The Alfred B. Maclay State Gardens is a 28 acre Florida State Park, botanical garden and historic site, located in Tallahassee, in northwestern Florida. The address is 3540 Thomasville Road.

History

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The gardens began in 1923 when Alfred Barmore Maclay (1871-1944) and his wife, Louise Fleischman, bought the site. Maclay named his gardens Killearn, after the birth place of his great-grandfather in Scotland, and developed them continuously until his death. His wife continued their development, opened them to the public in 1946, and in 1953 donated some 307 acres of their estate, including the gardens, to the Florida Board of Park Service. In 1965 the gardens were renamed in Maclay's honor.

Biology

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The backbone of the garden plantings are azaleas and camellias. Trees include bald cypress, black gum, cyrilla, dogwood, hickory, holly, Japanese maple, oak, plum, redbud, sweetgum, and Torreya taxifolia. Other plantings include ardisia, aucuba, coontie, Chapman's rhododendron, gardenia, ginger, jasmine, Oriental magnolia, mountain laurel, nandina, palmetto, sago palm, selaginella, wisteria, and yucca filamentosa.

Recreational Activities

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The park has such amenities as bicycling, birding, boating, canoeing, fishing, hiking, horse trails, kayaking, picnicking areas and swimming. It also has a museum with interpretive exhibits.

Hours

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The gardens are open daily; an entrance fee is charged January 1 through April 30.

External links

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• Official Alfred B. Maclay State Gardens website
• Alfred B. Maclay Gardens State Park at Florida State Parks
• Alfred B. Maclay Gardens State Park at State Parks
• Alfred B. Maclay State Gardens at Tallahassee Trust for Historic Preservation
• Alfred B. Maclay Gardens State Park Trails at Florida Department of Environmental Protection
• Maclay State Gardens at Absolutely Florida

Arboreta | Botanical gardens in Florida | Leon County, Florida | Florida state parks