|

Getting Lost in the Gardens: A Review of Leu Gardens

This post may contain affiliate links. We earn commission if you shop through these links at no additional cost to you.

Since I moved to Orlando a few years ago, I have wanted to visit Leu Gardens. I have been to gardens all over the world, and I love just walking around, looking at plants and flowers and getting lost for a bit. I finally made it to Leu Gardens last weekend with my kids and it was worth the trip.

dream vacation ad

Walk around the gardens

Leu Gardens is a diverse collection of plants housed on over 50 acres of land. The property is split into 10 different mini gardens including: the Tropical Stream Garden, the Rose Garden, the Butterfly Garden, the Vegetable Garden, the Color Garden, the White Garden, the Arid Garden, the Herb Garden, the Idea Garden and the Palms, Cycads and Bamboo Garden.

Tip: If visiting the park during the warmer months, I would recommend bringing along umbrellas to help shade more of you than just your face.

We started off our visit walking through the tropical stream garden. Like its name suggests, there are a few streams running through this section of the garden. We then moved onto the Color Garden and the Rose garden which are right next to each other. In my opinion this was the nicest section of the park as I really enjoyed seeing all of the bright colors. The kids’ favorite part of Leu Gardens was the Butterfly Garden. We only saw a couple of Monarch butterflies, but that was enough for them. Fun fact, Monarch butterflies migrate south to Mexico during the winter. My son told me that while we in the garden.

After the Butterfly Garden, we moved over to the Vegetable Garden and the Herb Garden. In the Vegetable Garden, I saw the largest Collard Greens that I have ever seen. It was over 20 times (maybe more) larger than what we normally see in store. In the Herb Garden, we saw a variety of plants including Marjoram, Basil, Thyme and more.

Tip: Leu Gardens is very large and we got turned around trying to make our way back to the car. I would keep could track of some landmarks along the way to get you back to the exit.

Related post: Top 8 Beaches to Visit With Kids in Central Florida

See Animals

Our favorite part of our visit, was at the end, when we headed over to the lookout by the lake. The lake has cottonmouth snakes, otters, fish and turtles (lots and lots of turtles). When we got to the lake, my daughter was super excited when she saw the first turtle and then a second one. After that , we saw a bunch more turtles. We have never seen so many turtles in one location before. If your kids love animals, they will love spending time at the lookout. My son was a bit worried about the venomous snakes being in the water with the otters, but we didn’t see either one.

Tip: Leu Gardens offers multiple free days a year, so check the calendar for those dates if you want to save on the entrance costs.

Have a Picnic

We would have loved to have a picnic or sit on a blanket and relax at Leu Gardens, but while they normally allow these activities, they were not allowing them the day of our visit. There are lots of places around the park, where you could spread out a blanket and don’t worry, for the hot days, there are a lot of shaded areas.

Other Things to do at Leu Gardens

Movie nights: A few times a year Leu Gardens offers outdoor movies on a giant screen. You are allowed to bring a picnic dinner along with you. Ticket prices are $6 for adults and $3 for kids.

Storytime: Leu Gardens presents Storytime a few times a year. Kids 5 and under can enjoy songs and stories at the garden. There is no cost for this program.

Classes and Camps: Leu Gardens offers classes during the year for adults, such as a plant clinic and camps during the summer for kids.

Have you been to Leu Gardens? What is your favorite spot?

Related Posts:
Camels, Cows and Emus, Oh My! A Review of Wild Florida Drive-Thru Safari
Review of The Void Orlando: I Stepped into Star Wars
Review of Planet Obstacle: Trampolines, zip lines and giant slides, oh my!

Similar Posts