Tropics Take Center Stage at Naples Botanical Garden

A quick trip to the Naples Botanical Garden during the summer brings the abundance of the tropics up close. On one overcast Friday morning, a group from Marco took in an immersive tropical experience at the Garden. Tropical fruits were abundant, hanging from trees high and low. And these are not just your average tropical fruits; they carry with them their own cultural tradition and history.

Travel back in time and geography with a visit to the Naples Botanical Garden during the tropical growing season. According to Matt Herrman, Curator of Special Collections, the Garden has a vast tropical fruit collection from throughout the world. The collection encompasses fruits commonly found in the local markets, such as mangos, papayas, and pineapples. But they also have unfamiliar fruits such as jaboticaba from Brazil, jackfruits from Asia, and sugar apples from the Caribbean, just to name a few. In all, there are nearly 600 fruits, nuts, and other edible plants growing throughout the Garden. From May to August, think tropical exotic fruits, flowers, and scents!

From the Garden’s tropical collection, the tasting experience included the following:

• The Glenn mango variety is a Florida native and has been grown since 1910. It is renowned for its impeccable balance between sweetness and tartness. It has little to no fiber and is juicy with deep yellow flesh. It is an early variety that ripens from late May to early June.
• The Angie mango is another Southwest Florida cultivar named for a trustee of the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. The Angie Mango is sweet and juicy with a hint of spice, peach, and tangerine. Another early variety.
• Java apple, also known as wax apple, is native to the Philippines, India, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Pear-shaped and crunchy with a mild rose-like flavor. The Java apple is a refreshing snack or added to mixed greens.
• Elephant ear fig is common in Nepal and the Himalayan region, India, Thailand, Vietnam, and South China. It is sweet and used for jams, curries, and juices.

According to Herrman, the mango season in Florida is thriving and will most likely be a bumper crop. Early in the season, around early January and February, Florida experienced a cold spell, which worried many tropical fruit tree growers. But the fruit trees rebounded with a second set of blooms. The Garden, according to Herrman, will have many mango varieties ready for tasting at its Taste of the Tropics event on June 27th and 28th.

During the summer months, tropical plants throughout the garden give out wonderful fragrances of coconut, citrus, vanilla, and a mix of floral scents. The Garden has nearly 2,000 orchids on display at the LaGrippe Orchid Garden and many more displayed all over the garden. At any given month, something is blooming and giving out its unique scent. These scents are not necessarily intended for human enjoyment, but for pollinators. They are best enjoyed in the early mornings and evenings.

Plumerias (frangipani) have distinctive fragrances and are often described as sweet, tropical, and intoxicating. It evokes the tropics, and a connection to your favorite perfume – intense and exotic with fruity undertones. The Garden has an extensive collection, and as you go by a flowering plumeria, it is almost certain that you are going to get a whiff of your favorite perfume. The plumeria fragrance has been mastered by many fragrance houses and serves as a foundation for their signature scents.

The Garden has nearly two acres of pools and ponds populated with waterlilies, lotuses, and other aquatic beauties. According to Herrman, they are busy preparing the ponds and pools for the August 29-30 Waterlily Weekend event, which will feature an immersive “Walk Among the Waterlilies” and a “Waterlily Weigh-Off.”

Both hardy waterlilies and tropical waterlilies emit their own distinct scents. But unlike an orchid or a plumeria, you might need to be closer to the flower to appreciate its unique floral undertones.

According to experts, memories are made of scents and taste, as they have the power to take you back to that memorable meal from childhood or something floral from grandma’s collection. It’s not your imagination!