CrowdSavings

Spring is officially here and there’s no better time to get back in tune with Mother Nature. Now, you might be a horticultural hotshot, or you might – like me – not you know an aspidistra from your ass, but either way, finding inspiration and advice on all things plant-related isn’t always easy.

Help is at hand – the USF Botanical Gardens is a non-profit, educational facility, open to the public seven days a week. Membership is extremely reasonable, and not only will you have access to six-acres of landscape displays and greenhouse collections, but your membership fees will be used to further enhance the development of living plant collections, garden displays and education programs that promote an understanding of our natural botanical heritage, and the conservation of biodiversity.

The Gardens hold a living collection of over 3,000 groups of plants and natural habitats such as orchids, begonias, mallows, bromeliads, gingers, ferns, aroids, fruit trees, palms, cycads and carnivorous plants, as well as a butterfly garden, herb and scent gardens, and many animal and insect species including gopher tortoises, butterflies and over 60 species of birds.

And for those seeking inspiration for a bit of spring landscaping and planting, there’s the upcoming 21^stannual Spring Plant Festival which is free to USFBG members on April 10^thand 11^th. Here you’ll be able to find a vast array of beautiful plants such as crotons, African violets, orchids, bromeliads, cactus and succulents, bamboo, bonsai, bougainvillea, camellias, tropical fruit trees, palms, carnivorous plants and more. And if you don’t know what half of these wonderful species are, all the growers and plant club members will be on-hand to answer your gardening questions. It’s like a botanical Google in the flesh!

USF Botanical Gardens members also get free/early admission to garden plant sales and festivals, discounts on all workshops, discount on all purchases from the Elizabeth W. Johnson Plant Shop, a quarterly newsletter, an annual rare plant distribution, and reciprocal benefits at over 150 gardens in North America.