Beyond the saw palmetto tunnel at the Vicky C. and David Byron Smith Children's Garden lies a carefree world full of flowers, vegetables, butterflies, tree houses and babbling streams. Your journey into this interactive learning environment begins in the Entry Court, where you can not only orient yourself with the in-ground compass rose, but also cool off, splash, and play in the jets of water spraying from the boulders around the court. If you pause for just a moment to take in your surroundings, you'll realize that the Children's Garden is so much more than the entry fountains: a butterfly house to the left, gardens ahead, and natural Florida ecosystems encircling a giant tree house to the right.

Where to start? Perhaps the brightly colored wings of the variety of butterflies in the Pfeffer-Beach Butterfly House will catch your eye. Ask the docent on-hand to explain more about each butterfly as they flutter around, or help you identify others within the lush plant growth.

After leaving the Butterfly House you will discover the Hidden Garden which at first may appear to be just a junkyard, but is in reality teeming with flowers sprouting from shoes, purses, basketballs, lamps, sinks, and even a "clogged" toilet!

Join in Garden activities by giving the compost tumblers a spin or by trying your hand in using the watering can at the Healthy Eating Garden and the Nancy and Jonathan Hamill Florida Cracker House Garden. Get hands on at the Healthy Eating Garden which features a variety of organically grown vegetables that will change with the seasons, providing new varieties of produce to be harvested year round.

On the lower level of the Children's Garden, you can take a journey from tree to sea through Florida's ecosystems. Begin just off the Entry Court and wander down the trail through the Tropical Hardwood Hammock, full of native Florida plants, through the Gumbo Limbo grove and shell mounds, to the beach area surrounded by sea oats and full of beach toys for your castle-building needs. Past the beach is our version of the Everglades, where dragonflies hover over pickerelweed and a net crawl allows you to peer into the grasses below to catch a glimpse of an otherwise inaccessible community. A bouncing raft and stepping stones let you get a close-up view of this world as you make your way to the Waud waterfall and cave. In the middle is the Florida Dry Scrub habitat and its maze of grasses leading to the climbable fire tower.

For an even better view of the garden, head to the two-story tree house in the center of the garden, complete with climbing platforms and rope bridges. This structure surrounds a massive ficus full of all sorts of other bromeliads and air plants - you'll notice something different every time you visit. From here, you can check out the parts of the garden you just visited and maybe even discover new areas you want to explore.

The Children's Garden is always changing and growing! If the sunflowers grow an inch every day, can you imagine what our garden will look like in a week, a month or even a year? Stop by and plant a seed, water a plant, play in the fountain, or just let your imagination run wild.

The Brazilian Garden celebrates the rich biodiversity of Brazil's flora. The seven terrestrial ecosystems found in Brazil each have their place in the garden, allowing guests to see plants in an ecological context so that they can better understand these environments.

The interplay between people and plants is also featured in this garden - from the indigenous peoples' use of plants to the art of landscape design. The garden is bold and distinctively Brazilian, a tribute to Roberto Burle Marx, known internationally as the "father of modern landscape architecture." Its centerpiece is the only original Burle Marx ceramic mural in the United States.

Calling him "a poet who had chosen to use nature as a means of self-expression," Brazilian Garden designer Raymond Jungles met the world-renowned Brazilian in 1981 and a friendship began that lasted until Burle Marx's death in 1994.

Principal Objectives

• Create a bold and distinctively Brazilian Garden.
• Emphasize and demonstrate the internationally famous garden making style of Roberto Burle Marx, "The father of the modern landscape architecture".
• Educate about the incredible biodiversity, "The world's greatest", the inhabitants, history and culture of one of the most vibrant countries on the planet.
• Create an intriguing, enticing garden experience, which delights the visitor and demands repeat visits.
• Provide a venue for diverse cultural venues: festivals, concerts, performances, lectures.
• Create a place where Brazilians can appreciate and celebrate their close-knit culture and share it with the rest of the garden's enthusiasts.

The Kapnick Caribbean Garden is designed to give the visitor to the Naples Botanical Garden a prism of landscapes through which to view the natural and cultural history of the islands of the Caribbean. A visitor touring the islands of the Caribbean today would encounter diverse landscapes ranging from mountain tropical forests with lush, exotic plants to low islands largely characterized by dry forests, savannahs and species of cactus and scrub. The diverse landscapes of the Caribbean are often a reflection of a complex and varied human history. From the distribution of plants and entire plant communities by indigenous peoples, to the region's role as the gateway for the arrival of European explorers and their "Old World" plants for food and commercial uses.

Christopher Columbus's arrival in the Caribbean marks a pivotal point in the history of the region and a visit begins with the Pre-Columbian garden. Here are plants both native to the region and food plants carried by the native peoples as they migrated into the islands from South & Central America. Some of these plants, such as tobacco and chocolate brought great economic change to the "Old World."

The Post-Columbian period is represented by the Explorers' Garden, the Plantation Garden, the Citrus Garden, and the Coconut Grove containing plants of economic importance from Europe, Asia and the South Pacific that forever altered the landscapes of the islands. Continuing, the visitor will see an example of a house occupied by laborers of centuries past. From here guests can stroll through the Palm Garden or under the vine-covered arbor along the Great Lawn with views of the River of Grass. At the far end of the garden, paths lead through the Jungle Garden, the Dry Garden, and the Salt Garden to the Lake Overlook with its water jets aligned with the garden's view corridors.

The Karen and Robert Scott Florida Garden displays the essence of the Florida landscape, encouraging us to renew our connection with the natural elements that draw us to this land of sunshine. The central feature of this garden is the Great Circle. This circular form is reminiscent of the numerous pot lakes one sees when flying over Southwest Florida. The Great Circle is formed by a circular planting of sable palms, Florida's State Tree, underplanted with bougainvillea and silver palmetto. Within the Great Circle are swathes of Florida's most beautiful grasses and wild flowers.

The Idea Garden has constantly changing demonstrations of the best plants and techniques for home gardens in Southwest Florida. Annuals, perennials, bulbs, vegetables, and herbs are all incorporated into gardens for everyday pleasures. The Buehler Family Foundation Enabling Garden is designed for universal accessibility and as a model for both older home gardeners and to demonstrate gardening methods for people of all abilities. Container, tabletop, raised and vertical wall gardens contain plantings selected to appeal to the senses in many ways. The Contemplative Garden sits within a grove of citrus and other scented trees, reflecting Florida's long agricultural history. The Jeannie and Christopher B. Smith labyrinth provides a meditative walking pathway for visitors to experience a centuries old method of inner reflection and spiritual relaxation in a garden. The Solstice Landing overlooks our lakes and restored wetlands beyond and is sited to enjoy seasonal celestial events.

Tropical and Subtropical Asia are the source of many of the world's most important plants.

Asia is also famous for harnessing and re-shaping nature – one thinks of rice paddies and coconut groves and rubber plantations. Many of the world's spices, grains and tropical timbers come from Asia. The Asian Garden reflects it all.

The Asian Garden is divided into various botanical zones: commercial crops, ornamentals, bamboos, water plants, and also into outdoor 'rooms' of cultural diversity. There is a Northern Thailand riverside scene, an ancient Javanese terraced sanctuary, a Balinese temple water garden, an East Indonesia megalithic court and a New Asian sculpture garden.

Specifically there will be horticultural sections for the main ornamental plants from Asia: ixora, gardenia, gingers, palms, ferns, hibiscus, water plants, and ornamental bamboos. There will be a section featuring the main 'plants of commerce' such as screw pine, bamboo, jute and spices. The main decorative thrust for the Asian Garden is ancient Asia – the terraced sanctuaries and water gardens that predate the emergence of the main cultural influences, India and China.

 The Water Garden is featured in the heart of Naples Botanical Garden, atop the River of Grass. Filled with beautiful water lilies, lotuses and papyrus, this garden also features a small island in the pool. A boardwalk transects the Water Garden with a space in the middle that widens enough to become a stage. Surrounded by the Great Lawn, performances on the boardwalk will delight visitors viewing from all sides of this garden.

Naples Botanical Garden is home to a unique 90-acre nature sanctuary with seven different ecosystems. Less than three miles from Old Naples, the Preserve’s giant pines and ancient cypress, unspoiled marshes, and twisted mangroves, provides vital habitat for hundreds of species of animals – from eagles to otters and tree frogs to gopher tortoises. To date we have catalogued almost 300 species of native plants, some of them endangered, on our site. The David and Vicky Smith Uplands Preserve is approximately 33 acres of pine flatwoods and oak scrub.

Containing the highest natural elevation on the property, the Uplands is home to a community of over 50 gopher tortoises. These endangered animals depend on the native plants of the Uplands to survive; the prickly pear cactus is a particular favorite. The Collier Enterprises South Wetland Preserve is our newest restoration project. The removal of thousands of invasive melaleuca and Brazilian pepper trees has been particularly rewarding as the native grasses, sedges, rushes and ferns are actively spreading, creating a much healthier habitat for wetland species such as egrets, herons, and turtles. The open water in the South Wetland Preserve is also a critical stopping off point for migrating water birds such as white pelicans and several species of duck. Deep Lake is home to Rookery Island. This mound was probably created as a roadbed when the property was logged many years ago. Its isolated pine trees act as a net for air-borne seeds, creating a repository of many native epiphytes such as tillandsias and orchids. The James and Linda White Birding Tower is a perfect viewing point to watch birds on the Island as well as the neighboring marsh.

The Birding Tower is sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs, the Florida Arts Council, and the National Endowment for the Arts.