McKee Botanical Garden Invites You to Find Stillness in the Jungle

If you haven't made it out to see Florigami in the Garden, this is your last chance. McKee Botanical Garden's stunning collection of origami-inspired metal sculptures, including the beloved cranes, comes down after Sunday, May 24. It's worth one final visit.

What follows is something entirely different. Beginning Wednesday, May 20, McKee launches The Jungle Experience: A Path to Stillness, a slow, guided walk rooted in the Japanese practice of forest bathing. The experience moves deliberately through McKee's historic canopy, drawing attention to the senses, quieting the mind, and grounding visitors in the present moment. It concludes with a tea ceremony.

Leading the experience is Kate Pisacreta, one of McKee's most respected guides. She brings decades of hands-on work with tropical plants across the Caribbean and California, the kind of knowledge that transforms a walk through a garden into something genuinely illuminating. One practical note: phones stay off or stay behind. That's not a suggestion. The whole point is to step away from the noise, and McKee takes that seriously.

This year marks McKee's centennial, and A Path to Stillness fits squarely within how the garden is choosing to honor that milestone, not with fanfare, but with a deeper invitation to slow down and engage with something real. In a county that keeps getting busier, a living canopy that asks nothing of you except your presence is worth protecting. Tickets are available at mckeegarden.org.

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Ava Cook

Community Manager at Vero Vine

Hello!
My name is Ava Cook and I am a Freshman at Florida Southern College in Lakeland FL. I am currently a B.F.A musical theatre major with a minor in Business Administration. I love reading, singing, acting, dancing, and writing. My favorite part about Vero Beach and Indian River County as a whole is how close the community is. Vero Vine is important to me as it allows me to do my part it bringing the community together also, sharing events, small businesses, and other local happenings. If you have any questions or any recommendations for me, my email is always open [email protected].