Message from the Director

In the very first issue of Kanapaha Botanical Gardens' original newsletter, I divulged plans to introduce peafowl to Kanapaha to make the facility a bit more paradisiacal. The brief note was accompanied by a glorious line drawing by Barbara Harrison of a resplendent peacock. I had already begun to plan the construction of a large enclosure into which they could be herded at dusk to spare them the unwelcome attentions of raccoons, foxes, dogs and other interested parties. Within a few days of mailing out the newsletter, however, I received a letter from Dr. John Poponoe, then director of Fairchild Tropical Garden in Miami, imploring me to reconsider. He knew from experience that these glorious birds were, in fact, little more than oversized and glorified chickens whose incessant pecking and scratching would quickly put them at odds with our noble plans to develop a botanical garden. Download the most recent newsletter. (PDF)

Summer of the Dragon

For all practical purposes, naturalists and unenlightened civilians dwell on different planets. Kanapaha Botanical Gardens director Don Goodman was born a hard-wired naturalist and shares the secrets of this unique perspective in tales of a lifetime of interactions with animals and plants… from the magical boyhood incident when two snake eggs hatched in his hand to the loss of his right arm to a horrifying attack by a giant alligator.

Thrown into the mix are laugh-out-loud stories of student misadventures, colorful eccentricities, British soldiers cooking up a batch of psychotropic greens at Jamestown and a float trip down Florida’s grand Ichetucknee River that became "the Donner Party afloat."

If you don't know bastard toadflax from devil’s dung, this is the book for you!

Read more about Summer of the Dragon

Membership Information:

Benefits of Membership - unlimited entry into gardens, quarterly newsletter, "The Garden Gate", 10% discount on price of plants purchased from our nursery, member discount on special events.

• Student - $25
• Individual - $35
• Family - $45
• Contributing/Organizational - $125 and above

Volunteer at Kanapaha!

Volunteers are essential to all aspects of the Gardens’ programs. We need your help on weekends and during the week. As a volunteer at the Garden, you will:

• Meet other volunteers and staff with similar interests;
• Gain satisfaction from donating your time knowledge, and talents for the enrichment of your community;
• Have an opportunity to have hands-on experience with various aspects of gardening.

We are currently seeking gardener assistants, special events aides, garden admission greeters, docents and garden shop assistants. Call us at 352-372-4981 for more information.