Botanical Garden Concept Plan:  Setting a New Standard

For decades, Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens has given Jacksonville and Northeast Florida residents a place to love animals. Now our mission is to offer our community a public place to love plants, while setting a new standard for zoos in the process.  We are in the process of building a first-of-its-kind botanical garden inside our Zoo that, unlike other zoos, is separate from the adjuncts to animals. Unlike most other growing and culturally-rich cities, Jacksonville cannot list a botanical garden as one of its cultural treasures.  Beyond filling an educational need, botanical gardens benefit their communities in many ways.  They become tourist attractions, benefit the green industry, serve as an employer and pump millions of construction dollars and salaries into the regional economy. Over the past 400 years botanical gardens evolved from a menagerie of medicinal plants to entering the 21st century with a strong focus on the concept of environmental sustainability.  While some zoos have enhanced the natural habitat of their animal collection, none to our knowledge have committed to the idea of combining a zoo and botanical garden.  This combination will only serve to strengthen each institution’s ability to foster a clear vision of sustainable conservation of our natural resources. With the help of a nationally-renowned botanical garden design firm, the Zoo developed three major garden zones in its Botanical Garden Concept Plan:

The Garden Path: Visitors will begin their garden journey at the Main Camp and will be greeted with a celebratory display of striking foliage and flowering plants.  They will be drawn toward the Garden Path by drifts of colorful bloom swirling through ribbons of contrasting foliage and textures in the distance.  Throughout the Zoo, the Garden Path will be a linear garden that links garden destinations.

Themed Pocket Gardens:  Distinct and unique garden jewels of horticultural display that immerse the visitor into strongly themed forecourts to the animal exhibits that follow.  Each garden is about one half acre in size.

The Primary Gardens: In Jacksonville, visitors to the Zoo have, over the years, recognized the unique relationship the Zoo shares with the Trout River.  The beautiful native water-edge plants and spectacular panoramic views over the River set this are aside as something quite special.  Recognizing this potential, we selected this area as the home for the Primary Gardens will cover approximately twelve acres.

Asian Bamboo Garden
The Asian Bamboo garden serves as an introduction to our Asian animals. Rather than create an authentic garden specific to any one country or culture, we are creating a garden that we hope will resonate with peoples with experience of Asian cultures – people from Asia, Asian-Americans, or people who have visited, or lived in Asia. Significant features include the Moon Gate, a traditional Asian gate with a circular entry that symbolizes perfection, the Lotus Pool, featuring rock and water expressing the yin and yang principles of Chinese garden design, and the Moon Bridge, which reflected in the water becomes a full circle recalling the moon. The Orchid Pavilion, surrounded by bamboo, overlooks the Koi Pool, and kids and adults will love the Bamboo Mist Forest, home to our new bronze Giant Panda sculptures.

The Komodo Dragon exhibit is set in an Indonesian fishing village on the Island of Komodo. It appears that the Komodo Dragons are wandering the backyards of the village or basking in the sun. The exhibit features opportunities for zookeepers to train the dragons through an interactive panel in public view.

Gardens of the Future
Wonderful new gardens are being planned at Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens for the near future.  Creating these garden spaces is generating more excitement about the Zoo and interest in plants.  Here are a few of the plans for gardens that are sure to enhance your Zoo experience in the coming months:

The Botanical Gardens
The Trout River will be the backdrop for the 12-acre botanical gardens.  Design elements include formal, perennial, water, shade and wildlife gardens, a visitor center, boardwalk, tropical conservatory and an orangery.  There is no projected or completion date at this time. 

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