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The holidays shine brightly at Florida Botanical Gardens
In the 2023 USA Today Readers’ Poll of the best end-of-year light shows at botanical gardens around the country, the Florida Botanical Gardens came in at 9th place.
Not bad at all for a 100-acre stretch of leafy Largo greenspace sandwiched in between Walsingham and Ulmerton Roads. Owned and operated by Pinellas County, the Florida Botanical Gardens didn’t even exist until the year 2000.
For this year’s “Holiday Lights in the Gardens,” running through Jan. 4, one million LED lights have been added – planning, mapping and early tree-wrapping began just after Labor Day, according to Executive Director Emily Goot. The professional design team, and volunteers, take the work extremely seriously.
It’s the facility’s largest annual fundraiser.
Photo: Florida Botanical Gardens.
Located in Pinewood Park, adjacent to the Heritage Village historical center and the offices and gallery of Creative Pinellas, the Florida Botanical Gardens consists of well-manicured brick trails that wind between distinct garden areas, each of which is carefully curated by professional botanists and arborists with trees, plants and flowers.
There’s a cactus and succulent garden, a butterfly garden, and Olde English “cottage garden,” an herb garden, a “Jazz Garden,” a rose garden, a native plant garden, a topiary garden, a tropical fruit garden, a “Wedding Garden,” a vinery, an exotic plant garden and a “Wetlands Walkway,” over ponds and other damp areas teeming with wildlife.
Added in 2023 was the Majeed Discovery Garden, a hands-on discovery center for children.
It looks (and feels) completely different after dark, with brightly colored lights everywhere. Although the average is 300-400 guests per night, on a busy evening, Goot said, they’ll welcome up to 4,000 people – mostly families with kids. They wander along the expansive lighted maze as holiday tunes – performed live, by local musicians – waft over the trails. “It’s something that people really love,” Goot explained. “I’ll walk around and hear visitors talking: ‘It’s not just Christmas music playing – there’s people actually playing.’ I think that adds a little element to it.”
On a cold night, they’re walking through a winter wonderland. Yes, hot cocoa is available at the snack bar.
Performance by the St. Patrick’s Catholic School Choir. Photo by Amy Kagan.
Here’s the weekly entertainment schedule.
The Florida Botanical Gardens’ “Holiday Lights in the Gardens” opens daily at 5:30 p.m. There is a suggested donation of $10 per person, with kids 12 and under free.
Learn more at the website.
Photo: Visit St Pete Clearwater.
Photo by Bill DeYoung.
Photo by Amy Kagan.
Photo by Bill DeYoung.
