Visiting a botanical garden for the first time, I expected a vibrant display of diverse flowers and plants, plus a little bit of cute wildlife, the kind of immersive nature experience you see in travel guides. Instead, this botanical garden felt more like a peaceful park with lots of trees and a well-maintained walking trail. My expectations were definitely high, so the experience surprised me. That said, it was calm, quiet, and relaxing. There were plenty of places to sit, which makes it a great spot for a picnic, reading, journaling, or simply unplugging for a while. If you are looking for a serene outdoor space to reset and enjoy a slow, mindful walk, this is a solid choice. If you are hoping for a colorful, flower-filled botanical garden experience, you may want to visit during peak bloom season or check what is currently flowering before you go. read more

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We stopped at the Joy & Gordon Patterson Botanical Garden during a weekend in Melbourne Florida. It is located on the campus of Florida Institute of Technology. I had a little difficulty finding the correct parking lot and entrance to the garden but once in the correct lot I saw the sign. It is a leisurely walk through the 15 acre garden. It is not a garden in the sense of flowery plants but more a native hammock. There is a meandering stream and a little pond of turtles, we counted 10 including snapping turtles. Melbourne's oldest schoolhouse, 1883, has been relocated here. It was the weekend and campus was pretty quiet. We enjoyed a nice walk, even in misty rain. I recommend a visit to the garden if you are in the area especially if you have kids who would enjoy the turtles. read more

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If you are near Melbourne, Florida and have an hour to spare taking a walk around the Botanical Gardens on the campus of Florida Tech University is a good option. Peaceful and shaded there are paved and unpaved paths. Lots of green foliage not many flowers and a few ponds. As you wander around students can be seen studying or rushing by heading to class. There is no fee to visit the gardens or for parking. read more

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This is also called the Joy & Gordon Patterson Botanical Garden. It is located on the campus of the Florida Institute of Technology. You can park in the visitors spaces and admission is free. Twelve thousand years ago, this area was a watering hole for migrating mammoths and mastodons. The Melbourne Mammoth which is currently displayed in Amherst's Beneski Museum of Natural History, was discovered along the Crane tributaries in the 1920s. Fossils including mastodon teeth continue to be found here today. V.C. Brownlie who previously owned the land donated 40 acres to the University of Melbourne for educational purposes. When the University no longer had use for it, Mrs. Virginia Wood, Chairman of the University of Melbourne was instrumental in getting the land donated it to FIT after they pledged to maintain the natural hammock on the property and to not uproot any trees unnecessarily. In honor of their contributions, "Brownlie" and "Wood" halls were named in honor of the two women. In the late 1950's founding university president Jerome Keuper who was a physicist at Cape Canaveral, set aside 15 acres for the garden while the campus was being built. Keuper grew over 200 varieties of Palms from all over the world along with his friend and founder of the Palm Society, Dent Smith. In recognition for Smith's contributions, a trail through the hammock garden was named the Dent Smith Trail in his honor. In 1972 the Board of Trustees of FIT formerly dedicated the botanical garden. The students nicknamed the garden the Jungle and it is kept as natural as possible to this day. The garden has streams which are tributaries of Crane Creek and small bridges cross over the water. There is also picnic benches, a gazebo, a bamboo garden, cycad garden, butterfly garden, fountain, and a turtle pond. Benches in the garden are embossed with quotes from inspirational people such as philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche and local author Zora Neale Hurston. At the beginning of the trail is Melbourne's oldest schoolhouse which dates to 1883. The building was the working schoolhouse for the children of early settlers and is one of Brevard's oldest still existing structures. The "Little Red Schoolhouse" was moved to the gardens in 1970. In 2019, Joy and Gordon Patterson made a large donation to the garden and it was named in their honor. Both Patterson's teach at the School of Arts and Communication of F.I.T. and they felt a special connection to the botanical garden. I always love discovering a new garden and this one even has a historic building. It is so refreshing to the soul to get out in nature and enjoy the clean air and beautiful plants. The fact that this all free makes it even better. The garden is open daily from dawn to dusk. There are both paved and unpaved sections. Anyone can take take a self guided tour. If you contact the college you can arrange for a 45 minute guided tour. This tropical paradise has so much history and beauty. It is well worth it to visit this natural treasure if you are in the Melbourne area. read more

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This botanical garden is a great place to come and relax. I took my cat for a nice stroll although some spots were hard to push the stroller. There was a lovely pond with multiple huge turtles roaming freely. They weren't afraid of people, as I was able to be right next to one. Multiple variety of fish swam throughout the garden, as some of the spots of water became stagnant. There weren't many people, which made the time here feel as if it was my personal private event with Boots and my parents. I would most certainly come back to this tranquil garden. read more

Joy & Gordon Patterson Botanical Garden - Took my kitty to the gardens - Botanical Gardens Near Me - Melbourne, Florida

Such a peaceful, quiet walk. Didn't ever find the butterfly garden, but the rest of it was quiet and was a nice walk. read more

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If you, like me, can't get enough of tropical plants, gorgeous palm trees of all kinds and and intense greenery that transport you to a terrestrial paradise, you will love these gardens. I left my airbnb nearby and before going to the airport I had some spare time. I decided that the beach was not an option (cold weather in Florida, nooooo) and i needed to get overdose of botanical beauty before departure. Well, absolutely no regrets. All beautiful, fresh, well maintained, you can listen to the water passing by, you can stop by the many benches on the various paths and get immerse in a different ecosystem. Lucky students the ones of Florida Tech! The best of all...absolutely free. There is also an adorable first school from the late 1800s, the little red house school, very small and transported from another location to this one that fits perfectly. Do not miss you are in Melbourne or visiting someone in campus! read more

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I was more sad than anything else. This place used to be so beautiful and well taken care of. It is in ruins. The turtles are starving so much that they come up to you and try to eat you off they can and attack one another if they can not get food. Its actually animal cruelty cause there is nowhere for them to get food at all. The worst part is that this place is part of Florida tech college, and they do nothing to maintain it. read more

Joy & Gordon Patterson Botanical Garden - These turtles fight each other cause they cannot get food. It is animal cruelty. - Botanical Gardens Near Me - Melbourne, Florida

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It gives new meaning to ZERO scape. It's poorly maintained if at all. It may have been a great idea but to call it a garden is a stretch. It really just a sidewalk through the Florida woods. read more

Currently closed to the public. I recommend parking in lot 15. Hopefully next trip it will be open to the public.

Very well maintained grounds. Lots of paths and shade to walk under. It can get kind of humid under the canopy of trees. There is a little flowing river where you can see small swim around. A pond where turtles are standing on top of each other. If you look at them and act like you have food and bunch of turtle heads pop up out of the water. A few history buildings are sitting on this property. I was pretty impressed that they had multiple very large stage horn ferns around the place. Lots of pokey stops. Just a few laps and you should be all stocked up. read more

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This place is so peaceful. It has both concrete paths as well as the Earth's floor. The most wonderful thing other than the beauty of nature was a small group of students being taught about the flora and fauna. Parking was a little sparse, but the security person helped me find a place. It's a small botanical garden but well worth a walk through. read more

The Botanical place is next to a collage. It has lots of mosquitoes,take bug spray. The turtles are cool to see and I saw no butterflies and only 2 types of flowers. Loads of anoles and that's it. They don't maintain it very well and looks neglected. This isn't a botanical garden. This is the back yard to the collage. read more

Gorgeous, clean, shady trails. Lots of moving water, quaint bridges, and foliage to keep your experience stimulating. And it's FREE read more

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Truly a tropical gem, this garden with the "old Florida landscape" feel is a tranquil, restful spot that allows you to get lost and forget you are in the middle of a city! A few little streams trickle through and there are numerous benches and some picnic tables to relax, have lunch or read a book. There's a self-guided walking tour (on the University website) and many of the specimen palms and plants have labels with QR codes (smart phone scanner needed) for a little more insight on what grows there. Really a treat. read more