I’ve always been fascinated by bonsai trees, and have had the opportunity to see them in Brooklyn, outside of Washington DC, and a few other places. But it turns out the largest collection of bonsai in the U.S. is located just 45 minutes from my winter home on the Space Coast. What luck!

But before you learn more about this amazing bonsai collection, I wanted to share some happy news - I’ve published my first Travel Guide. Yay! 👏👏👏👏 Last April I visited Berlin, Germany after not visiting since the 1990’s. (I know crazy right?) After I returned, I decided to create and publish Tour Berlin Germany, available in Kindle and EPUB formats. Plus, if you have a Kindle Unlimited account you can check it out for free. This should be the first of many, and I’ve already started working on my next one. 😊

Now onto sharing about my latest adventure….

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Admission:
Adults: $12
Seniors: $10
Children (ages 6 - 17): $5
Children (under 6): Free

Hours:
Tuesday to Saturday: 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Sunday (seasonally): Noon – 4 p.m.

Way back in 1920, Heathcote Nurseries was established by Frederick Pierce Fox in Scarsdale, NY. It was later sold to Jim and Mollie Crimmons, who relocated the business first to W. Orange Ave in Lake Wales, FL, before moving to this location in Fort Pierce in 1960. They even moved their 1922 Florida home, which had been located in Malabar, to the nursery site in 1967—making it a place where they could both live and work.

Fast forward to 1985, when it was time for the Crimmons to retire. They placed the property up for sale, and a group of local citizens realized the nursery could become a beautiful botanical garden. Heathcote Botanical Gardens, Inc. was established as a non-profit, allowing the group to purchase the property the following year with private donations and grants. It's hard to believe that was 40 years ago! Since then, the gardens have evolved and added new exhibits over time.

You may not know that much of Florida experienced a damaging frost this winter. I had been hoping to visit a botanical garden, but I worried the experience wouldn’t be quite the same after the cold snap. I chose Heathcote because I specifically wanted to see its bonsai collection. Their website explained that the trees had been moved during the cold spell but were returned to their display quite quickly.

As you enter the gardens, to your right is the collection of over 100 bonsai. Bonsai Master Jim Smith donated them to ensure they would be cared for and protected. He pioneered the use of tropical species—including jade trees—as bonsai and successfully trained many Florida native species into bonsai form.

I had the opportunity to speak with Tom Kehoe, the Bonsai Curator, who explained the different types of bonsai, the classical and natural styles, and how the Ficus tree is one of the most forgiving species to use in bonsai.

I asked how they preserved all the bonsai during the frost. Some of them are quite large, and it turns out many had to be moved using construction equipment. He explained that their Director of Horticulture cared for the trees over several days all while she was recovering from an illness. Her and her team managed to keep every tree safe, what dedication!

Tom also shared his first experience crafting his own bonsai starting in the mid-1970s. As you walk through the bonsai gardens, it becomes clear that it takes decades of patience and dedication to shape these beautiful creations.

The exhibit is beautifully planned, guiding you past many different styles and species. Seeing this collection alone is worth the visit. Continuing your walk counterclockwise, you’ll encounter the Japanese Garden. It was lovely to take a moment to sit beside a small pond and watch the koi fish surface in anticipation of being fed. Mollie Crimmons, co-owner of Heathcote Nurseries, was known for her Japanese garden designs, and preserving this space was an important way to honor her legacy. You’ll stroll over a bridge and into a “mountainous” landscape before arriving at a replica tea house that was built as an Eagle Scout project.

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As you exit the Japanese Garden, you’ll pass the 1922 Florida home. Sadly, you can’t go inside because it now serves as an administrative building. But soon after, you’ll arrive at a replica Florida pioneer home, built by a local contractor in the early 2000s to help visitors envision how people lived in the 1800s.

Finally, as you stroll back toward the entrance, enjoy the butterfly garden and the whimsical children’s garden before exploring the rainforest, as well as the palm and cycad walk. This area showed the most damage from the frost—especially visible in the immense sea grape tree pictured here. But even with the cold-weather damage, there was still plenty to see, and we enjoyed wandering through it all.

Besides getting to see the amazing bonsai collection and chatting with the curator, I was struck by how much Heathcote Botanical Gardens truly reflects its community. From its beginnings as a group of citizens determined not to lose this escape into nature, to projects of all sizes that contribute to the garden’s eclectic charm, it’s clearly a place built with care.

If you’re in the area, it’s absolutely worth stopping in for a few hours.

I still have a few more Florida gems to share with you before I sidestep into recounting some London adventures—which will give me time to have new East Coast adventures as I head back north to our summer home in New York.

‘til next week, happy exploring!
Kathleen