Ken and Pat's Great Loop!: A walk through the gardens!

Bill & Marie Selby were married in 1908 in Marietta, Ohio. Bill was a partner with his father in the Selby Oil Company. Bill had enjoyed trips to the Sarasota area, and took his new wife to Sarasota to experience the climate and ocean. She fell in love with Sarasota, and they ended up purchasing land on Sarasota Bay, at it’s junction with the Hudson Bayou. In the early 1920’s they built a modest Spanish style home there among the laurel and banyon trees.

The Selbys enjoyed a prosperous business and life in Sarasota. Bill established many endowments and foundations in the Sarasota area, until his death in 1956.

Marie was an avid gardener, and also helped found the Sarasota Yacht Club. Upon her death in 1971, the property, and her established gardens, were left to the City to serve as a park and research area.

Today, the Selby Gardens cover over 14 acres. There are more than 20,000 green house plants, plus thousands more in the outdoor gardens. One of my favorites are these Bonzi trees. These trees stand under two feet tall, but if photographed properly, would appear full size.

To the right is a Pitcher Plant. The plant collects moisture in its pitcher, and turns it into a poison “soup”. Bugs jump in for a drink, and become trapped, supplying nutrients for the plant. Some more interesting plants are pictured below.

The property also has lots of huge banyon trees, and some other trees I have never seen.

One of the main focuses at Selby Gardens is the research of epiphytic plants. These are plants that grow on hosts plants, but they do not use any nutrients from or damage the host plant.

The walkways wound through some pretty amazing gardens. We were impressed with the different types of plants, and the care that all must demand. There was even a handicapped accessible walkway through the tree canopy. I believe the only one in the world.