Experience the Everglades at Flamingo Gardens

By Janice Mc Sherry 

In recent years the tourist industry of Florida has flourished due to the addition of theme parks and other state-of-the-art attractions. However, the original base of Florida’s attraction was its warm weather and tropical environment. If you want to get a first hand experience of the beauty of Florida’s natural environment, then a trip to Flamingo Gardens would be a good outing to take. 

Flamingo Gardens is located west of Ft. Lauderdale and contains 60 acres of lush gardens featuring rare and exotic plants. The Free Flight Aviary and the Everglades Wildlife Sanctuary will give you a close-up glimpse at the beautiful creatures that populate the everglades. 

Flamingo Gardens holds the distinction of having the largest collection of towering Champion Trees in the region, The Arboretum also includes hundreds of additional native and exotic trees, along with lush under-story plantings and a waterfall. 

Other native plants are found in the Tropical Plant House and the Xeriscape Garden. The Tropical Plant House features a display of Orchids, Calatheas and other unique tropical plants.  The Xeriscape Garden is a low maintenance, minimal irrigation garden.  

Along with the beautiful plant life, there are some delicate creatures that are at home here. The Butterfly and Hummingbird Gardens host a variety of flowering plants and shrubs that attract several species of butterflies and hummingbirds. For example, the Ruby Throat hummingbird visits Flamingo Gardens during the winter. 

If you are a bird lover then the Everglades Free-flight Aviary will certainly please you. You can walk through the 25,000 square foot Everglades free-flight facility housing one of the largest collections of wading birds in America. Five ecosystems are represented through the display of native plants. 

Some more inhabitants of the Everglades are featured at The Wildlife Encounter and the Bird of Prey Center. The Wildlife Encounter offers a live presentation featuring Florida’s native wildlife, such as birds of prey and reptiles and their relationship to the environment. The presentations take place at 12:30, 1:30, and 2:30 weather permitting. 

The Bird of Prey Center is a showcase of South Florida’s rare birds in their naturalistic habitat. These birds are either at-risk or endangered and cannot be released because of injuries sustained in the wild. 

You can tour the park by Tram. A narrated tram ride through the tropical rainforest, native hammock, wetland area, and groves leaves every hour on the hour from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm. The tour is fully narrated and lasts approximately 25 minutes.