A Walk Through Tampa's Botanical Oasis

One of the best places in Hillsborough County to celebrate spring is also one of its best kept secrets: Eureka Springs.

Springtime at Eureka Springs Conservation Park – perhaps better referred to as a botanical garden – is a verdant paradise of blossoming flora.

While walking through the park’s front entryway, you are transported to an oasis of beautiful plants, greenery, and peace. It's not merely a park; it's a sanctuary where time seems to slow, allowing guests to immerse themselves in the beauty of their surroundings.

A large oak with staghorn fern, bromeliads, lichen, and other life growing upon it.

Eureka Springs Conservation Park is possibly our most unique park. The 30-acre property was gifted to Hillsborough County by entrepreneur Albert Greenberg. After serving in the first World War, Greenberg travelled the world acquiring unique tropical plants and chose to settle them in Tampa.

In the 1930’s, Albert started Everglades Nursery and Aquatic Plants and bought what is now Eureka Springs. He leveraged the springs and created artificial ponds as well to help cultivate tropical plants and fish, before shipping them globally from his property through nearby Tampa Executive airport.

Today, remnants of Greenberg's legacy thrive amidst the park's lush landscape, serving as a reminder of his pioneering spirit.

The memorial for Albert Greenberg, and his first two gardeners, John Evanoff and David Mazur.

The greenhouse was an original structure from Greenberg's time.

The property is, and was a century ago, largely a hardwood cypress swamp. The tall tree canopy perfectly shades the park’s boardwalk from the blazing sun. In the winter, a sharp eyed or eared birder may be able to find where a pair of Bald Eagles make their annual nest. A mix of Florida natives and Greenberg’s exotic plants still grow in thick, providing habitat for birds and frogs that create a symphony that makes you forget your troubles as you walk the boardwalk.

Beyond the wild boardwalk are the gardens. The rose garden surrounding a white arbor has been the host of many small weddings; its fragrant blooms serving as a backdrop for vows exchanged amidst nature's splendors. Just beyond it a freshwater pond boasting blue flag iris, while chorus frogs provide an enchanting soundtrack to the idyllic scene.

The greenhouse is an orchid lover’s paradise. Boasting a new roof and water cooling to keep it the perfect temperature at all times, it’s not to be missed. Small water features with fish are surrounded by bromeliads as orchids hang from the ceiling, like delicate chandeliers, placed on display when they are in bloom. Many of these plants were Greenberg’s own, now over 80 years old.

The staff of Eureka Springs know they’ve got something special, and they and a handful of talented volunteers work hard to make the park gorgeous for every guest and honor the legacy of Albert Greenberg and his gardeners. As visitors depart this botanical wonderland, they carry with them not only memories of its beauty but also a renewed appreciation for the world of plants.