The Naples Botanical Gardens are a colorful local gem, not only alive with plant life, but also – on select Saturdays – alive with music! Through June, Naples Botanical Gardens offers Music in the Garden. With a garden stage that is visible from multiple walkways, several wooden swings and an enormous lawn, Music in the Garden provides a venue to be enjoyed by both mature listeners and even preoccupied toddlers. Music in the Garden is completely judgment free, and the ensuing calm interlaced between melodies and drumbeats is contagious. Old married couples whisper and hum to the airy music, while toddlers and babies turn somersaults, bounce and spin. Music in the Garden makes room for everyone.
On select Saturdays until June, Music in the Garden happens from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. The performances are free to Botanical Gardens members. For non-members, the daily garden entry fee of $27 per adult, or $12 per child aged four to 17, includes Music in the Garden. The website suggests bringing blankets and chairs to the Performance Lawn. The events are so casual, that people meander throughout the gardens as live music accompanies them. “I absolutely love this place,” Silvia Aizpurviete shared. She is a long-time member of the Botanical Gardens and never misses the chance to enjoy live music. “The setting is beautiful and the musicians are so friendly,” Aizpurviete added. “This place is something I can’t live without.”
Prior to the new year, the band Karibbean Groove played lively sets from the Garden Stage. The six-piece group from Fort Myers offered a blend of Haitian, reggae, jazz and R&B. Bob Lyczkowski said he and his wife, Sue, love listening the music at the Botanical Gardens. “When they offer reggae music, it is the best kind,” Lyczkowski smiled, winking. He and his wife became members of the Naples Botanical Garden more than a decade ago. Seated on the lawn with the Lyczkowskis was Laurinda Morris, who is also a Botanical Gardens member. She said she enjoys her membership because it allows her to go for walks in a beautiful venue.
“I come here and walk at least once a month,” Morris said. “Music in the Garden is just another reason for me to be a member.”…