Endangered
Plant Garden
Located near Window By The Pond in the lower east side of the Gardens, the location of the Endangered Plant Garden was chosen for its openness and full sun. This area was a former citrus grove and not part of the original Olmsted designed gardens.
David Price, president of Bok Tower Gardens, designed the quarter-acre garden in a circular pattern, inspired by the layout of the Botanical Garden of Padua University in Padua, Italy. Founded in 1545, it is the oldest university garden in the world.
The garden's circular plan makes efficient use of space, allowing visitors to view plants up-close. Many of the plants that are grown have a loose and informal form so that the contrast of the gardens layout provides structure and stability to the design through the growing year.
Information panels placed along the garden's path identify the plants and tell about its habitat and life history. Paths for visitors to stroll along will be laid out on compass points, giving visitors vistas out to the adjacent longleaf pine grove. Benches are placed around the garden among sabal palm trees, and other drought tolerant native plants. An analemmatic sundial is located at the center of the garden. Visitors can stand on the calendar to cast their shadow on the hour marker, giving them Eastern Standard time. This garden is an area for the public and school visitors to learn about the rare flora of our state, as well as a place to sit and contemplate our role as stewards of these fragile plants.
Construction of this garden was made possible through a grant from the State of Florida's Division of Plant Industry. The State of Florida renewed a grant with Bok Tower Gardens to fund educational and conservation projects on the Endangered and Threatened Native Flora Conservation Grants Program. This is the second year Bok Tower Gardens has been awarded this grant. Affiliated with the national Center for Plant Conservation in St. Louis, MO, Bok Tower Gardens' Endangered Plant Program was started 15 years ago and has partnered to conserve Florida's rarest plant species. The program's conservation efforts have been directed at rare plants in their natural habitats ("in-situ" conservation) as well as in Bok Tower Garden's nursery ("ex-situ" conservation.) The nursery has been able to grow most of central and north Florida's globally endangered rare plant species – plants that grow in a few locations in Florida and no where else in the world.
The rare plant conservation growing beds have provided staff, and other Florida and Federal agencies, with research and educational opportunities, but public access to the nursery has been limited to tours by appointment only. Interest in seeing and learning about these rare plants has increased over the years as the public has become more aware of the environment in general and the uniqueness of Florida's natural habitats.
