Explore the Ecology of Mead Garden
Why does Mead Garden have such a rich diversity of animal life, especially birds?
The answer can be understood through a concept called habitat heterogeneity: the more different types of habitats in a space, the higher the diversity of animals that is supported by that space.
Mead Garden is unique because it is a natural island of diverse habitats within an otherwise developed landscape, and these diverse habitats protect quite a variety of living things.
Some habitats within Mead Garden have previously been degraded and are now being restored to their former condition through a process called ecological restoration (ecorestoration).
Habitat heterogeneity elements found in Mead Garden include flowing streams, riparian forest, wetlands, open water, and mature longleaf pine/sandhill.
Mead Garden Flora
The variety of cultivated gardens and natural biological communities located within Mead Botanical Garden provide a showcase for a myriad of beautiful and interesting plants from around the world, as well as an abundance of Florida native wetland and upland species.
From the spectacularly showy night blooming cactus called the night-blooming cereus (that blooms just once a year), to the magnificent cypress trees that line the creek. Throughout the year, you’ll see our amazing display of orchids, caladiums, begonias and camellias, to the mature longleaf pines that punctuate the uplands, Mead Garden’s flora is in a class of its own.