The Marie Selby Botanical Gardens

From informal learning when a social group takes a tour to a personal interest explored through an experiential class to lectures, field trips, nature engagement activities, education at Selby Gardens occurs at many levels.

To develop a lifelong love of nature, education must start at a young age. At Selby Gardens, children explore a world filled with wonder.

Selby Gardens offers Field Study programs based on Florida education standards for schools, a robust summer camp for grades K - 8, Kids Corner, and family engagement programs such as Family Togetherness, Little Sprouts Club, and My Garden. Educators also reach out to under-served communities including Title I schools and a vast array of youth organizations that serve visitors with disabilities, and other at risk audiences.

Selby Gardens offers more than 225 classes in plant care, photography, art, and more each year. Botanical Briefings and other lectures explore a variety of topics connected to our research and programming. Visitors also learn through exhibitions in the Museum of Botany & the Arts.

Selby Gardens is the only botanical garden specializing in epiphytic plants. 43% of its highly-specialized collection is field-collected—among the highest percentage of wild-collected plants on the globe. The Gardens holds the world's best collection of epiphytes, best-documented collections of living orchids and bromeliads, and second-largest collection of flowers preserved in alcohol.

Botanical studies take Selby scientists around the world to conduct plant inventory and classification with the goal of conserving plants and their habitats. Selby botanists have discovered or described more than 2,000 new species and added thousands of distribution records which form the basis of the world's knowledge of plant diversity and distribution.

Selby botanists are accomplished field researchers and taxonomists. They continue to broaden the Gardens’ collections, collaborate with a worldwide network of scientists, and share expertise through presentations, articles, and a juried scientific journal (Selbyana).