Hidden Gem: Peace River Botanical & Sculpture Gardens

A few weeks ago I spent a day exploring Punta Gorda and found a delightful hidden gem, the Peace River Botanical & Sculpture Gardens. The Peace River Botanical and Sculpture Gardens is beautiful, waterfront oasis in Punta Gorda. I love visiting different gardens. Wherever I travel to I try to find one to experience different flora and fauna of the area. I can't believe it took me this long to discover the gardens in Punta Gorda, just about a 40 minute drive from my home in Fort Myers. The gardens cover 15 acres of land, plus 10 acres of waterways, marshland and mangroves. There's over 4500 different trees, plants and flowers and stunning sculptures throughout the property. In fact, it's one of the largest botanical and sculpture gardens in the entire state of Florida. I came upon some of the coolest flowers that I had never seen before, so I loved that. [gallery ids="382901"] And my favorite sculpture is on the opposite side of where you enter the gardens. There's a beautiful house, that is the home of the gift shop, with a pool in front. There's a super realistic sculpture of a woman floating on a tube, it's SO cool. [caption id="attachment_382883" align="alignnone" width="170"] Just one of a few super real sculptures. This one is called "Next Summer"[/caption] I went alone and spent about an hour there, and saw everything. But if you went with others, there's a beautiful gazebo out on the end of the pier to sit and chat, so with some breaks while strolling, you could easily spend a few hours. They have a great event calendar, and I'm looking forward to visiting this holiday season for Gardens Aglow featuring holiday lights, hot cocoa, carols, Santa, s'mores and more. For more info on the Peace River Botanical and Sculpture Gardens and to plan your visit, click here More photos from the Peace River Botanical Gardens: [gallery ids="382910,382895,382907,382886,"] [select-listicle listicle_id="399128" syndication_name="florida-has-one-of-americas-cheapest-christmas-vacations" description="yes"]