I needed a break from yard work on one of my last days home in Florida and decided to take a little drive down to the heart of St. Petersburg to the Sunken Gardens. The Sunken Gardens are a beautiful little oasis in the heart of the city that was built on the site of a sink hole that had formed a lake. The land was purchased in 1903, the lake drained and the botanical gardens began. Not only is it beautiful but it is also one of the oldest roadside attractions in the USA. There are over 500 species of tropical and subtropical plants, 50000 tropical plants, flowers and various tropical birds and some turtles and fish. It is a lovely relaxing place for a short walk and they also have the adjoining children's Exploration Museum and an awesome gift shop.
Amazon Parrots.
A huge Cockatoo. In the first picture he actually tried to grab my phone when I stuck it up to the bars.
Chilean Flamingos. This flock came over from the San Antonio Zoo last year.
Adorable Minion Planters.
The Orchid Garden.
Fan Palm Tree. My favorite kind and probably the largest I've seen.
The Sunken Gardens Growing Stone. See description below. I sat on it for as long as I could!
This is an insanely huge Alligator Snapping Turtle. He is hard to see because he is covered in algae but he is around 200 lbs and a over 3 feet long. I don't know much about these guys but I wish he had a bigger pond!
Cutie Tortoise that really wanted me to feed him and came right up to visit.
Not an actual part of the gardens, but a Black Racer Snake killing and eating another one. I walked around a corner and there they were in the middle of the sidewalk. Kinda sad but pretty neat.
Cactus Garden.
Laughing Kookaburras. These guys are LOUD!
These guys with the red are MASSIVE!
The Flamingos net to the Koi Pond. These Koi are huge too.
After my relaxing calming walk in the gardens I went for a short drive and found this cute little neighborhood with a great coffee shop. I love the streets and the the old homes and the huge trees.
A chocolate coconut sugar donut and Chai-Town iced coffee.
There is so much to explore in this area of St. Pete and it is not super touristy which is nice. I can't wait to explore it more and go back to the Sunken Gardens!
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