. Bromeliads, orchids, and Spanish moss are among the most familiar epiphytes. The Marie Selby Botanical Gardens boasts 14,000 plants of about 5,000 species, with over 5,000 orchids.