Bok Tower and Gardens

Can you believe we had the opportunity to visit not one, but three, botanical gardens in our 10-day trip to Florida? The second on our list was the Bok Tower and Garden - a national historical site - in Lake Wales, Florida.

Although we went on a cool, overcast day it was a delightful place to be. Built originally in the late 1920's the trees and shrubs are mature and full - a big contrast to the newly opened Naples Botanical Garden that we saw earlier in the week. Designed by Frederick Law Olmstead, Jr., this garden has the feel of the big stately garden grounds - like the Biltmore Estate or Central Park - but in this setting a very different sort of vegetation. It does come complete, though, with sculpture and a moat with swans - as any proper formal garden should.

We were there in Camellia season, but it was also interesting to see azaleas in bloom. In Central Virginia we get camellias in November through March, but the azaleas don't start blooming until April, so the two don't normally overlap. In this setting, tho, they are very complementary. And I loved the juxtaposition of the deciduous shrubs with palm trees and Spanish Moss.

As you can see from the map, there are large lawns and planted areas surrounding a lake and the tower itself. The tower is located on the highest point in Central Florida. It is situated in such a way that it is completely reflected in the lake at its feet. [I suspect that has more to do with the way the lake was sited, but they describe it in terms of the tower. Good PR there.] The elevation here is actually something near 300 feet - which for most of us is nothing, but in Florida is quite remarkable. The gardens spread around it on three sides, but on the fourth side the land actually falls away sharply creating a shelf only a few hundred feet behind the tower and giving the visitor the impression of standing on a cliff looking down on the town far below. It's an optical illusion, but a nice one.

The large planting areas included many camellias and azaleas, but also orange trees and various palms and Youpon holly. But there were also beds of annuals [well, at least where I live] and some gorgeous big agaves. These do not grow at all in my zone, so I am always fascinated by them.

There was also a variety of statuary. Some if it was "traditional" bronze figures, but the best, to my eye, were modernistic sculptures of flowers. These were scattered around the flowering beds that surround the education center.

The Tower itself is interesting. Over 200 feet tall, it is built of native stone and marble with gorgeous mosaic windows at the top. It contains a wonderful carillon, which is played frequently. When we were there they were celebrating its anniversary, so there were live concerts every afternoon and we were there in time to hear one. Other days they have recorded concerts. And, when the days are longer they have them in the evening as well. We did not stay to meet the carilloneur, but we could have! [They are doing some repair and renovation, so you can see scaffolding at the top.] If one has the appropriate level of membership (financial support), one can go into the Tower, but we were only poor travelers on the road, so we were satisfied with an exterior viewing.

An historical note here. Mitchell remembers his grandparents and aunt driving from Virginia to Florida in the 1940's to visit the Tower and Gardens. They made many trips to visit gardens, so this is not a big surprise. It was a surprise, however, that as we were driving from Naples to Orlando, when he spotted the sign he started looking for the tower. And, it was he who pushed to go see it.

One final note. I think it's always wonderful to find an idea that one might use in one's own garden and I found a great one at Bok Tower. It's not one I can use in my climate, but Elizabeth has a new house and is working on her landscaping, so I think she might want to give this a try. At the entrance/education building there is an enclosed courtyard with sidewalks around it and a garden in the center. Along the walks - and I suspect to dissuade walking into the garden - are "walls" made of plants. They have strung "air plants" together with wire and suspended them at one-foot intervals along the walk. The plants are staggered and they have used several different types of plant. I actually didn't know that air plants came in so many varieties, or grew so large. That's one of those zone things again! If you live far enough south (or perhaps west) that bromiliads will make it through the winter, or if you can figure out a way to shelter them, this might be a good idea for you, too.

Guest Garden - A Baby Bot!

Do you ever tour a house that is under construction? You know, you walk thru the studded walls and see where the tub is and look at the rest of the plumbing - "here's the master bath" - or "look at the view where these windows are going!"

Touring the newly opened Botanical Garden in Naples, Florida is a lot like that. Open less than three months, it is easy to see the potential and it's very pleasing in its current state. The bones are great and some parts are already spectacular.

In a very smart move, they have put the children's garden at the front of the garden. You enter thru that tunnel of sawpalms into a fun and interesting area with a tree house, silly gardens, a butterfly house, waterfall and a winding path that takes one thru areas that represent both geological history and the various environments of Florida. [A little learning stuck in with the fun.]

The path winds thru little gardens and ends at this little "cracker" house, which represents the one-room homes of the early 1900's. In January all the blooms happened to be pink and lavender - to match the paint job! It was charming. Behind the house is a garden full of everyday items used as planters - wading boots, a toilet, a sewing machine and all manner of yard junque. All sure to engage and please the younger set, and in many ways this is already the most "finished" part of the entire project. A smart way to draw the younger set, who will bring their children and stay to enjoy the rest of the garden.

The "big" areas right now are the Brazilian Garden, which is filled with bromiliads - literally thousands of them - from Brazil and the Caribbean Garden with plants from other South American countries and islands. Here one can see how young this garden is. All of the trees (palms) and plants are small. In a year when they have grown and filled in, the area will be drop dead gorgeous, whereas right now it's only interesting. Unfortunately, I did not have a way to collect the botanical names, so you either have to go yourself if you see something that you really like, or contact Marie over at 66 Square Feet for help [she is great on proper names!] I can only show you a few that I found particularly nice.














As you can see, the variety is endless. There were only a few in "bloom", but imagine it in a couple of years. It will be marvelous!


The centerpiece of the Brazilian Garden is a large water feature, complete with tropical water lilies. They were not in bloom yet, but also show a lot of promise for the future. You can see in the distance a lovely mosiac at the top of the waterfalls.




The final area that is currently open is a pavilion and walkway out into a swamp - remember that we are only a few miles from the Everglades here. Along with the "Beware of Alligators" signs are native grasses and bog plants. There is also a bocce court - perhaps in acknowledgment to early Italian settlers to this area.

Two new areas that are still under construction will showcase plants from tropical and sub-tropical Asia and native plants for Florida - including demonstration gardens. They will continue into the water plants and wetland areas that fill the southern half of the state and much of Collier County.


You can see here how sparse the growth is right now. In a city where palms and native grasses grow wild and thick, there is too much open ground here. In a year, it will be filled in and the plantings lush like they are in their natural habitat. I can hardly wait to go back in a few years and see how this garden grows!!

Water, water everywhere!

The poor garden! It's standing in snow and water - again... still. To recap, we returned from a Thanksgiving trip to find the back yard and garden waterlogged - literally so wet that I could not cut the grass. We got significant additional rain that week and the next, and now we have gotten more than 12 inches of snow. I've been in the garden exactly twice since before Thanksgiving - once to check on the fish nearly three weeks ago and again on Christmas Day in search for rosemary! I made a quick check on the fish then, too. They seem to be fine.

Now the concern is root rot.

Whereas, plants look terrible when they dry out, the reality is that they sacrifice their leaves to save their core. So, when you water them they perk up quickly and go back to looking great.

Too much water is a whole different issue. Plants need oxygen, too. When their roots stand in water, they cannot pull any oxygen out of the soil and they can die quickly - a house plant in just a day or two. Our soil is full of clay - and what are pots made of? and what do they hold? One of our first experiences with this yard was a tree that Mitchell watered and watered and watered as it looked worse and worse and worse. When we finally gave up and dug it up, it was standing in a clay bowl of water and had died of root rot. We have spent the past nine years amending the soil, adding humus and gypsum and generally trying to change to composition and it has worked well.

But I am not at all sure that all our best efforts have been enough for this. The magnolia we planted 18 months ago is literally standing in water this morning. Its hole is filled with a special gravel-like substance that is supposed to help, but is it enough?

The xeri-garden is still covered in snow. I know it hates that! I did put nearly 10 inches of gravel and sand in the bottom of that bed and it is built into a slope so that water can drain off and down the hill, but will it work fast enough? Only time will tell.

There are good things to focus on, tho. I won't have to worry about watering for the next month or two. Often that is a hassle in the winter when it's cold and I have to carry water back and forth. We are really replenishing the underground water supply, so the trees and grass will be healthier this summer. We didn't lose a lot of shrubbery in the snow. I was able to get out and uncover a lot of smaller things the first day. We have a lot of breakage in the nandinas, but they can be cut back hard in February and will fill out again quickly. And, it will be in the 50's again today so most of the rest of the snow should met, freeing us from an icy deck. And, I nearly forgot, I still have not had to cut the grass in the back yard!

So all we can do now is wait. Things will either recover or not. And that's the way it is in the garden. We do the best we can, when we can and trust Mother Nature to look after the rest.

Water, Water Everywhere!

It's been very quiet in the garden for the past three weeks... because I cannot get there! After three years of official drought and one year that was "normal" rainfall-wise, 2009 has decided to be a wet year here in Central Virginia. I can't tell you how much we have gotten in the past three weeks - because I cannot walk into the yard (seriously!) to see the rain gauge. In November we had 8 inches before we left for Thanksgiving.

It rained while we were gone, but I was able to cut the front yard (which slopes more, so had more runoff), but I still cannot cut the back. In fact, we have had so much rain that water is still standing - after three, count them, three weeks. We have gone to the shed a couple of times where there was just no other choice, but we have left little foot sized ponds with every step! Every time it almost dries out, we get more rain. Tonight we are supposed to get freezing rain and snow. Normally snow is a good thing (for the garden) because it melts slowly and the ground is able to absorb a bigger percentage (not much runoff), but I am guessing that we are wet all the way thru the good dirt and down to the clay, so now I am worried about root rot!

Most plants can go two to three weeks without watering - they look pretty bad, but they sacrifice their leaves to save their structure and with a bit of water come right back. But wet ground is a "whole nuther" thing. Plants can only stand in water so long before they, too, drown. They need oxygen exchange in their roots and if the ground is just too wet, they cannot get it. The danger in my garden is exactly that. I have built up about eight inches of good rich humusy growing dirt over the native clay. Normally water fills in that eight inches of good dirt and then evaporates off. In these conditions it can't evaporate enough and the water may be standing underground on top of that clay causing root rot. Unfortunately, I won't know until spring.

So, all I can do is hope for sunshine soon and hope that most things have sufficient root structure to hold them thru this "crisis". So all of the photos are from prettier days! The one day I was able to get out to check on the pond, frogger was still there, so thought you might like to meet him. He still looks the same, only larger! Must have been a good summer for bugs.