This past October, we didn't get many Adventure Fridays due to Hurricanes and make up days on Fridays; however, we did make it to Kanapaha Botanical Gardens in Gainesville on the first Friday of the month. Originally, we planned to go with two different families, but it only worked out for one to travel up there with us. Luckily for us, our friend is a stellar photographer, and at her encouragement the kids dressed up in their Renaissance fair costumes, and we got some fun pictures.
Upon entering the park you have two garden options. There are the East Gardens and the Water Gardens (also called the West Gardens). The East Gardens are a one mile loop that pass through several smaller garden areas. If you take it, you can traverse the Native Woodland Trail which skirts several sinkholes and passes through the Herb Garden, which is the largest in the southeastern United States. It then continues on toward the Bamboo Garden, which is the largest public collection of bamboo in the state of Florida. Also on the eastern side you can see several gardens specific to the Florida climate, that you would be hard pressed to find elsewhere in the country. These include the Bromeliad Garden, the Cycad Garden, and the Palm Hammock.
The Water Gardens as you might guess lie on the eastern side of the park and house a number of water features. There is a small pond with a stream flowing from it and tumbling down a few small waterfalls. It was incredibly peaceful. The Children's Garden, the Rose Garden, and the Arboretum are all in this area of the park. The famous eighteenth century naturalist William Bartram visited this area in 1773, and it is easy to imagine the Arboretum being similar to the cleared regions of the area at the time. The highlight of this side of the park are the famous Giant Victorian water lilies, found in very few areas in the US these lily pads grow to the size of a round area rug. These are a tropical water lily, and begin to bloom in the early summer and die back in October.
We only had time to explore one of the two so we chose the Water Gardens. The kids enjoyed the labyrinth before we set out, and then went off exploring ahead of us. They really enjoyed the Children's Garden with it's playground and hedge maze. We also spent alot of time exploring the butterfly garden. Along with view different species and learning a bit about them, there was time for sword fighting and playing together. Before heading back to the car we wandered among the azalea and camelia garden which was still in bloom. All together we spent about an hour and a half in the park, leaving right at closing time.
The park covers an expanse of 68 acres, and contains 24 different gardens. The peak season for the gardens occurs from June until September. They are open from 9 to 5 Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Friday. On Thursdays, they are closed. Saturday and Sunday the park is open until 7 pm or dusk, whichever occurs first. The gardens are dog friendly, except during special events. They have a number of these events throughout the year, such as the Spring Garden Festival and the Fall Plant Sale. Finally, there are several places to picnic in the park if you want to bring a lunch.
We had a great time and think it's worth visiting once. However, due to the high cost I don't foresee us returning in the future. It cost $12 for anyone over thirteen, $7 for anyone between six and twelve, and free for anyone five and under.  While, it is the same cost as Cedar Lake Woods and Gardens, I feel like you get more bang for your buck over at Cedar Lake. If you'd like to make a trip the address to Kanapaha Botanical Gardens is 4700 SW 58th Dr, Gainesville, Florida. Of course, you can always call for more information at 352-372-4981.
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