Family finds tradition in Selby Gardens' Mother's Day brunch

In-laws Lee Byron and Pat Sellers, along with their families, represent three generations of family who enjoy Mother’s Day brunch each year at Selby Gardens.

This Sunday, three generations of family members will come together to celebrate Mother’s Day with a brunch at Selby Gardens — a tradition they’ve come to enjoy for the past seven years. Getting three generations of family together for anything is no easy feat, but longtime Sarasota residents and in-laws, Lee Byron and Pat Sellers, along with their families, have been able to enjoy this annual tradition since its inception, and it’s something they look forward to each year. Lee Byron’s daughter, Lee Byron-Hayes, and her daughter’s husband, Steve Hayes, met at Pine View School and began dating in their sophomore year. Lee Byron and Steve Hayes’ mother, Pat Sellers, explain that their children are the ones who originally suggested the tradition of the Mother’s Day brunch, and it just stuck.

“It was the kids’ idea,” said Byron. “It’s even more uncommon because nobody’s visiting — we all live here. Mother’s Day is a family time for us. I like being able to spend some time with the kids and grandkids.”Sellers says she also enjoys the opportunity to spend time in the garden with her family.

“It’s just perfect joy,” she said. “When the kids were young, we’d celebrate the way a lot of people do. They’d bring me breakfast in bed and let me sleep in. This has become kind of a tradition, and bringing in the next generation has been great.”

Selby Gardens has long waived the cost of admission for mothers on the holiday, but seven years ago, they decided to do a little something extra, and the annual brunch was born. This Sunday, Byron, Sellers and their families will join the hundreds of other guests who will also enjoy a Mother’s Day brunch in Selby’s Great Room by the Bay with a live classical and jazz guitar performance to accompany the meal.

Guests are encouraged to take a stroll in the gardens after brunch and stay for the final Garden Music Series performance of “O Som Do Jazz” under the banyans on the Great Lawn starting at 1 p.m.

Phil Mancini, of Michael’s On East, has catered the brunch since its inception.

“We expect about 600 people,” said Mancini. “People can sit outside, or walk around the garden; it’s just a beautiful day.”