Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens - 6 miles SW

Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens

 The 16 acres that surround Morikami’s two museum buildings include expansive Japanese gardens with strolling paths, resting areas, our world-class bonsai collection and lakes teeming with koi and other wildlife. The wider 200-acre park features nature trails, pine forests and picnic areas.

In 2001, Morikami completed a major garden expansion and renovation. The new gardens reflect major periods of Japanese garden design, from the eighth to the 20th century, and serve as an outdoor extension of the museum. According to the garden designer, Hoichi Kurisu, each garden is intended to express the character and ideas of a unique counterpart in Japan without attempting to duplicate those gardens, and seamlessly flow together as one garden.

Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens, with its unique gardens and collections, is one of Palm Beach County’s most treasured cultural attractions. Located in a tranquil natural setting, Morikami invites visitors to explore its many facets and discover Florida’s heritage and its connection with Japan.

Visitors are surprised to discover a century-old connection between Japan and South Florida. It is here that a group of young Japanese farmers created a community intended to revolutionize agriculture in Florida.

In 1904, Jo Sakai, a recent graduate of New York University, returned to his homeland of Miyazu, Japan, to organize a group of pioneering farmers and lead them to what is now northern Boca Raton. With the help of the Model Land Company, a subsidiary of Henry Flagler’s East Coast Railroad, they formed a farming colony they named Yamato, an ancient name for Japan.

Ultimately, the results of their crop experimentation were disappointing and the Yamato Colony fell far short of its goals. By the 1920s the community, which had never grown beyond 30 to 35 individuals, finally surrendered its dream. One by one, the families left for other parts of the United States or returned to Japan.

Hours of operation: Tuesday-Sunday: 10am-5pm. Closed Mondays and major holidays

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Admission: $15 (No Online Tikets)

Flamingo Gardens - Davie (42 miles South)

Flamingo Gardens is a 60 acre Botanical Garden and Everglade Wildlife Sanctuary. 

The Flamingo Gardens botanical gardens in Fort Lauderdale, (Davie) Florida, features over 3000 species of rare & exotic, tropical, subtropical, and native plants and trees. Flamingo Gardens wildlife sanctuary is home to the largest collection of Florida native wildlife including alligators, bobcats, eagles, otters, panthers, peacock, and of course, flamingos!

​​Established in 1927, Flamingo Gardens is one of the oldest botanical gardens  and attractions in South Florida. Originally founded by Floyd L. and Jane Wray as an orange grove, the nonprofit botanical gardens is home to 18 “Champion” trees, the largest trees of their species, including the largest tree in Florida. Specialized botanical gardens, including a Butterfly and Hummingbird Garden, Croton Garden, and Bromeliad Garden dot the main Arboretum. 

​The centerpiece of the gardens is a natural hammock of 200 year-old Live Oaks dripping with species orchids and epiphytes. Here sits the historic Wray Home Museum, built in 1933 by Floyd L. and Jane Wray as a weekend retreat. It is the oldest residence in Broward County west of University Drive. The building was restored in 1991 to depict a typical South Florida country home of the 1930's.

Nestled in and around the gardens, the Everglades Wildlife Sanctuary is home to over 90 species of Florida native birds and animals, most of whom are permanently injured or non-releasable.The half-acre Free-flight Aviary boasts over 250 wading birds representing over 45 species, and the Bird of Prey Center houses one of the largest raptor collections in the United States. 

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Flamingo Gardens is owned and operated by the Floyd L. Wray Memorial Foundation, Inc. which was established in 1969 by Mrs. Wray in honor of her late husband. Her wish to preserve the core property for future generations and emphasize the flora, fauna, and history of the Florida Everglades is the core of Flamingo Gardens' mission still today.

Hours of operation: 7 days a week 9:30am - 5:00pm. Closed Thanksgiving and Christmas Days.

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Online Tickets $19.95