Our 2025 Venue
At Mead Botanical Garden, you'll explore winding hiking trails, a gentle creek, and a scenic boardwalk, all surrounded by towering pine trees. You'll also enjoy the greenhouse, butterfly garden, and a pond teeming with turtles, fish, and wading birds.
Discover 47 acres of enchantment in Winter Park, where your senses will be awakened by the vibrant sights, soothing sounds, and delightful scents of the garden. This serene oasis offers a rare opportunity to connect with nature amidst an urban backdrop.
There's so much to see and experience here!
About Mead Botanical Garden
Whether exploring the park on your own, volunteering or just enjoying the scenery, there’s something for you at Mead Botanical Garden!
Take a hike on one of Mead Botanical Garden’s many paths and trails. Look for wading birds along the creek and in the forested wetlands. Listen for hawks as you meander through the sandhill under a longleaf pine canopy. Take a stroll through the Legacy and Camellia Gardens to see what’s blooming. Catch a glimpse of butterflies and hummingbirds in our Butterfly Gardens.
Organize a birding, plant or nature hike with one of the park’s naturalists. Join experts from Orange Audubon Society on a birding adventure. Learn about native and invasive plants found in Mead Botanical Garden. Enjoy a sensory experience of edible and aromatic plants. Join in on or schedule your own guided hike.
Schedule a field trip for your classroom, garden club, scout troop or other groups. Mead Garden can tailor a talk and walkabout that meets your needs, interests, age groups and even state educational standards. Contact us for more information and to plan your field trip.
Volunteer in the Garden. Progress at Mead Garden depends on volunteers. From “weed warriors” to helping in the office and everything in between — no matter your interest, there’s a place for you on our growing team of volunteers! Contact our volunteer coordinator for more information on how you can get involved.
Have a picnic in the park. Throw a blanket down by the pond for a peaceful picnic, or rent our picnic pavilion for your family reunion, wedding reception, or other gathering. Check out our rental facilities.
Explore our “wild” natural areas. Mead Garden is home to a diverse landscape, with wetlands, uplands, a creek, a pond, and a host of wildlife and plant life. Learn more about the natural ecology of Mead Garden.
Enroll in our Young Naturalist Summer Camp! Sign the kids up for some good old fashioned summer fun in the Garden. Our campers explore Mead Garden’s unique wildlife habitats, play games and engage in age-appropriate arts & crafts and outdoor adventure. They learn about wetlands, wildlife, plants, insects, ecology and environmental awareness — all in a loving and safely supervised environment. Learn more about our outstanding Young Naturalist Summer Camp program.
Go on a geocaching adventure. Did you know that Central Florida’s first geocache was placed in Mead Garden in 2001? Since then, Mead Garden has been visited by geocachers from around the world in search of hidden treasures. Learn more about geocaching in Mead Garden.
Celebrate in the Garden! Mead is the place for family-friendly events throughout the year. Don’t miss the Camellia Show in January put on by the Camellia Society of Central Florida; the British Car Show in April; Backyard Biodiversity Day in October sponsored by the Florida Native Plant Society Tarflower Chapter; concerts by the Florida Symphony Youth Orchestra throughout the year; and our signature event — the Great Duck Derby in February! Visit our events calendar to see what’s coming up next!
Weed Walks at Mead Botanical Garden
The Florida School of Holistic Living partners with Mead Botanical Garden several times yearly to invite their students on an informative weed walk. During these meetups, attendees get to know the plants in our Central Florida ecosystems and explore their ethnobotanical uses on this easy and level hike through the park.
Edible plants and trees are introduced as you meander, with a discussion at each stop about the plant, shrub, or tree—including whether it is edible or medicinal, other uses, and how to identify it.
This hands-on course includes tasting, smelling, and feeling the plant allies discovered along the way. It is taught in a fun and practical way to make the experience educational and enjoyable.
Most hikes cover 15-20 different species and vary depending on the season. Check out the school's online calendar to sign up for the next weed walk!