Get Lost in the Lushness of the Naples Botanical Garden

When you wake up every morning watching a hawk tend to her nest in upper branches of a palm tree, like I did last week in South Naples, Florida, it’s hard not to appreciate the nature of this part of the state. This only whet our appetite for the Naples Botanical Garden, where every type of palm tree imaginable shades the walkways as you peer at another glorious orchid or stop to sniff the lemon verbena and mint plants. We walked across the bridges in the Japanese Garden, spotted herons and egrets in the creek beds, and then stopped for salads and sandwiches in the café. An added bonus was the live jazz performance in the meadow on Sunday afternoons. There’s a reason why the parking lot was packed on this cloudless afternoon—this is a gem of a spot to spend several hours in a tropical oasis.