--- description: Find out why Marie Selby Botanical Gardens is on TIME’s list of the World’s Greatest Places 2024. title: Marie Selby Botanical Gardens: World's Greatest Places 2024 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9e987711a5942c56/698a5919011682e5ff986098/worlds-greatest-places-marie-selby-botanical-house-2024.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Jul 25, 2024 # Marie Selby Botanical Gardens Sarasota, Fla. by [Terry Ward](/author/terry-ward/) ## Terry Ward Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close  A waterfall at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens A waterfall at Marie Selby Botanical GardensCourtesy Marie Selby Botanical Gardens Sarasota stands out on Florida’s culture circuit, with the [John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art](https://www.ringling.org/ "undefined"), the contemporary [Sarasota Art Museum](mailto:christina@cornersun.com "undefined"), and the remarkable [Marie Selby Botanical Gardens](https://selby.org/ "undefined") on Sarasota Bay. A recent expansion of the latter has all eyes on this thriving oasis of banyan trees and mangroves, now set to become the world’s first net-positive-energy botanical complex thanks to the installation of a 57,000-square-foot solar array. (It exceeds the facility’s energy demands by more than 10%). The visitor experience is equally impressive. A new welcome center beckons arrivals into an open-air structure draped with spectacular air plants that introduce the gardens’ many wonders, including a world-renowned collection of epiphytic orchids, bromeliads, gesneriads, and ferns. The expanded facilities include concept restaurant [The Green Orchid](https://selby.org/dsc/visit-downtown-sarasota-campus/dining-at-the-gardens/ "undefined"), which uses no onsite combustion and sources produce from rooftop gardens cared for by a group of military veterans. The botanical gardens’ stormwater management system diverts and cleans millions of gallons of water each year before returning it to Sarasota Bay and future projects include a restoration of the landmark 1920s Payne Mansion, located onsite. For now, there’s more than enough to admire across this 45-acre green lung housing some of the world’s most noteworthy plantlife. _Buy your copy of the World's Greatest Places issue_ [_here_](https://magazineshop.us/TIMEWGP24 "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/worlds-greatest-places-2024/6992344/marie-selby-botanical-gardens/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/worlds-greatest-places-2024/6992344/marie-selby-botanical-gardens/"},"headline":"Marie Selby Botanical Gardens","datePublished":"2024-07-25T10:46:59.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T00:32:44.527Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/worlds-greatest-places-2024/6992344/marie-selby-botanical-gardens/","keywords":["World's Greatest Places","franchise"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9e987711a5942c56/698a5919011682e5ff986098/worlds-greatest-places-marie-selby-botanical-house-2024.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Terry Ward","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/terry-ward/"}],"creator":"Terry Ward","articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9e987711a5942c56/698a5919011682e5ff986098/worlds-greatest-places-marie-selby-botanical-house-2024.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/worlds-greatest-places/","name":"World's Greatest Places"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/worlds-greatest-places-2024/6992344/marie-selby-botanical-gardens/","name":"Marie Selby Botanical Gardens"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"The World's Greatest Places of 2024","description":"","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/HlwBiNPC/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2024-07-25T10:50:00.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/HlwBiNPC.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/collections/worlds-greatest-places-2024/6992344/marie-selby-botanical-gardens/","duration":"PT3M29S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/collections/worlds-greatest-places-2024/6992344/marie-selby-botanical-gardens/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```