Explore New Orleans's Botanical Garden
The Stove House was our favorite greenhouse. It’s such a beautiful display of funky cacti, and a real gorgeous sea of terracotta.
How cute is this little prickly white one!
This activity is one of the many we include in our big ol’ Guide to New Orleans. Check it out to start planning your trip to New Orleans!
It’s really hard to take full advantage of all of the cool things to do in the city you live in. It’s like…we’ve got our routine and have the things we do on a daily or weekly or monthly basis and actually scheduling in time to do things outside of that routine is something we’ve got to put actual energy into. But it’s so worth it!
This week we went for a little stroll through the New Orleans Botanical Garden. It’s a 10-acre collection of gardens located right in the center of the city in City Park and has been operating since the 1930s. For an entry fee of $8 (on Wednesdays residents get in free!) you can roam around and check out the different green houses and gardens that have everything from cacti to vegetables to orchids and giant staghorn ferns and so much other stuff. There are over 2000 plants here, so like wow brace yourself. We learned about prehistoric plants in the Living Fossils conservatory, saw gorgeous bright purple orchids in the Tropical Rain Forest conservatory, and took way too many Instagram-ready photos in the Stove House—the original greenhouse in the park that is now used for housing cacti.
We only had an hour to spend here so didn’t get to do everything, but depending on what time of year you go, there are several other spots to check out, like the butterfly walk and hummingbird garden, palm court, Japanese garden, and if you’re here during the winter there’s the entire Celebration in the Oaks situation which we’d highly recommend. The gardens are open seven days a week, so if you are visiting during the week we’d highly recommend checking it out on a Monday or Tuesday, as it’s pretty quiet and you really get to just zen out while you walk around. It was such a wonderfully peaceful experience tbh.
Read more about what there is to do in the New Orleans Botanical Gardens on their website, and if you haven’t yet, check out our Guide to New Orleans for more of our favorite things to eat, drink, do, and see, including sections for LGBTQ+ tourists and seasonal activities. See more of our time at the botanical garden below (including those giant staghorn ferns), and pin your favorite images!
xoxo Beau & Matt
The Living Fossils Conservatory. Prehistoric plants!
That’s a big fern, Mary.
The Tropical Rain Forest conservatory has orchids and other tropical plants AND an indoor waterfall. Great for kids or two grown adults that love a water feature.
Let us know if you’d like to see more posts about our favorite things to do in New Orleans in the comments!
xoxoxo