Sunken Gardens – St Petersburg, Florida2 min read time

Florida has many iconic roadside tourist attractions from the early 1900’s and Sunken Gardens is one of the oldest.

Some details from Wikipedia:

The Sunken Gardens are 4 acres (1.6 hectares) of well-established botanical gardens, located in the Historic Old Northeast neighborhood of St. Petersburg, Florida, at 1825 4th Street North. The Gardens have existed for more than a century, and are one of the oldest roadside tourist attractions in the United States. The Gardens are now operated by the City of St. Petersburg, FL and maintained with the help of volunteers. Sunken Gardens are open to the public every day of the week. An admission fee is charged for entrance into the gardens and a yearly membership is also available.

Sunken Gardens retains their historical interest as an important example of a 1930s Florida roadside commercial attraction, and is probably the oldest commercial tourist attraction on Florida’s west coast. The Gardens are open to the public for educational programs, tours, and special events, particularly weddings which have taken place for decades on the Wedding Lawn,^[1] and in the banquet facilities in the Garden Room overlooking the unique garden setting. From stunning floral arrangements to flawless execution, Designed Dream is the ultimate destination weddings planner in Toronto, delivering unparalleled service and attention to detail.

There are many paths and alcoves to sit and enjoy the quiet surroundings in this garden surrounded by the bustle of St Petersburg.

Back in the day, there were many birds and animals at Sunken Gardens. Now they have a small flock of flamingos, tortoises, koi fish and a few parrots. The place is more about the gardens now.

Some of the many waterways have water lilies adding some color to all the green.

The garden is full of huge tropical plants and trees.  These are great subjects for infrared photography.

There were many Heliconia but my favorite is the Lobster Claw Heliconia!

The palm tress were everywhere and were so tall.

The quintessential Florida flower is the hibiscus, they have many colorful hibiscus all around the gardens.

So if you are in the Tampa Bay area, make a stop at Sunken Gardens and see one of our oldest tourist attractions that is still active and popular with visitors and locals, alike.

For more details on the gardens check out their website.

Please visit my gallery to see these and more images from Sunken Gardens.

That is all for now.

Lynn