April 16, 2025 • 32 mins
Talked with James May, Executive Director and Misty Stoller, Associate Director of Marketing & Communications, Mounts Botanical Gardens. "With a mission to inspire and educate through nature, Mounts Botanical Garden is Palm Beach County’s oldest and largest botanical garden. Visitors to this 20-acre tropical oasis will see an acclaimed collection of 25 unique garden areas containing more than 7,000 species of tropical and sub-tropical plants, including Florida natives, exotic and tropical fruit trees, herbs, palms, roses, cactus, bromeliads and much more. Mounts Botanical Garden is part of the Palm Beach County Cooperative Extension Department, in partnership with the University of Florida and the non-profit Friends of the Mounts Botanical Garden. Located at 531 North Military Trail in West Palm Beach, Mounts Botanical Garden is open to the public Tuesday through Sunday from 9 am to 4 pm (with last entry at 3 pm). Admission is $20 for adults; $18 for seniors, college students and military with IDs; $13 for ages 6 to 17; and free for children under age 6, Mounts members, and RAP (reciprocal program) members.." They have a Spring Plant Sale and Family Fun Weekend coming up on April 26th & 27th. Listeners can enjoy the gardens, check out presentations from guest speakers including Kirsten Hines, Mindi Ogden, UF Professor, Dr. Kimberly Moore, Ph.D. and Dawn Conrad from Conrad-Sunrise Chapter of the American Hibiscus Society. They have over 70 vendors and lots of fun family events too. For more info, to become a volunteer, member or make a donation, listeners can go to www.mounts.org.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Ihearts Communities Presents Palm Beach Treasure Coast Perspective, which dead now.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Good morning, Welcome to Palm Beach Treasure Coast Perspective. I'm
your host Stev new Thanks for spending your weekend with me.
All kinds of great things happening. Talk to the folks
from the Palm Beach Parks last week. Lots of cool
stuff happening. Coming up on Saturday, April twenty six, it
is the Earthday Celebration happening at Daggerwing Nature Center in
the Burt Aronson South County Regional Park. Totally Freeze starts
(00:29):
at ten am. A lot of fun. They're going to
have a few small purchases for food and if you
want to do the little Ladybugs, you kids who can
buy like I think at dollars with the ladybugs and
release them into the butterfly garden. A lot of fun.
Friday and Saturday, April twenty fifth and twenty six at
Green Kay Nature Center, it is the Guided Citizens Science
Boardwalk Tour. Say have all kinds of fun things you're
(00:50):
going to be looking for into photograph and then also
at more Comby Gardens they have their Kuto demonstration coming up,
which is the Way of the Bow that is going
to be Saturday, April twenty six. Tai Chi happens at
the South County Civic Center in Delray Beach on Wednesday
mornings at eight thirty and Tuesdays and Thursdays at ten am.
It's free admission and it's outside under the tree there,
(01:13):
so that's a really fun thing to do. They also
offer functional fitness at Morcomie Park in Delray Beach, but
you do need to pre register for that one, and
that one's going to be on Tuesdays and Thursdays at
eight thirty am outside of the park. And of course
April is volunteer month, so if you're interested in being
a volunteer, you can volunteer with the parks. I can
also volunteer with the fine folks over at Pandora's Kids.
(01:37):
We just talked to Valstags about that great charity that
they're offering, and don't forget throughout the entire month of April,
Oceana Coffee is doing a fundraiser for them. So you
go one any of their three locations, buy your coffee
and then put your little coffee bean in the cup
that goes to Pandora's Kids and then they'll give them
the money donated, so that's a fun thing to do.
(01:57):
For more information on them, go to Pandoorskids dot org.
All the details are right there for you on how
you can connect your children with them. Craves. Lots of
great things happening, So wrapping up this weekend, it is Clue.
They're doing the stage version of The Wonderful Board Game
is my favorite, so fantastic show. Definitely want to get
(02:18):
your tickets for that. And then starting Tuesday, going through
April twenty seventh, it is Ley Missed, also part of
the Cravison Broadway series. Got lots of cool things going on.
And then Tuesday, April twenty ninth, it is Complexions Contemporary
Ballet presenting for Crying Out Loud, showing some different genres.
(02:38):
And of course the cravis On Broadway season for next
year has been announced, So coming up next year, They've
got the Whiz Kimberly at Kimbo twas the night before
and this one's with the Circasle folks. This could be
really cool. That's a great one if you don't have
that family at tradition of taking your kids to the
Travis for some kind of fun traditional one. This is
when to start with. Then they have the Choir of
(03:01):
Man December twenty second through the twenty eighth of next year,
some like it, Hot MJ the musical A Beautiful Noise,
which is of course the Neil Diamond Musical. And then
of course the Notebook, which is based on the book
by Nicholas Sparks. So lost cool things happening there. And
also in May they have May fourth, the Young Singers
(03:21):
of the Palm Beaches. This is a great choral thing
with the kids do this. They do such a fantastic job.
This one's called many Voices, One Song. It's going to
be happening Sunday at four thirty in the Dreyfus Hall.
Mystic Pizza coming May thirteenth through the eighteenth part of
their Cravis on Broadway series. And then on May thirty first,
okay you take us ahead of time for this one,
(03:43):
the Ballet Palm Beach will be presenting their student showcase.
And this one's happening Saturday two pm and seven pm
in the Rinker Playhouse. So lots of cool things happening there.
And if you head it for to the Flagler Museum.
They're hosting bluegrass in their pavilion, so that concerts coming up.
Sound Saday April twenty six from three to five pm
featuring the Cody Norris Show. They're returning for their second
(04:06):
event second year and Authentic Unlimited is going to be
opening for them. Go to Flagler Museum dot us for
more details on that. Oh, Friends in Saint Lucy County,
lots of cool things happening in the libraries. There lots
of book clubs, different books. Tuesday April twenty second, six
pm is a book club discussing Alex Cross Run of
(04:26):
Course by James Patterson. This one's happening in the Morningside
Branch Mystery Lovers book Group, and that's from information that
call them seven seven to two three three seven fifty
six thirty two. Then Wednesday, April thirtieth at two and
then get at seven is the virtual book club happening
on zoom. And this book is featuring a work in
(04:47):
progress by katmckenzie. You can go to Saint Lucylibrary dot
org and they have all the different programs and things
that have going on. And of course if you've written
a book. On April twenty six at ten am at
Morningside Branch doing your presentation on how to publish a
book and not get scammed and all those good things.
So if you reach out to them, check that out.
All a reminder, the East Boyton Beach Blaze ten U
(05:11):
baseball team is helpsting their second annual Blazeballer charity golf
tournament and it's going to be happening Saturday, May thirty
first at the prestigious Banyon Golf Club and the event,
of course, will raise some funds to send the team
on their journey to the World Series tournaments happening in Pigeonforge, Tennessee,
and Cooperstown, New York. For details, sign up your four
(05:33):
some all that good stuff, give them a call three
five two two six two and nineteen hundred and Tricia
can help you out again three five to two two
six two nineteen hundred.
Speaker 3 (05:46):
All.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
We talked to the folks a while back from Pompeach
Trauma Works, so they're hosting their next play part of
their twenty fifth season twentieth anniversary season. It is camping
with Henry and Tom. It's going on now through April
twenty seventh. To find out oout more about their programs,
go to Palm Beach Drama Works dot org and all
(06:07):
the details are listed there for you. And a reminder,
folks at the Delry Beach Playhouse have their summer camp
announcements up for the kids, so if you want to
send the kids there simp They go to Delray Beach
Playhouse dot org and all the different classes and sessions
are listed there for you to check out. Then, Norton
has a new exhibition going on now through October fifth,
(06:29):
and this one is an exhibition of jewelry that is
made by world famous artists. So you think they just
do paintings or sculptures, and a lot of them actually
create a jewelry, including Salvador, Dolly, Nookie Descent, and Manray
just a few of them, So you can head to
the Norton to check those out, and go to Norton
dot org if you find outbout all the different exhibitions
(06:51):
they have, and of course what's happening on their Friday
Night Norton Art After Dark programs as well, and also
looking for volunteers for the Restoring the Village Neighborhood clean
up on May seventeenth in Fort Pierce and it's gonna
be happening Saturday, May seventeenth, starting at seven am. If
you need more information, reach out to them info at
(07:12):
Restoring the Village and they'll be happy to give you
information about that. Of course, that's in long conjunction with
the Board of Saint Lucie County Board of Commissioners, Oxbow
Eco Center, City of four Piers, Carter's Grocery, Nature's Keeper,
and of course Walmart. So lots of folks pitching in
to help clean up the neighborhood. Speaking of fun things,
(07:33):
great places to go, and we'll welcome my guests for today.
I have Jim May, executive director and Misty Stoller marketing
communications director from Mounts Botanical Gardens. Good morning, guys, Good morning,
good morning. So thanks for coming in. So Jim, tell
us a little bit about yourself. You're the CEO, correct
I am.
Speaker 4 (07:50):
I've fairly recently joined the group, but very happy to
lead such a wonderful organization. It's quite an asset for
this community to have these twenty acres nestled in the
middle of the county to be a resource for people's
recreation and inspiration.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
Well, I love coming to the gardens because it's so
relaxing and like every now and then my knee will
flare up with the ostere arthritis. And you've got a
bench like every couple of feet and I'm like, this
is lovely. I could sit there and I'll go with
my friend. She's like, it's a time for us. Is
sitting enjoy the view? Like, yes, yes, it is, so
I like the one there's you guys are going to know.
It's called it's like the floating panes on water.
Speaker 3 (08:27):
Windows on the floating world. It's our tropical, our wetlands area.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
It's gorgeous. So we like going there and sitting there
and watching that. And the little ducks are oh and
you can get the food to feed the ducks and
the turtles, which is its super funny.
Speaker 3 (08:40):
The koi and the waterfall, the sounds there are beautiful.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
Oh yeah, it brings out the big kids in this.
Speaker 4 (08:47):
Definitely. The experience is what you want to come for,
because you don't rush through a garden like this, you
actually sit and savor it.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
Right, So, how many gardens are there? Because I know
it's a really big piece of land and.
Speaker 4 (09:01):
There are twenty five display gardens on the property. So
different areas, everything from a tropical shade garden to a
dry river bed, just to highlight the different types of
plants and different ecosystems that thrive in different sorts of environments.
So we're obviously we're in the subtropics here, so everything
has some sort of direct relationship to the actual ecosystem
(09:23):
we live in, but different angles on that. Take the
garden we just mentioned, the floating world is one of
the closest ways you're going to get to the everglades
where you can sit down and just sit basically right
at the top of the water. You walk out onto
a platform. That is, when it's in the rainy season,
certainly the water level of the lake is up to
(09:44):
the level of the walk and you sit and you
watch the fish and the other life that's below the surface.
Speaker 2 (09:51):
It's very cool. I think it's so fascinating. The clever one.
You have lot of funds of gardens. I think the
one that's like I want to say, it's like edible
foods and spices.
Speaker 3 (10:00):
We do well. We have two different edible gardens. We
have our vegetable garden, our edible garden, which is all
kinds of vegetables, fruits. And then we also have an
herb Garden of well Being, which is an entire garden
dedicated just to herbs.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
And I saw on I want to think it was
either Instagram or Facebook. One of your gardeners had a
cabbage that he grew in the vegetable garden. It was
bigger than he was. I was like, that's amazing.
Speaker 3 (10:27):
That was a real photo. Palmer's one of our horticulturists
who really oversees the vegetable garden, and you have to
come out and see it for yourself because it is
larger than life what he has growing out there.
Speaker 2 (10:41):
And I know you have a wonderful butterfly garden as well.
I've walked through that and look assumed you pretty butterflies.
Speaker 4 (10:49):
And there's well over seven thousand specimens plant specimens on
this property, So you're not going to be missing an
opportunity to discover something new every time you go there.
Like I said, I've only been there four months myself,
but every time I walk out, I discover a different
angle of the garden. So you'll walk past the cocoa tree,
or the vanilla orchid, or the cinnamon tree, or the
(11:12):
the lingling tree. Which is the source of the fragrance
for channel number five. There's all sorts of stuff. I
just did it today. I walked out to ask a
question of somebody and another different thing is in bloom
right now that I hadn't seen before.
Speaker 2 (11:25):
I came a while ago of the friend and we
were walking in and there was a big tree up
front and it was blooming, and I was like, I
think the lady called it like the date the day, tomorrow,
next day tree kind of whatever, because the flowers changed
colors depending on the day, and I thought that was
just amazing.
Speaker 3 (11:40):
Now you see something different every time you take a
walk in the garden. And one thing I love to
tell people too is you really need to look all
around you, up, down, all around, because there's things that
can be blooming way high in the trees or low
down on the ground, and you're always seeing something different.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
Yeah, I know. We came a couple of years ago
for one of the holiday light things. At night. We
were walking and like beautifully laid out, you're walking around
and also nobody's kind of punched up and we're like,
what's going on? And there was a little like screech
out speaking looking up people are like, look and we're
all fascinating by it. We do.
Speaker 3 (12:18):
We have a family of them there right now. Actually
we discovered them last week and they're in our royal
points on a tree that's overlooking, like Gareth.
Speaker 4 (12:27):
Yeah, the wildlife is certainly an aspect there. There's also
a cardinal who's taken up residence in one of the
edible gardens, and so you can walk by there hear
him making his call. I'm sure there's another one somewhere
around in there, but I've only seen the one bright redbird.
Speaker 2 (12:41):
That's cool.
Speaker 4 (12:41):
Yeah, lot's to see.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
Oh yeah, yeah, my friends are avid birders, so they'll
be coming around checking everything out. I'm sure speaking's coming by.
You guys have a really cool thing coming up, So
tell me about this. It's the spring Plant Cell and
Family Fun Weekend.
Speaker 1 (12:56):
Uh yeah.
Speaker 4 (12:57):
Four times a year we feature local regional plant vendors
in a wonderful plant sale where you come in and
you can stock up everything from rare orchids to unusual
per million specimens, landscaping palms, things like that, and it's
(13:18):
a wonderful experience where you get to come to the garden.
But it's an expansion of what we already offer. We
have a nursery at the Amounts that operates every day.
But coming up on the twenty sixth and twenty seventh
and April is the fourth installment of this year our
spring plant Sale, so it's the biggest one we have.
Well over seventy vendors will be on property. We also
(13:40):
will be having music both days. There's a whole series
of presentations and discussions that you can participate in while
you're there. Food, fun and this wonderful garden that's there right.
Speaker 2 (13:55):
So, and I hear this year you're going you have
and a high biscus show as part of it.
Speaker 3 (14:00):
Yes, we do. In one of our exhibit halls, the
Conrad Sunrise High Biscus Society is going to be having
their high Biscus Show, so you'll be able to come
by see all of the entries for the show and
then see the judging. They're also doing one of the
presentations so you can learn about the history of hibiscus
and tips on growing them in your own home and garden.
Speaker 2 (14:24):
Speaking of tips on growing things, you guys have a
lot of like master gardeners that are available for folks
to like, well, like me, They kill their plans to
ask questions.
Speaker 4 (14:31):
So yeah, it's a service that we do offer. There's
a Master Gardener program. We're in partnership with the University
of Florida and their IPHIS department, and the Master Gardener's
program itself is a pretty intensive set of training to
get enthusiastic gardeners deep levels of knowledge and then apply
that as service. There's a lot of volunteer hours that
(14:51):
come with being a master gardener, and one of the
things we offer is we have a hotline. You can
call them up or you can actually come in and
bring plants in and ask them questions from everything from
am I killing this? And is how's it ever going
to come back?
Speaker 1 (15:05):
Well?
Speaker 4 (15:05):
What what where can I plant this? It's anything you
want to ask, They're going to be able to give
you some expertise on that I and I wanted to
make sure we made that point. The interesting thing about
what we offer during the plant So weekend is this
this mix. It's not all for the expert gardener. You know,
there are people who can come there and just discover
new things. Like one of the presentations that we have
(15:27):
is really about I think that's something It's called something
like your plant doesn't your plant isn't that thirsty, And
so it's trying to tell people that simple, that simple
equation of how do you not over tend your garden
as well, so and then some deeper level conversations for
people who want to know some real specific things about
(15:48):
their their garden pastime.
Speaker 2 (15:50):
Yeah, I've come in the past for like an orchid sale.
My friends are avid orchid collectors, aficionados, and there's like
all different size and shapes and dials, and they're like,
look at this, and I'm like, I didn't even know
that was an orchid because it's a whole different from
what I picture in my mind of what they look like.
And they're all much chattering amongst themselves. They loved it.
Speaker 4 (16:10):
Yeah, of those seventy vendors, there's multiple orchid dealers that
will be at this plant sale, and it is quite
amazing when you get in and you look at the
I mean thousands and thousands of different kinds of orchids
there are in the world. There'll be quite a few
of them on display that weekend for purchase at reasonable prices.
As well as that. You can also come if you're
(16:30):
not really if you just want to look. You're welcome
to come do window shopping as well, both in the
sale and in the garden. One of the things Missy
was talking about is looking around and there are all
sorts of airplants, of which orchids sort of qualify in
that area as well, where you look up into this
gigantic tree and there will be orchids blooming that are
attached to the sides of the trees.
Speaker 2 (16:51):
Oh, very cool.
Speaker 3 (16:51):
And you don't have to be a plant expert a
plant lover to come to this event. That's part of
the beauty of all of these vendors is you can
come and learn and tap into their knowledge. And you know,
whether you have a big multi acre property or you're
in a condo, you can point to something and I
(17:13):
really like this, and they can tell you and give
you guidance on well, that might not be the best
one for your scenario, but this would thrive in your
environment and here's how to take care of it. So
it's a great learning opportunity for those that are new
to gardening and plants and want to learn something new.
Speaker 2 (17:34):
Very cool, and of course, like you said, that's free
for the kids to come. And of course if you're
already a member, it's free for you as well. So
how do people become members amounts.
Speaker 4 (17:44):
A simple process. You could go to our website, you
can do it while you're at the garden during your visit.
You can convert your ticket purchase into membership. There's all
sorts of avenues to do that, and there's various levels
depending on what your interest is. The most basic is
a single person can get free and for the year,
which would then include free admission to all four of
our plant sales throughout the year and discounts and other
(18:07):
benefits as well. Then we go up in levels where
you add a second person onto the membership, become as
a couple, you can have a family membership. Different different
levels of support, all going to support the Friends of
Mounts Potanical Garden, which is the not for profit that
actually operates the garden itself, keeps it healthy and keeps
it keeps it available to people well.
Speaker 2 (18:27):
And what a great refuge for people to go and
distress and just enjoy the grounding.
Speaker 4 (18:32):
Oh yeah, and I think today's we all need that doing. Absolutely,
you need a place where you can actually come and
chill out for a while and just I think It's
interesting because we've all decided to live in this beautiful place,
but how often we get out and experience the real
beauty of it is sometimes in question. I know, I
used to spend a lot of time driving I'm ninety five,
(18:52):
going to work and back to work, but I didn't
go to the ocean hardly at all. I didn't necessarily
walk around a garden. And I think it's a really
good way to ground yourself and see, you know, remind
yourself why this area is so beautiful, and Mounts is
definitely a feature in what the place should look like.
A good amount of what we do relates to the
(19:12):
trend towards native plants and making sure that we are
focusing on the healthiest ecosystem we can possibly have here.
So conservation is a very big part of what we do.
We really show the what the place can be off
very well. You know, I would love to have Mounts
as my backyard. It would be a wonderful And you can,
to a certain degree if you invest yourself. You can
(19:33):
maybe you know, do it yourself or pay someone to
really make it look as beautiful as possible.
Speaker 3 (19:38):
Are you becoming a member and you can come and
enjoy it any time of day and just get away,
take a walk on your lunch break, or come spend
the afternoon, bring a picnic lunch.
Speaker 2 (19:49):
What hours are you open?
Speaker 5 (19:51):
From nine am to four pm Monday through Sunday every
day but Monday. I knew there was one day y
were closed every day but Monday, so of course, So
coming up on Saturday, twenty six and the twenty seventh
is your big offspring plant sale family on weekend, And
like you said, you have some guest speakers, so I
love how like you have.
Speaker 2 (20:09):
Like there's during the regular months, there's like tai chi
or watercolor painting, so you can go take those classes
as well while you're at the gardens. But you have
actually a photographer and a conservation is coming. So Kirsten Heines,
we do.
Speaker 3 (20:24):
Kirsten Hines is an award winning author, wildlife photographer, ecologist,
conservationist and she's going to be there with a selection
of her books. Her newest one is out that is
Birds of Florida, so she's going to be talking about,
you know, the birds in Florida as well as wildlife
(20:46):
and great opportunity to learn things you probably didn't know
about animals. And birds in her own backyard, and she'll
have her books there as well for signing.
Speaker 2 (20:55):
Oh, very cool, and of course she'll be able to
talk about that cardinal that's right where his friend is
because he's the guy the right there's gonna be a
lady there somewhere they're just talking to you. And of
course you also have mindy Ogden coming.
Speaker 3 (21:09):
Yes again, Florida native plants. It's very important to the ecosystem,
and she's going to be talking about the importance of
the native plants, you know, the right place to plant
them in your home, how to care for them, and
she's going to be an interesting one as well.
Speaker 2 (21:25):
Saturday at one o'clock, right.
Speaker 4 (21:26):
Yeah, they're fairly short term presentations, you know, maybe forty
minutes you there. You don't have to preregister for them,
but you can just sort of be attending the festival,
the festival, attending the plant sale, you know, head over
there for the eleven o'clock presentation, and it'll be a
second one at one o'clock both days. You know, seting
is obviously limited, but you know you don't have to
(21:48):
do it in advance. You can just come experience the
place and here are these topics.
Speaker 2 (21:52):
Oh, I think it's fantastic. And like you said, doctor
Kimberly Moore is gonna be talking about the plants are
that third? I'm sure they're thirsty. I'm telling you, you
have to thriving so well. And then of course you
also have had throughout the year like you had like
get gardens that where people like fitness experts come in
and talk. And I came once and it was the
(22:16):
Siad Psychad Sale and it was this big, beautiful and
it was just so pretty. I took a picture and
posted on social media that I was at Mounts And
that's another thing. People can hashtag Mounts right, and my
friend's like, where is that. I'm like, oh, it's a mountain.
You can come buy it, but you're gonna need a truck.
Is it huge? Huge?
Speaker 4 (22:34):
That is one of the things you will discover is
things you didn't didn't know existed. I had no idea
psychcads existed myself. I'm sure I knew of them, I'd
seen them before, I didn't know what they were. But
it's a whole set of plants that goes back to
prehistoric times. So cycads were probably around as dinosaurs were
(22:56):
roaming the planet. We're about to actually add a twenty
sixth display garden sometime in the next year, which will
be featuring cycads and the big diversity of specimens there.
And for anybody who doesn't know, sycheads look a lot
like palms, but they are ground based plants. There can
be huge. There's one that mounts right now that's probably
(23:17):
twelve feet around with these giant blades, spiky blades. They
look a little bit like aggressive. They're very very pointy
and sharp looking. But this one is beautiful because it
actually has three probably two foot similar to a pine
cone shaped seed pot or blossom inside of the pycad
(23:40):
plant itself. It's just an unusual looking plant. It's the
kind of plants you would see in the movie Jurassic Park.
And so we're we're installing a feature garden that will
feature all types of psychead specimens.
Speaker 2 (23:52):
So it's gonna be your dinosaur garden, yeah exactly.
Speaker 4 (23:55):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (23:56):
So you also have exhibits that happen throughout the year.
So right now we have the frogs, so Ribbit the
exhibit too.
Speaker 3 (24:04):
We do rib It the exhibit too. They are just
a fun cast of whimsical frog sculptures that are human
sized doing different activities throughout the garden, dancing and playing
music and ballet and.
Speaker 2 (24:22):
Gardening, I think, as well, watering the plant, watering.
Speaker 3 (24:25):
The plants, pruning the plants. There's eighteen of them throughout
the garden, so just it's it's a fun little addition
as you're walking through.
Speaker 2 (24:34):
And I know sometimes people want to bring their little
fur babies for their dogs. Do you ever have dog
days at the park?
Speaker 3 (24:40):
We do once a month we have Dogs Day in
the garden and you're welcome to bring your dogs and
as long as they're leashed and you know, cleaned up after.
It is such a fun day to come to the
garden with your dogs.
Speaker 4 (24:53):
Yeah. We also have a good amount of effort towards
servicing youth. The family day component of the plant sales
is something we're greatly enhancing. As we do each new
plant Selle, we add more and more to it. So
there's tons of arts and crafts activities for children. There's
you know, story time, you know, reading opportunities, there's stuff
(25:14):
for the whole family to do together. Multi generational learning,
all supporting our effort to teach and inform people of
all ages. We were actually very successful this past year
with a partnership with the Palm Beach County School System
and serviced quite a few, you know, close to twenty
thousand k through twelve students came through the garden this
past year, and we want to make sure that families
(25:37):
recognize that this is a place that you can bring
everyone in your family, you know, bring your parents, bring
your children, all come experience and there'll be something for
everybody to do well.
Speaker 2 (25:48):
Of course, because like now you have obviously the big
plant sale family fun weekend for it's a great way
for everybody. I've recommend to come and experience the gardens because,
like you said, you have such a wide variety of
things that day, So you can buy the plants, but
then you can go see the lectures or do like
the fine family crafts, or just check out the RIBBT
exhibit two because that's fine as well.
Speaker 4 (26:08):
The whole event is free with general admission or with
a membership, so you know, coming and sampling what you
want to sample, you'll be able to get, you know,
something that'll make it a special different weekend.
Speaker 2 (26:21):
Oh yeah, so my friend and I we came a
couple of years ago and just for a day to
check out something, and they were like, well, you can
just change your ticket to a membership. So we just
did that. It was so easy and we came back
like another twenty times. It was so funny. It was like,
shall we go to the gardens. It's like yeah, so
we'd stop and get a coffee and then just stroll
through the gardens, have a little chat ketch up on
our week, sit int the different benches and enjoy the
(26:42):
view and the animals like you said, and every now
and then we go to the back where the nursery
is and get the little plants.
Speaker 3 (26:48):
You can't miss the nursery. The nursery has grown and
it's it's a very popular asset for the community where
people can come and buy all of their different plants
and again learn because our team that's back there is
very knowledgeable on educating you on.
Speaker 2 (27:06):
And of course, like I mentioned earlier, April is a
volunteer month. So how do people become volunteers for Mounts
Because I know, like you said, the master gardeners take
the training and that includes a lot of volunteer hours
that they're they're willing to donate back to the community.
Speaker 4 (27:20):
Right, There's lots of volunteer opportunities, everything from you know,
significant number of hours in service to the garden helping
us tend things, and the whole nursery is actually really
fueled by our volunteer program. A lot of the potting
is done by them. The tending of the those plant specimens,
both for to be put into the garden and to
(27:41):
be sold to the public, are done through a volunteer program.
But there are other opportunities. There's volunteer opportunities with events
such as the plant festivals to come in and support,
you know, working with the crowd, messaging for the for
the organization. We even have a partnership with a youth
program here that help There's a certain amount of volunteer
(28:02):
hours that they dedicate to plant sales where they help
people cart their plants to their cars, they pull wagons,
and so there's lots of opportunities. You know, it's certainly
something you can find a way to get your service
back to the community.
Speaker 2 (28:15):
We met some of those kids when we came to
the orchid sale. Because my friends bought twelve orchids, we
did not have enough hands. There was three of us
whore like looking around and a little kid pops up
and he's like, hey, can I help him.
Speaker 3 (28:26):
We're like yes, they're there to help everyone carry their
things to their cars.
Speaker 2 (28:31):
And they were just so excited and happy to help
and do that and, like you said, be of service
and they love being outside getting to talk to everybody.
They're like, how many plants do you have? And it
was a very very nice engaging thing. So kids, obviously
you can get their community service hours. Grown ups, retired folks,
people who liked a garden. Maybe somebody like me who's
better helping out in the gift shops. I don't kill anything.
Speaker 3 (28:54):
It really is a full range. That's everything from out
in the garden doing the gardening, but we also have
a lot of volunteers that support us in behind the
scenes in the office at our plant sales, at all
of our events, doing some.
Speaker 4 (29:08):
Of the check in work and greeting for events and
things like that, for our benefits and things like that.
Speaker 2 (29:13):
I could do those things, yes, And it's not that
they don't love plants. I remember growing Pennsylvania, my grandma
had like one of those close in sand porches. It'd
be like minus five outside and she'd have a bamboo growing.
She was so such a green thumb. Did not inherit that,
so I inherited the appreciation. But so I just come
and walk. For folks who want to become a volunteer
(29:34):
or maybe become a sponsor or donor for the gardens,
how do they go about that?
Speaker 3 (29:39):
If you go to Mounts dot org, we have a
page for all of those things. So if you go
to Mounds dot org, there's information on volunteering, on the
plant sale and family fun weekend. If you purchase your
tickets in advance, you can save information on how to
contribute to the organization that helps us support maintaining the garden.
Speaker 4 (30:00):
Yeah, and anyone who wants to volunteer or wants to
support the organization anyway, that's a good avenue to be
in touch with us, and we will follow up immediately
with you and discover your interests.
Speaker 2 (30:11):
Oh, very cool. I think it's fantastic. So let's get
the date and the time and everything again for your
upcoming sale.
Speaker 3 (30:18):
Okay, Saturday and Sunday, April twenty sixth and twenty seven
at Mounts Botanical Garden, and tickets are on sale in
advance at Mounts dot org and we're just looking forward
to a fun weekend of plant sale, vendors, family activities
and building those memories and making an educational opportunity and
(30:41):
fostering that passion for nature's beauty.
Speaker 4 (30:47):
I think it's really important everybody, just for if you're
looking for a fun weekend, this is a very direct
way to come out and just make your own fun.
You can explore, you can experience lots of different ass
aspects of sit there and listen to a reggae band
and watch the clouds float over. You can, you know, shop,
and you can play and play games or do crafts
(31:09):
and all that sort of stuff. It's a fun, fun
fulfilling weekend.
Speaker 2 (31:13):
A wonderful way to enjoy the gardens and South Florida. Well,
thank you guys so much for coming in and sharing
all this information with us. I love it very much,
appreciate it, and I think definitely need it in our
current day and time a little distressing beautiful gardens. If
you need more information, reach out to me Palm Beach
Perspective at iHeartMedia dot com and I'm happy for it.
On the details and don't forget you can always download
(31:34):
the show's podcasts on our iHeartRadio app. Hope everybody has
a wonderful weekend. I'm dev Nev and this has been
my perspective. Remember life is good, so be your healthieste
and let's get out there and live it. Until next week,
enjoy I.
Speaker 1 (31:48):
Heard Communities, the community engagement arm of the station, champions
critical issues and costness in the area of health and wellness,
social impact, education, literacy, and music and art. Join us
next week from Palm Beach, Treasure Coast Perspective
Ihearts Communities Presents Palm Beach Treasure Coast Perspective, which dead now.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Good morning, Welcome to Palm Beach Treasure Coast Perspective. I'm
your host Stev new Thanks for spending your weekend with me.
All kinds of great things happening. Talk to the folks
from the Palm Beach Parks last week. Lots of cool
stuff happening. Coming up on Saturday, April twenty six, it
is the Earthday Celebration happening at Daggerwing Nature Center in
the Burt Aronson South County Regional Park. Totally Freeze starts
(00:29):
at ten am. A lot of fun. They're going to
have a few small purchases for food and if you
want to do the little Ladybugs, you kids who can
buy like I think at dollars with the ladybugs and
release them into the butterfly garden. A lot of fun.
Friday and Saturday, April twenty fifth and twenty six at
Green Kay Nature Center, it is the Guided Citizens Science
Boardwalk Tour. Say have all kinds of fun things you're
(00:50):
going to be looking for into photograph and then also
at more Comby Gardens they have their Kuto demonstration coming up,
which is the Way of the Bow that is going
to be Saturday, April twenty six. Tai Chi happens at
the South County Civic Center in Delray Beach on Wednesday
mornings at eight thirty and Tuesdays and Thursdays at ten am.
It's free admission and it's outside under the tree there,
(01:13):
so that's a really fun thing to do. They also
offer functional fitness at Morcomie Park in Delray Beach, but
you do need to pre register for that one, and
that one's going to be on Tuesdays and Thursdays at
eight thirty am outside of the park. And of course
April is volunteer month, so if you're interested in being
a volunteer, you can volunteer with the parks. I can
also volunteer with the fine folks over at Pandora's Kids.
(01:37):
We just talked to Valstags about that great charity that
they're offering, and don't forget throughout the entire month of April,
Oceana Coffee is doing a fundraiser for them. So you
go one any of their three locations, buy your coffee
and then put your little coffee bean in the cup
that goes to Pandora's Kids and then they'll give them
the money donated, so that's a fun thing to do.
(01:57):
For more information on them, go to Pandoorskids dot org.
All the details are right there for you on how
you can connect your children with them. Craves. Lots of
great things happening, So wrapping up this weekend, it is Clue.
They're doing the stage version of The Wonderful Board Game
is my favorite, so fantastic show. Definitely want to get
(02:18):
your tickets for that. And then starting Tuesday, going through
April twenty seventh, it is Ley Missed, also part of
the Cravison Broadway series. Got lots of cool things going on.
And then Tuesday, April twenty ninth, it is Complexions Contemporary
Ballet presenting for Crying Out Loud, showing some different genres.
(02:38):
And of course the cravis On Broadway season for next
year has been announced, So coming up next year, They've
got the Whiz Kimberly at Kimbo twas the night before
and this one's with the Circasle folks. This could be
really cool. That's a great one if you don't have
that family at tradition of taking your kids to the
Travis for some kind of fun traditional one. This is
when to start with. Then they have the Choir of
(03:01):
Man December twenty second through the twenty eighth of next year,
some like it, Hot MJ the musical A Beautiful Noise,
which is of course the Neil Diamond Musical. And then
of course the Notebook, which is based on the book
by Nicholas Sparks. So lost cool things happening there. And
also in May they have May fourth, the Young Singers
(03:21):
of the Palm Beaches. This is a great choral thing
with the kids do this. They do such a fantastic job.
This one's called many Voices, One Song. It's going to
be happening Sunday at four thirty in the Dreyfus Hall.
Mystic Pizza coming May thirteenth through the eighteenth part of
their Cravis on Broadway series. And then on May thirty first,
okay you take us ahead of time for this one,
(03:43):
the Ballet Palm Beach will be presenting their student showcase.
And this one's happening Saturday two pm and seven pm
in the Rinker Playhouse. So lots of cool things happening there.
And if you head it for to the Flagler Museum.
They're hosting bluegrass in their pavilion, so that concerts coming up.
Sound Saday April twenty six from three to five pm
featuring the Cody Norris Show. They're returning for their second
(04:06):
event second year and Authentic Unlimited is going to be
opening for them. Go to Flagler Museum dot us for
more details on that. Oh, Friends in Saint Lucy County,
lots of cool things happening in the libraries. There lots
of book clubs, different books. Tuesday April twenty second, six
pm is a book club discussing Alex Cross Run of
(04:26):
Course by James Patterson. This one's happening in the Morningside
Branch Mystery Lovers book Group, and that's from information that
call them seven seven to two three three seven fifty
six thirty two. Then Wednesday, April thirtieth at two and
then get at seven is the virtual book club happening
on zoom. And this book is featuring a work in
(04:47):
progress by katmckenzie. You can go to Saint Lucylibrary dot
org and they have all the different programs and things
that have going on. And of course if you've written
a book. On April twenty six at ten am at
Morningside Branch doing your presentation on how to publish a
book and not get scammed and all those good things.
So if you reach out to them, check that out.
All a reminder, the East Boyton Beach Blaze ten U
(05:11):
baseball team is helpsting their second annual Blazeballer charity golf
tournament and it's going to be happening Saturday, May thirty
first at the prestigious Banyon Golf Club and the event,
of course, will raise some funds to send the team
on their journey to the World Series tournaments happening in Pigeonforge, Tennessee,
and Cooperstown, New York. For details, sign up your four
(05:33):
some all that good stuff, give them a call three
five two two six two and nineteen hundred and Tricia
can help you out again three five to two two
six two nineteen hundred.
Speaker 3 (05:46):
All.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
We talked to the folks a while back from Pompeach
Trauma Works, so they're hosting their next play part of
their twenty fifth season twentieth anniversary season. It is camping
with Henry and Tom. It's going on now through April
twenty seventh. To find out oout more about their programs,
go to Palm Beach Drama Works dot org and all
(06:07):
the details are listed there for you. And a reminder,
folks at the Delry Beach Playhouse have their summer camp
announcements up for the kids, so if you want to
send the kids there simp They go to Delray Beach
Playhouse dot org and all the different classes and sessions
are listed there for you to check out. Then, Norton
has a new exhibition going on now through October fifth,
(06:29):
and this one is an exhibition of jewelry that is
made by world famous artists. So you think they just
do paintings or sculptures, and a lot of them actually
create a jewelry, including Salvador, Dolly, Nookie Descent, and Manray
just a few of them, So you can head to
the Norton to check those out, and go to Norton
dot org if you find outbout all the different exhibitions
(06:51):
they have, and of course what's happening on their Friday
Night Norton Art After Dark programs as well, and also
looking for volunteers for the Restoring the Village Neighborhood clean
up on May seventeenth in Fort Pierce and it's gonna
be happening Saturday, May seventeenth, starting at seven am. If
you need more information, reach out to them info at
(07:12):
Restoring the Village and they'll be happy to give you
information about that. Of course, that's in long conjunction with
the Board of Saint Lucie County Board of Commissioners, Oxbow
Eco Center, City of four Piers, Carter's Grocery, Nature's Keeper,
and of course Walmart. So lots of folks pitching in
to help clean up the neighborhood. Speaking of fun things,
(07:33):
great places to go, and we'll welcome my guests for today.
I have Jim May, executive director and Misty Stoller marketing
communications director from Mounts Botanical Gardens. Good morning, guys, Good morning,
good morning. So thanks for coming in. So Jim, tell
us a little bit about yourself. You're the CEO, correct
I am.
Speaker 4 (07:50):
I've fairly recently joined the group, but very happy to
lead such a wonderful organization. It's quite an asset for
this community to have these twenty acres nestled in the
middle of the county to be a resource for people's
recreation and inspiration.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
Well, I love coming to the gardens because it's so
relaxing and like every now and then my knee will
flare up with the ostere arthritis. And you've got a
bench like every couple of feet and I'm like, this
is lovely. I could sit there and I'll go with
my friend. She's like, it's a time for us. Is
sitting enjoy the view? Like, yes, yes, it is, so
I like the one there's you guys are going to know.
It's called it's like the floating panes on water.
Speaker 3 (08:27):
Windows on the floating world. It's our tropical, our wetlands area.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
It's gorgeous. So we like going there and sitting there
and watching that. And the little ducks are oh and
you can get the food to feed the ducks and
the turtles, which is its super funny.
Speaker 3 (08:40):
The koi and the waterfall, the sounds there are beautiful.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
Oh yeah, it brings out the big kids in this.
Speaker 4 (08:47):
Definitely. The experience is what you want to come for,
because you don't rush through a garden like this, you
actually sit and savor it.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
Right, So, how many gardens are there? Because I know
it's a really big piece of land and.
Speaker 4 (09:01):
There are twenty five display gardens on the property. So
different areas, everything from a tropical shade garden to a
dry river bed, just to highlight the different types of
plants and different ecosystems that thrive in different sorts of environments.
So we're obviously we're in the subtropics here, so everything
has some sort of direct relationship to the actual ecosystem
(09:23):
we live in, but different angles on that. Take the
garden we just mentioned, the floating world is one of
the closest ways you're going to get to the everglades
where you can sit down and just sit basically right
at the top of the water. You walk out onto
a platform. That is, when it's in the rainy season,
certainly the water level of the lake is up to
(09:44):
the level of the walk and you sit and you
watch the fish and the other life that's below the surface.
Speaker 2 (09:51):
It's very cool. I think it's so fascinating. The clever one.
You have lot of funds of gardens. I think the
one that's like I want to say, it's like edible
foods and spices.
Speaker 3 (10:00):
We do well. We have two different edible gardens. We
have our vegetable garden, our edible garden, which is all
kinds of vegetables, fruits. And then we also have an
herb Garden of well Being, which is an entire garden
dedicated just to herbs.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
And I saw on I want to think it was
either Instagram or Facebook. One of your gardeners had a
cabbage that he grew in the vegetable garden. It was
bigger than he was. I was like, that's amazing.
Speaker 3 (10:27):
That was a real photo. Palmer's one of our horticulturists
who really oversees the vegetable garden, and you have to
come out and see it for yourself because it is
larger than life what he has growing out there.
Speaker 2 (10:41):
And I know you have a wonderful butterfly garden as well.
I've walked through that and look assumed you pretty butterflies.
Speaker 4 (10:49):
And there's well over seven thousand specimens plant specimens on
this property, So you're not going to be missing an
opportunity to discover something new every time you go there.
Like I said, I've only been there four months myself,
but every time I walk out, I discover a different
angle of the garden. So you'll walk past the cocoa tree,
or the vanilla orchid, or the cinnamon tree, or the
(11:12):
the lingling tree. Which is the source of the fragrance
for channel number five. There's all sorts of stuff. I
just did it today. I walked out to ask a
question of somebody and another different thing is in bloom
right now that I hadn't seen before.
Speaker 2 (11:25):
I came a while ago of the friend and we
were walking in and there was a big tree up
front and it was blooming, and I was like, I
think the lady called it like the date the day, tomorrow,
next day tree kind of whatever, because the flowers changed
colors depending on the day, and I thought that was
just amazing.
Speaker 3 (11:40):
Now you see something different every time you take a
walk in the garden. And one thing I love to
tell people too is you really need to look all
around you, up, down, all around, because there's things that
can be blooming way high in the trees or low
down on the ground, and you're always seeing something different.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
Yeah, I know. We came a couple of years ago
for one of the holiday light things. At night. We
were walking and like beautifully laid out, you're walking around
and also nobody's kind of punched up and we're like,
what's going on? And there was a little like screech
out speaking looking up people are like, look and we're
all fascinating by it. We do.
Speaker 3 (12:18):
We have a family of them there right now. Actually
we discovered them last week and they're in our royal
points on a tree that's overlooking, like Gareth.
Speaker 4 (12:27):
Yeah, the wildlife is certainly an aspect there. There's also
a cardinal who's taken up residence in one of the
edible gardens, and so you can walk by there hear
him making his call. I'm sure there's another one somewhere
around in there, but I've only seen the one bright redbird.
Speaker 2 (12:41):
That's cool.
Speaker 4 (12:41):
Yeah, lot's to see.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
Oh yeah, yeah, my friends are avid birders, so they'll
be coming around checking everything out. I'm sure speaking's coming by.
You guys have a really cool thing coming up, So
tell me about this. It's the spring Plant Cell and
Family Fun Weekend.
Speaker 1 (12:56):
Uh yeah.
Speaker 4 (12:57):
Four times a year we feature local regional plant vendors
in a wonderful plant sale where you come in and
you can stock up everything from rare orchids to unusual
per million specimens, landscaping palms, things like that, and it's
(13:18):
a wonderful experience where you get to come to the garden.
But it's an expansion of what we already offer. We
have a nursery at the Amounts that operates every day.
But coming up on the twenty sixth and twenty seventh
and April is the fourth installment of this year our
spring plant Sale, so it's the biggest one we have.
Well over seventy vendors will be on property. We also
(13:40):
will be having music both days. There's a whole series
of presentations and discussions that you can participate in while
you're there. Food, fun and this wonderful garden that's there right.
Speaker 2 (13:55):
So, and I hear this year you're going you have
and a high biscus show as part of it.
Speaker 3 (14:00):
Yes, we do. In one of our exhibit halls, the
Conrad Sunrise High Biscus Society is going to be having
their high Biscus Show, so you'll be able to come
by see all of the entries for the show and
then see the judging. They're also doing one of the
presentations so you can learn about the history of hibiscus
and tips on growing them in your own home and garden.
Speaker 2 (14:24):
Speaking of tips on growing things, you guys have a
lot of like master gardeners that are available for folks
to like, well, like me, They kill their plans to
ask questions.
Speaker 4 (14:31):
So yeah, it's a service that we do offer. There's
a Master Gardener program. We're in partnership with the University
of Florida and their IPHIS department, and the Master Gardener's
program itself is a pretty intensive set of training to
get enthusiastic gardeners deep levels of knowledge and then apply
that as service. There's a lot of volunteer hours that
(14:51):
come with being a master gardener, and one of the
things we offer is we have a hotline. You can
call them up or you can actually come in and
bring plants in and ask them questions from everything from
am I killing this? And is how's it ever going
to come back?
Speaker 1 (15:05):
Well?
Speaker 4 (15:05):
What what where can I plant this? It's anything you
want to ask, They're going to be able to give
you some expertise on that I and I wanted to
make sure we made that point. The interesting thing about
what we offer during the plant So weekend is this
this mix. It's not all for the expert gardener. You know,
there are people who can come there and just discover
new things. Like one of the presentations that we have
(15:27):
is really about I think that's something It's called something
like your plant doesn't your plant isn't that thirsty, And
so it's trying to tell people that simple, that simple
equation of how do you not over tend your garden
as well, so and then some deeper level conversations for
people who want to know some real specific things about
(15:48):
their their garden pastime.
Speaker 2 (15:50):
Yeah, I've come in the past for like an orchid sale.
My friends are avid orchid collectors, aficionados, and there's like
all different size and shapes and dials, and they're like,
look at this, and I'm like, I didn't even know
that was an orchid because it's a whole different from
what I picture in my mind of what they look like.
And they're all much chattering amongst themselves. They loved it.
Speaker 4 (16:10):
Yeah, of those seventy vendors, there's multiple orchid dealers that
will be at this plant sale, and it is quite
amazing when you get in and you look at the
I mean thousands and thousands of different kinds of orchids
there are in the world. There'll be quite a few
of them on display that weekend for purchase at reasonable prices.
As well as that. You can also come if you're
(16:30):
not really if you just want to look. You're welcome
to come do window shopping as well, both in the
sale and in the garden. One of the things Missy
was talking about is looking around and there are all
sorts of airplants, of which orchids sort of qualify in
that area as well, where you look up into this
gigantic tree and there will be orchids blooming that are
attached to the sides of the trees.
Speaker 2 (16:51):
Oh, very cool.
Speaker 3 (16:51):
And you don't have to be a plant expert a
plant lover to come to this event. That's part of
the beauty of all of these vendors is you can
come and learn and tap into their knowledge. And you know,
whether you have a big multi acre property or you're
in a condo, you can point to something and I
(17:13):
really like this, and they can tell you and give
you guidance on well, that might not be the best
one for your scenario, but this would thrive in your
environment and here's how to take care of it. So
it's a great learning opportunity for those that are new
to gardening and plants and want to learn something new.
Speaker 2 (17:34):
Very cool, and of course, like you said, that's free
for the kids to come. And of course if you're
already a member, it's free for you as well. So
how do people become members amounts.
Speaker 4 (17:44):
A simple process. You could go to our website, you
can do it while you're at the garden during your visit.
You can convert your ticket purchase into membership. There's all
sorts of avenues to do that, and there's various levels
depending on what your interest is. The most basic is
a single person can get free and for the year,
which would then include free admission to all four of
our plant sales throughout the year and discounts and other
(18:07):
benefits as well. Then we go up in levels where
you add a second person onto the membership, become as
a couple, you can have a family membership. Different different
levels of support, all going to support the Friends of
Mounts Potanical Garden, which is the not for profit that
actually operates the garden itself, keeps it healthy and keeps
it keeps it available to people well.
Speaker 2 (18:27):
And what a great refuge for people to go and
distress and just enjoy the grounding.
Speaker 4 (18:32):
Oh yeah, and I think today's we all need that doing. Absolutely,
you need a place where you can actually come and
chill out for a while and just I think It's
interesting because we've all decided to live in this beautiful place,
but how often we get out and experience the real
beauty of it is sometimes in question. I know, I
used to spend a lot of time driving I'm ninety five,
(18:52):
going to work and back to work, but I didn't
go to the ocean hardly at all. I didn't necessarily
walk around a garden. And I think it's a really
good way to ground yourself and see, you know, remind
yourself why this area is so beautiful, and Mounts is
definitely a feature in what the place should look like.
A good amount of what we do relates to the
(19:12):
trend towards native plants and making sure that we are
focusing on the healthiest ecosystem we can possibly have here.
So conservation is a very big part of what we do.
We really show the what the place can be off
very well. You know, I would love to have Mounts
as my backyard. It would be a wonderful And you can,
to a certain degree if you invest yourself. You can
(19:33):
maybe you know, do it yourself or pay someone to
really make it look as beautiful as possible.
Speaker 3 (19:38):
Are you becoming a member and you can come and
enjoy it any time of day and just get away,
take a walk on your lunch break, or come spend
the afternoon, bring a picnic lunch.
Speaker 2 (19:49):
What hours are you open?
Speaker 5 (19:51):
From nine am to four pm Monday through Sunday every
day but Monday. I knew there was one day y
were closed every day but Monday, so of course, So
coming up on Saturday, twenty six and the twenty seventh
is your big offspring plant sale family on weekend, And
like you said, you have some guest speakers, so I
love how like you have.
Speaker 2 (20:09):
Like there's during the regular months, there's like tai chi
or watercolor painting, so you can go take those classes
as well while you're at the gardens. But you have
actually a photographer and a conservation is coming. So Kirsten Heines,
we do.
Speaker 3 (20:24):
Kirsten Hines is an award winning author, wildlife photographer, ecologist,
conservationist and she's going to be there with a selection
of her books. Her newest one is out that is
Birds of Florida, so she's going to be talking about,
you know, the birds in Florida as well as wildlife
(20:46):
and great opportunity to learn things you probably didn't know
about animals. And birds in her own backyard, and she'll
have her books there as well for signing.
Speaker 2 (20:55):
Oh, very cool, and of course she'll be able to
talk about that cardinal that's right where his friend is
because he's the guy the right there's gonna be a
lady there somewhere they're just talking to you. And of
course you also have mindy Ogden coming.
Speaker 3 (21:09):
Yes again, Florida native plants. It's very important to the ecosystem,
and she's going to be talking about the importance of
the native plants, you know, the right place to plant
them in your home, how to care for them, and
she's going to be an interesting one as well.
Speaker 2 (21:25):
Saturday at one o'clock, right.
Speaker 4 (21:26):
Yeah, they're fairly short term presentations, you know, maybe forty
minutes you there. You don't have to preregister for them,
but you can just sort of be attending the festival,
the festival, attending the plant sale, you know, head over
there for the eleven o'clock presentation, and it'll be a
second one at one o'clock both days. You know, seting
is obviously limited, but you know you don't have to
(21:48):
do it in advance. You can just come experience the
place and here are these topics.
Speaker 2 (21:52):
Oh, I think it's fantastic. And like you said, doctor
Kimberly Moore is gonna be talking about the plants are
that third? I'm sure they're thirsty. I'm telling you, you
have to thriving so well. And then of course you
also have had throughout the year like you had like
get gardens that where people like fitness experts come in
and talk. And I came once and it was the
(22:16):
Siad Psychad Sale and it was this big, beautiful and
it was just so pretty. I took a picture and
posted on social media that I was at Mounts And
that's another thing. People can hashtag Mounts right, and my
friend's like, where is that. I'm like, oh, it's a mountain.
You can come buy it, but you're gonna need a truck.
Is it huge? Huge?
Speaker 4 (22:34):
That is one of the things you will discover is
things you didn't didn't know existed. I had no idea
psychcads existed myself. I'm sure I knew of them, I'd
seen them before, I didn't know what they were. But
it's a whole set of plants that goes back to
prehistoric times. So cycads were probably around as dinosaurs were
(22:56):
roaming the planet. We're about to actually add a twenty
sixth display garden sometime in the next year, which will
be featuring cycads and the big diversity of specimens there.
And for anybody who doesn't know, sycheads look a lot
like palms, but they are ground based plants. There can
be huge. There's one that mounts right now that's probably
(23:17):
twelve feet around with these giant blades, spiky blades. They
look a little bit like aggressive. They're very very pointy
and sharp looking. But this one is beautiful because it
actually has three probably two foot similar to a pine
cone shaped seed pot or blossom inside of the pycad
(23:40):
plant itself. It's just an unusual looking plant. It's the
kind of plants you would see in the movie Jurassic Park.
And so we're we're installing a feature garden that will
feature all types of psychead specimens.
Speaker 2 (23:52):
So it's gonna be your dinosaur garden, yeah exactly.
Speaker 4 (23:55):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (23:56):
So you also have exhibits that happen throughout the year.
So right now we have the frogs, so Ribbit the
exhibit too.
Speaker 3 (24:04):
We do rib It the exhibit too. They are just
a fun cast of whimsical frog sculptures that are human
sized doing different activities throughout the garden, dancing and playing
music and ballet and.
Speaker 2 (24:22):
Gardening, I think, as well, watering the plant, watering.
Speaker 3 (24:25):
The plants, pruning the plants. There's eighteen of them throughout
the garden, so just it's it's a fun little addition
as you're walking through.
Speaker 2 (24:34):
And I know sometimes people want to bring their little
fur babies for their dogs. Do you ever have dog
days at the park?
Speaker 3 (24:40):
We do once a month we have Dogs Day in
the garden and you're welcome to bring your dogs and
as long as they're leashed and you know, cleaned up after.
It is such a fun day to come to the
garden with your dogs.
Speaker 4 (24:53):
Yeah. We also have a good amount of effort towards
servicing youth. The family day component of the plant sales
is something we're greatly enhancing. As we do each new
plant Selle, we add more and more to it. So
there's tons of arts and crafts activities for children. There's
you know, story time, you know, reading opportunities, there's stuff
(25:14):
for the whole family to do together. Multi generational learning,
all supporting our effort to teach and inform people of
all ages. We were actually very successful this past year
with a partnership with the Palm Beach County School System
and serviced quite a few, you know, close to twenty
thousand k through twelve students came through the garden this
past year, and we want to make sure that families
(25:37):
recognize that this is a place that you can bring
everyone in your family, you know, bring your parents, bring
your children, all come experience and there'll be something for
everybody to do well.
Speaker 2 (25:48):
Of course, because like now you have obviously the big
plant sale family fun weekend for it's a great way
for everybody. I've recommend to come and experience the gardens because,
like you said, you have such a wide variety of
things that day, So you can buy the plants, but
then you can go see the lectures or do like
the fine family crafts, or just check out the RIBBT
exhibit two because that's fine as well.
Speaker 4 (26:08):
The whole event is free with general admission or with
a membership, so you know, coming and sampling what you
want to sample, you'll be able to get, you know,
something that'll make it a special different weekend.
Speaker 2 (26:21):
Oh yeah, so my friend and I we came a
couple of years ago and just for a day to
check out something, and they were like, well, you can
just change your ticket to a membership. So we just
did that. It was so easy and we came back
like another twenty times. It was so funny. It was like,
shall we go to the gardens. It's like yeah, so
we'd stop and get a coffee and then just stroll
through the gardens, have a little chat ketch up on
our week, sit int the different benches and enjoy the
(26:42):
view and the animals like you said, and every now
and then we go to the back where the nursery
is and get the little plants.
Speaker 3 (26:48):
You can't miss the nursery. The nursery has grown and
it's it's a very popular asset for the community where
people can come and buy all of their different plants
and again learn because our team that's back there is
very knowledgeable on educating you on.
Speaker 2 (27:06):
And of course, like I mentioned earlier, April is a
volunteer month. So how do people become volunteers for Mounts
Because I know, like you said, the master gardeners take
the training and that includes a lot of volunteer hours
that they're they're willing to donate back to the community.
Speaker 4 (27:20):
Right, There's lots of volunteer opportunities, everything from you know,
significant number of hours in service to the garden helping
us tend things, and the whole nursery is actually really
fueled by our volunteer program. A lot of the potting
is done by them. The tending of the those plant specimens,
both for to be put into the garden and to
(27:41):
be sold to the public, are done through a volunteer program.
But there are other opportunities. There's volunteer opportunities with events
such as the plant festivals to come in and support,
you know, working with the crowd, messaging for the for
the organization. We even have a partnership with a youth
program here that help There's a certain amount of volunteer
(28:02):
hours that they dedicate to plant sales where they help
people cart their plants to their cars, they pull wagons,
and so there's lots of opportunities. You know, it's certainly
something you can find a way to get your service
back to the community.
Speaker 2 (28:15):
We met some of those kids when we came to
the orchid sale. Because my friends bought twelve orchids, we
did not have enough hands. There was three of us
whore like looking around and a little kid pops up
and he's like, hey, can I help him.
Speaker 3 (28:26):
We're like yes, they're there to help everyone carry their
things to their cars.
Speaker 2 (28:31):
And they were just so excited and happy to help
and do that and, like you said, be of service
and they love being outside getting to talk to everybody.
They're like, how many plants do you have? And it
was a very very nice engaging thing. So kids, obviously
you can get their community service hours. Grown ups, retired folks,
people who liked a garden. Maybe somebody like me who's
better helping out in the gift shops. I don't kill anything.
Speaker 3 (28:54):
It really is a full range. That's everything from out
in the garden doing the gardening, but we also have
a lot of volunteers that support us in behind the
scenes in the office at our plant sales, at all
of our events, doing some.
Speaker 4 (29:08):
Of the check in work and greeting for events and
things like that, for our benefits and things like that.
Speaker 2 (29:13):
I could do those things, yes, And it's not that
they don't love plants. I remember growing Pennsylvania, my grandma
had like one of those close in sand porches. It'd
be like minus five outside and she'd have a bamboo growing.
She was so such a green thumb. Did not inherit that,
so I inherited the appreciation. But so I just come
and walk. For folks who want to become a volunteer
(29:34):
or maybe become a sponsor or donor for the gardens,
how do they go about that?
Speaker 3 (29:39):
If you go to Mounts dot org, we have a
page for all of those things. So if you go
to Mounds dot org, there's information on volunteering, on the
plant sale and family fun weekend. If you purchase your
tickets in advance, you can save information on how to
contribute to the organization that helps us support maintaining the garden.
Speaker 4 (30:00):
Yeah, and anyone who wants to volunteer or wants to
support the organization anyway, that's a good avenue to be
in touch with us, and we will follow up immediately
with you and discover your interests.
Speaker 2 (30:11):
Oh, very cool. I think it's fantastic. So let's get
the date and the time and everything again for your
upcoming sale.
Speaker 3 (30:18):
Okay, Saturday and Sunday, April twenty sixth and twenty seven
at Mounts Botanical Garden, and tickets are on sale in
advance at Mounts dot org and we're just looking forward
to a fun weekend of plant sale, vendors, family activities
and building those memories and making an educational opportunity and
(30:41):
fostering that passion for nature's beauty.
Speaker 4 (30:47):
I think it's really important everybody, just for if you're
looking for a fun weekend, this is a very direct
way to come out and just make your own fun.
You can explore, you can experience lots of different ass
aspects of sit there and listen to a reggae band
and watch the clouds float over. You can, you know, shop,
and you can play and play games or do crafts
(31:09):
and all that sort of stuff. It's a fun, fun
fulfilling weekend.
Speaker 2 (31:13):
A wonderful way to enjoy the gardens and South Florida. Well,
thank you guys so much for coming in and sharing
all this information with us. I love it very much,
appreciate it, and I think definitely need it in our
current day and time a little distressing beautiful gardens. If
you need more information, reach out to me Palm Beach
Perspective at iHeartMedia dot com and I'm happy for it.
On the details and don't forget you can always download
(31:34):
the show's podcasts on our iHeartRadio app. Hope everybody has
a wonderful weekend. I'm dev Nev and this has been
my perspective. Remember life is good, so be your healthieste
and let's get out there and live it. Until next week,
enjoy I.
Speaker 1 (31:48):
Heard Communities, the community engagement arm of the station, champions
critical issues and costness in the area of health and wellness,
social impact, education, literacy, and music and art. Join us
next week from Palm Beach, Treasure Coast Perspective
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