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Enjoy The Public Gardens Orlando Has to Offer

By Mark Whichard

Republish: EasyPublish™ Published: 04Mar2009 Word count: 597 Viewed: 313 time(s) Get Free Content For Your Site

If you are a gardener or just love the scent of a beautiful rose then a trip to the Harry P. Leu Gardens in Orlando is well worth your time. This is one of the quiet attractions of Orlando that will provide a good change of pace from the flashy theme parks. Let's look at what you will find here.

The gardens is made up of three miles of paved scenic walkways that wind through fifty acres of southern styled gardens. The gardens include America's largest Camellia collection outside California, three acres of idea gardens for weekend projects, the largest formal rose garden in Florida, a house museum dating from the 1880's, a two acre Tropical Stream Garden, a Vegetable and Herb Garden, a Butterfly Garden and lots more.

These gardens make up a botanical oasis where you can discover palms, cycads and flowering trees, enjoy azaleas, vines, bromeliads, orchids and aroids or just take delight at the sight of familiar annual flowers and the beauty of roses and camellias. You can take a quiet walk under the awe-inspiring branches of camphor trees, elms and oaks and forget the cares of the outside world.

One of the highlights of the gardens is the amazing rose garden. Popularly known as "Mary Jane's Rose Garden", this rose garden is laid out in the traditional European style and is the largest formal rose garden in Florida. The space is bright and open and features an Italian stone fountain surrounded by four gazebos.

Over 1,000 roses of various types are in bloom year 'round. The peak spring display is in April, followed by an autumn peak in October and November and climbing roses. If you go through this garden you will find hybrid tea, floribunda, Grandiflora, English, Bermuda Mystery, miniature, shrub and climbing roses. This is definitely a rose lover's paradise!

Not to be outdone by the roses, the Camellia Collection is one of the largest outdoor collections of its kind in the United States. Common camellias (Camellia japonica) and sasanquas (C. sasanqua) comprise the majority of the collection as well as over twenty-five species from various locations throughout the world. The best time to see the Camellias is from October to March.

The gardens are more than a place to just gawk at the flowers, you can also take advantage of the regular educational activities, tours, facility rentals and special events. You can schedule a guided tour for your group or party by contacting the garden's educational department three weeks before your visit. The cost per visitor for a guided tour is $9.00. School tours can also be arranged by calling the Educational department at (407) 246 - 3621.

Throughout the year the garden holds a series of classes on different topics of interest to gardeners including: organic gardening, winter gardening, spring gardening, bonsai, container gardening, landscaping and other lots more.

If you are interested in visiting the Leu Gardens, here is the concise information about opening hours and costs: Open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. except Christmas day.

Leu House Museum tours from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. every 30 minutes. The Leu House Museum is closed for repairs and inventory in July. The last Garden admission is at 4:00 pm.

Cost of Admission is $7.00 for adults and $2.00 for children grades (K-12). Free admission (excluding tour groups) on Monday 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon.

The gardens are located at 1920 N. Forest Ave., Orlando, FL 32803-1537 407-246-2620

So, there you have it. Take advantage of this low-cost but beautiful attraction in Orlando. I can almost smell the flowers as I write this article for you!

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