Sarasota's Selby Gardens named one of best botanical gardens in the United States
Marie Selby Botanical Gardens recently placed third in the USA Today’s 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards contest for Best Botanical Garden in the United States.
Chosen by a panel of experts, Selby was placed on a short list of 20 gardens from across the country, with the final ranking of the top 10 decided through public voting.
Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in Coral Gables, which placed one spot higher than Selby at number two on the list, was the only other Florida garden that made the top 10.
“We want to thank the Sarasota community and supporters of Selby Gardens for voting for us! Thanks to you, Selby Gardens is receiving national recognition, and we can continue to broadly showcase our mission of providing Bayfront sanctuaries connecting people with air plants of the world, native nature, and our regional history,” said Selby President and CEO Jennifer Rominiecki.
The recognition comes after an eventful few months for Selby, which opened the first phase of its redesign master plan in January.
The first phase includes a four-story parking structure topped with solar panels; a rooftop garden that will provide food for the new Green Orchid restaurant; expanded administrative and research facilities; and a new open-air welcome center where patrons will start their visits.
That highly anticipated Green Orchid restaurant, operated by Sarasota fine-dining mainstay and Selby Gardens' longtime food provider Michael's on East, opened earlier this month.
The restaurant is fully solar-powered with designs to achieve net positive energy, generating more energy than it consumes. The rooftop garden will provide fresh produce for a seasonally inspired menu, with the garden planned, planted and maintained by Operation Eco Vets, a nonprofit providing personal, educational and professional growth opportunities for military veterans.
10Best highlighted Selby's specialization in "epiphytes, particularly orchids, bromeliads, and ferns" and mentioned the garden's location on Sarasota's Bayfront, as well as Historic Spanish Point, its secondary spot in Osprey.
Jay Handelman and Jimmy Geurts contributed to this story.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sarasota's Selby Gardens named third best botanical garden in US