NAPLES BOTANICAL GARDEN

This South Florida destination celebrates the diverse beauty of the tropics

- GREG COPPA

Above: At Naples Botanical Garden, a winding walkway leads through the Brazilian Garden toward a vibrant mosaic by Roberto Burle Marx (rear).

ON THE MORNING that my wife, Abby, and I visited Naples Botanical Garden (the Garden), our tour guide, Juniper, wore gloves and a hat that wouldn’t have been out of place in Boston!

The winter of 2026 was certainly one for the books in most of the Eastern U.S., with heavy snow and nearor subzero (F) temperatures recorded from Maine to Florida, beginning the last week of January and extending well into February.

The Sunshine State did offer abundant bright sunshine but, unusually, that did little to warm up the areas favored by snowbirds. Inland Florida’s nighttime temperatures fell to the 30s and below, with snow flurries reported here and there. Even Naples experienced some 40-degree nighttime temperatures.

The Garden showcases 23,000 subtropical and tropical plants, which grow between the latitudes of 26 degrees north and south, in its 11 themed areas. As we proceeded on a short trek with Juniper through the Brazilian, Water and Caribbean gardens, it surely did not feel like the 26th parallel!

OUR TOUR BEGINS

We first encountered a beautiful ceiba tree (