Gardens-at-a-Glance July News

Get ready for an evening filled with LIVE music by The BoogieMen, food trucks, sweet treats, specialty cocktails and more! Mark your calendar for a tropical celebration like no other! Tickets are $20 members, $25 nonmembers. We expect to sell out so get your tickets early!

Live Music: Get ready to groove to the sounds of live music provided by The Romantics throughout the day.

Contests: Pineapple Bake Off, Largest Home Grown Pineapple, Pineapple insipred Art.

Vendors: Explore a diverse range of vendors offering unique, pineapple-themed merchandise, handmade crafts, and local products. It's the perfect opportunity to find one-of-a-kind treasures and support local artisans.

Food Trucks: Satisfy your taste buds with delicious offerings from a variety of food trucks. From pineapple-infused dishes to classic mouth watering options, there's something to delight every palate.

Beverages: The Big Lemon will be there with a unique twist and cool down with Rita's Italian Ice. Beer, Wine and specialty pineapple drinks

Kids Activities: Children will have a blast with a host of activities designed just for them. Enjoy face painting, pineapple-themed games, TWO bounce houses, and interactive educational tables that introduce the wonders of The Gardens.

Plant Sales: Take a piece of the festival home with you by visiting our plant sale. Browse a selection of beautiful plants, including exotic tropical varieties and, of course, pineapples! Our gardening experts will be on hand to provide tips and advice for your garden.

Educational Workshops: Learn more about pineapples, gardening, and sustainable practices through our series of engaging workshops. Perfect for garden enthusiasts and those looking to expand their horticultural knowledge.

Mark your calendar and bring the whole family for a day of fun, food, music, and nature! Members are free. General admission applies.

Your support enables our nonprofit to keep our fun and educational experiences happening! Your business will benefit from exposure to:

10K+newsletter subscribers

12K+social media followers

1K+on-site attendees

Please reach out to tdane@peacerivergardens.org for more details!

The Victoria giant water lilies are a botanical wonder and highly prestigious possession at botanical gardens around the globe. This year we have the rarest of the three giant water lily types in cultivation, the 'Longwood Hybrid'. Given to us by Naples BG and created by the famed Longwood Gardens, it is a cross between a giant water lily from the Amazon River system in Brazil and Peru (Victoria amazonica) and the giant water lily (Victoria cruziana) from the Pantanal ecosystem in Argentina and Brazil.

Victoria water lilies have fascinating facts and survival mechanisms. The out of this world foliage is covered in countless ½ inch thorns on the underside to prevent manatees and vegetarian piranhas from eating their leaves.

The giant scented flowers open the first night at sunset and are completely white and about the size of a dinner plate. During the night they omit a wafting fragrance from the flower that reaches a temperature of about 90°F. This combination of heat and fragrance is irresistible to pollinating beetles. They are lured into the flower and are trapped inside as the flower closes around sunrise. The beetles remain trapped inside moving around collecting and eating pollen all day. About an hour before sunset the same flower opens again. This time the flower is a dark pink color and the beetle escapes covered pollen. The beetle is attracted to another fresh white flower and a separate plant and process starts all over again.

The specimens in our koi pond have nearly reached four feet across in only four weeks and are predicted to grow to six feet in diameter this summer season! Unfortunately, these giants are an annual, which means they only live one growing season and must restart each year by seeds. Come and visit the giant Victoria water lilies at The Gardens this summer before it is too late!

As we prepare for a busy season filled with two major exhibitions, Beguiled by the Wild (Oct-Jan) and ZimSculpt (February-April) we are seeking enthusiastic volunteers to join our docent team. If you love The Gardens and enjoy sharing knowledge, we would love to have you! There is no need to be an expert - we will provide you with all of the necessary trainings! Help us make a difference by educating and inspiring others! Please reach out to our Group Tour Coordinator for more details.

Use your Peace River Gardens membership to get into over 350 other gardens around the country and our Family Memberships provide free access to over 1200 museums. You also get discounts in our gift shop, on plant sales, and on our events! Click here to purchase or renew. As a special bonus you can use your membership to get into Mote Marine Aquarium in Sarasota during July and August!

As you may have heard, Florida's Arts & Culture funding was vetoed. How does this impact The Gardens? We scored the highest on all grant applications in the state this year for our upcoming ZimSculpt exhibition - unfortunately, that $25K that we were awarded and counting on is no longer available. For an organization of our size and youth, this is a devastating blow. We are in desperate need of our community's help to fund this important cultural exhibition! For every $100 given, 10 students can come visit for free to witness the beauty and intrigue of African artists hand-carving stone right before their eyes. Our hope is to bring 7K students during this exhibition!

We need our network to rally to help us bring this world-class exhibit to our region!

Peace River Botanical & Sculpture Gardens, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) Florida Nonprofit Corporation. A copy of its most recently filed IRS Form 990 is available by contacting the organization. A copy of the official registration and financial information may be obtained from the Division of Consumer Services by calling toll-free within ht eSTate, registration does not imply endorsement, approval or recommendation by the State. 1(800)HELP-FLA

Your donation is tax deductible as allowed by law.

To Contact Peace River Botanical & Sculpture Gardens:

Phone: (941)621-8299

Email: admin@peacerivergardens.org

Mailing Address: 5800 Riverside Drive Punta Gorda, FL 33982