SARASOTA, Fla. — Marie Selby Botanical Gardens is featuring its spring showcase, Tiffany: The Pursuit of Beauty in Nature, which brings to life a dazzling display of Tiffany stained-glass panes.

The man behind the design is Mike McLaughlin, the senior vice president of horticulture at the gardens. 

He has spent his entire career working in tropical public gardens. He started in Hawaii and then moved to Miami, but he has made Marie Selby Botanical Gardens his permanent home, working in his position for the past 20 years. 

One of the many things he does is design and put together the different installations showcased at the gardens three times a year.  

“Each exhibition comes with its own challenges, its own difficulties, but it's a very creative and organic process and one that's a big collaboration between our staff with everyone pitching in ideas," McLaughln said. 

The current installation celebrates the masterful artistry of Louis Comfort Tiffany, one of the most influential American artists and designers of the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries. 

“We are exploring Louis Comfort Tiffany and the work that he did through gardening form,” McLaughlin said, as he showed off an interactive part of the design he calls the living lampshade. 

Life-sized stained-glass displays accentuate the beauty of nature throughout the gardens and greenhouse.

“You can see the garden through these different colors and the colored filters, and it changes your perception of all the plants you'll see,” McLaughlin said. 

Marie Selby Botanical Gardens is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Tiffany installation will continue through June 25.

For more information on its exhibits and upcoming events, visit the gardens’ website.