SARASOTA, Fla. — Mike McLaughlin has been looking after the pergola of air plants at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens for more than 20 years.

The gardens are filled with epiphytes: Plants that grow on plants.

What You Need To Know

  • Marie Selby Botanical Gardens of Sarasota opened Phase One of its Campus Master Plan in January 2024

  • It includes a $57 million investment with a new research center, welcome pavilion, parking garage and restaurant

  • Net-positive energy complex—producing more energy than it uses

  • Phases Two and Three include a hurricane resilient greenhouse complex and learning pavilion

At some point in their evolution, they ditched their roots in the ground for a life in the trees.

“Because in a dense, tropical habitat, there’s plenty of rainfall,” said McLaughlin, the Senior Vice President for Horticulture. “But light is at a premium on the forest floor. So, vines have figured out a way to extend their stem and get light. And the epiphytes — as I like to say—they cut the cord behind them.”

Learning more about epiphytes drives the group’s work.

And a new research center will help them show their work to the public.

McLaughlin’s co-workers are unpacking their liquid preserve collection, called spirits, in the new Steinwachs Family Plant Research Center.

They are jars filled with preserved flowers in liquid.

“The vast majority of our collection (are) orchids,” said Elizabeth Gandy, Assistant Curator of Preserved Collections. “We actually have the second largest collection of such spirits in the entire world.”

Gandy says the new digs mean they can show off their research to the public.

“Never before in the history of the gardens has all of the staff and all of the collections been in one place at one time,” said Gandy.

It’s part of their Campus Master Plan. Phase One opened January 11.

“More than $57 million has been raised for this master site plan,” said Jennifer Rominiecki, President and CEO of the Gardens. “And almost 99 percent of it is from the private sector. So this project truly is a gift to Sarasota and beyond.”

A welcome plaza, restaurant and parking garage are also part of “Phase One.”

The new area compliments the 15-acre campus, with family friendly areas like the Ann Goldstein Children’s Rainforest Garden. It’s perfect for pent up energy with some plant learning along the way.

More than education, McLaughlin hopes people feel a connection to the living things sharing this planet with us.

“We’d like people to experience nature, relax in nature and gain an appreciation for it,” she said. “I think that’s something that’s really needed at this time in our world.”

Phases Two and Three of the Campus Master Plan include a new hurricane resilient greenhouse complex and learning pavilion.