Event Description
Enjoy the Garden’s most fruitful season.
On Saturday, July 6 from 9am-3pm, take your taste buds on a trip across the globe to sample fruit from the tropics— and learn about some of the less well-known fruiting plants we grow here!
Have you ever wondered how to open a coconut or jackfruit? Maybe you’ve always wanted to know how to grow a pineapple? You’ll have the opportunity to get the answers to these questions and more during our hands-on demonstrations, lively talks and tours of the tropical fruit plants of the Garden!
Keep your eyes peeled for special tropical fruit tastings during your visit. Scroll down to read the full schedule.
Tasting the Tropics is included with regular Garden admission. Program topics and locations subject to change; please consult the Daily Activities posted at the Garden when you visit.
Go Coconuts with These Demonstrations:
- Opening a jackfruit
- Peeling a mango
- Planting a pineapple in a container
- Planting and pruning a fruit tree
- Opening a coconut
Spice up your Life with Dig Deeper
Enjoy a spice-themed session of Dig Deeper, an impromptu learning opportunity within the Garden at 11:30am and 1:30 pm. Learn about the ways we harvest spices from the seeds, fruits, roots, bark and other parts of plants for adding flavor and coloring to our food.
Edible Fruit Tours
Venture into the Garden on a guided tour, and learn about the edible plants that can be grown in Southwest Florida. See what your favorite tropical fruits look like before they are harvested and delivered to your favorite grocery store or farmers market! Note: The maximum capacity for each Tasting the Tropics tour is 20 individuals.
Full Schedule:
| Time | Event | Location |
| 9am – 3pm | W.O.N.D.E.R. in the Garden | Performance Lawn |
| 9am – 9:45 | Demonstration: “How to Peel a Mango” | Kapnick Hall |
| 10am – 10:45 | Demonstration: “How to Graft a Mango” | Kapnick Hall |
| 10am – 10:45 | Edible Plant Tour of the Garden: Fruits of Asia | Meet on Smith Entry Prow |
| 11am – 11:45 | Demonstration: Planting, Pruning and Fertilizing a Fruit Tree | Kapnick Hall |
| 11am – 11:45 | Edible Plant Tour of the Garden: “Fruits of the Caribbean” | Meet on Smith Entry Prow |
| 11:30am – 12pm | Dig Deeper: The Spice is Right | Kapnick Hall |
| 11:30am – 1:30pm | Tropical Fruit Tasting | Kapnick Hall |
| 12pm – 12:45 | Edible Plant Tour of the Garden: “Fruits of Brazil” | Meet on Smith Entry Prow |
| 1pm – 1:30 | Dig Deeper: The Spice is Right | Kapnick Hall |
| 1pm – 1:30 | Demonstration: “Cutting Open a Jackfruit” | Kapnick Hall |
| 1:45pm – 2:15 | How to Grow a Pineapple in a Container | Kapnick Hall |
| 2:30pm – 3 | Demonstration: “Coconut Processing” | Kapnick Hall |
