Hi everyone! I hadn't been down to Selby in a few years and we're getting our last taste of spring weather so I decided to go visit. Now, first I have to inform everyone of the American Horticultural Society's Reciprocal Admission Program. If you're a member of a botanical garden that belongs to the program, you can often get in free and get other perks when you visit another botanical garden in the network. In my case, I have a family membership to USF Botanical Gardens. Using my USF card gets me in free to Selby. Adult admission to Selby is $19 so that is quite a savings! For more info on the program, visit the website:
http://www.ahs.org/gardening-p...
FYI, I'm going to break this tour into several posts as I took 868 pictures! And I can't do that all at once - I might break the site or my computer!
You can visit the website for Selby at www.selby.org for more information. But to give you a brief rundown, Selby is located right on the waters of Sarasota Bay. They're known for their research of bromeliads and orchids. They grow a lot of tropical plants and Florida natives. I'm going to post the photos mostly in the order I walked around, but here's a few general shots I took to give you an idea of the setting.
This is the new kid's rain forest area.
These are some of the nice homes across from Selby. As you can see boating is popular here. While I was on this side of the garden, I saw and heard a boat tour go by. The tour guide was pointing out an osprey nest inside the garden.
All right, with that out of the way, let me tell you a bit about my process. I take a picture of the plant, and then I take a picture of the name tag. I'm just going to post the plant and type what was on the tag. A few of the tags had typos so forgive me as I'm just going to copy them. I posted all the plants I could to the Plant Database and in some cases Selby is using synonyms. There's also some hybrids, particularly orchids, that I couldn't put in the database since they're not listed so you'll only see them here!
After showing my card and getting a map, my first stop was the bathroom. And along the way to the bathrooms are lots of Cycads. So that's mostly what we're going to see first. There's also a cart set up in this area staffed with a volunteer who can answer questions. Guided tours are also offered, but I'm a wanderer.
Ceratozamia hildae
Dioon spinulosum
Ceratozamia microstrobila
Ceratozamia robusta
Dioon edule
Dioon mejiae
Anthurium crassinervium
Microcycas calocoma. The nice volunteer told me the one on the left is female and the one on the right is male. I also took a picture of the female's cone which was huge!
Encephalartos hildebrandtii
Now, I started wandering toward the greenhouse. But there were a few things along the way. Like this Hoya pubicalyx.
Disclosure: I am a bromeliad addict. So we're gonna see a lot of those. This is Vriesea neoglutinosa.
No name on this beauty.
Aechmea nudicaulis is one of the smaller Aechmeas, but grown in mass, it packs a big punch!
Next, there is a small bonsai exhibit provided by a local club. I always think it's neat how they can grow what would be giant trees in little specimens. This first one is Ilex vomitoria 'Schilling's Dwarf', commonly known as Schilling's Dwarf Holly.
Chloroleucon tortum, Brazilian Rain Tree. There were two of them.
Ficus traingularis, or Triangle Fig.
Bougainvillea are really popular here, and it's neat to see one in bonsai form. Bougainvillea glabra
There were also two Ficus salicaria, or Willow Leaf Fig.
Taxodium distichum, or Bald Cypress.
Bucida spinosum, also known as Dwarf Black Olive or Ming Tree
Ficus microcarpa, or Cuban Laurel Fig
Next to the Bonsai was a small grouping of Adenium, or what I know as Desert Rose. This is Adenium 'Harry Potter'
Adenium arabicum
Adenium obesum (#72 x 'Dark Red Edge')
Adenium 'Taiwan Red'
Adenium Chang Daeng
Adenium Chao Saow
Adenium somalense 'Nova'
It's way past my bedtime so I'm going to break for now. Next up is my favorite part - the conservatory! Bromeliads, orchids, and things I can't identify! Also, you'll get to hear about my run-in with a volunteer. Does Melanie get in trouble? Find out soon!
