Lake Eola Part III

Continuing our walking tour around Lake Eola in the heart of Orlando, Florida we find this island just off shore. It was quite an interesting island and has a surprise. Look closely and perhaps you can spot the wildlife roosting in the brush on the left side of the island. Can you see them?

I did not initially see them but upon looking closer I got a good surprise. I don't know what kind of birds these are but there were a few of them just roosting quietly on the branches of this tree.

Looking at the island from a different perspective we also get a view of one of the many homeless people living in this park. If you are a homeless person Florida is where you want to be in the winter because it is fairly warm. All of the homeless we saw seemed to be enjoying the park very much and many, like this gentleman, were taking naps under the trees or on the benches. Still, others were eating nice plates of good food. The day we visited was Christmas Day and because of this holiday several local places were giving out free plates of food.

The turtles were quite a sight.







Bald cypresses were a very common tree in the part of Florida I was visiting. My daughter's subdivision had several little ponds that were surrounded with nicely landscaped areas. Bald cypresses were part of the landscaping near all the ponds I saw. This one has several knees since it is growing in the water. The white ibis were taking advantage of the perches in order to spear their prey.

White ibis were everywhere in Florida it seemed. In my daughter's neighborhood they prowl around the lawns looking for prey. They are a beautiful bird. Their call sounds like a duck's call. Check the Cornell site for more information on them.






The park was beautifully decorated for Christmas. This tree was a very large tree and completely lit up. We happened to pass by this park after dark and the wished we could've visited it then too because all of the Christmas lights were quite festive....

in the garden....

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

Lake Eola: Part II

Continuing around Lake Eola we find a little pier that on this day, totally belonged to the pigeons. It must be mating season for these pigeons as they were putting on quite a courting display for passerbys.

Swans were all up along the shore as we slowly made our way around the park. At first I thought this swan with the raised foot had a injured foot. But then Mr. Fix-it and I noticed several swans had a foot raised up.

We have no idea why the swans were like this but don't think they were injured.





Off to the side there was a memorial to fallen soldiers. It's almost a rule that all public parks must have memorials to soldiers. At least it seems that way because so many have them. 

While in this area we saw quite a few homeless folks. Because it was Christmas Day they all had large plates of food to eat and were sharing with one another where to go to get the plates of food. A couple folks told us Merry Christmas and one managed to ask for money while we were leaving. I have no problem with homeless folks, but I do not appreciate  outright begging.  



I am pretty sure this majestic bird is an anihinga, or snake bird. My daughter pointed several out to me while we were out and about. These birds are predators in the water. They stalk their food and spear them with their long sharp beak.

Swans eat a lot of food. We did not feed any swans on this date but I thought it good the park placed informational signs out for visitors to remind us all that feeding wildlife it not really a good idea; even if they are on special diets.

The gardener in me immediately caught a couple of camellias in full bloom. This red one is trained into an umbrella like tree. There were several different colors of camellias in this apartment complex's garden (the garden did not appear to be part of Lake Eola but skirted the park. I was thrilled to learn a bit about tropical gardens simply by observing the fauna in all of the landscaped areas in Orlando. I realized I don't know much about tropical gardens at all. 

There is one more post about Lake Eola.....

in the garden....

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Let's Visit Florida: Lake Eola Part I

I recently traveled to sunny Florida, specifically Orlando, in order to visit my daughter Christine and granddaughter Adella. I have to tell you I really loved Orlando. The people were all very nice, the weather okay, the landscapes and roads were clean (This is something Tennessee does not have), it was easy to shop at local stores and there was a wide variety of stores and services close by. Orlando seems to be a lovely city to live in. It is completely opposite of the country hick town I live in. Honestly I cannot say I'd rather live in the city but the city truly had some advantages over this area I live in--quite a few actually. At any rate, while visiting the city Mr. Fix-it and I ventured out to visit a city park in the heart of Orlando called Lake Eola. Upon exiting our vehicle we were greeted by a great display of annuals right next to high rise buildings and the road. It was a feast for my eyes and a precursor of all to come. Let's walk the .9 trail around the park and see what else it has to offer.



After passing the beds of annuals we are greeted by this beautiful sculpture. And when I say beautiful I mean beautiful. I thought she rivaled sculptures from Europe and her setting was quite appropriate.

She must've been fifty feet long or so. She was so long I could not capture the whole sculpture in one picture. The woman is prone among a groundcover and you can only see portions of her. The feet and hands and all parts were unique in that they were very anatomically correct and the whole effect was soothing.



Bald cypresses are a very common tree in this part of Orlando. You cannot find a pond without bald cypresses planted in or near it. Can you see a knee popping up from the water? Soon there will be many more. We'll see some more knees in a later post about Lake Eola. I planted two bald cypress trees on my farm last summer in the hopes they will grow to be magnificent trees so I can enjoy them at home. So far they are doing well. Bald cypresses do not need to be planted in or near water to grow well, but I think they would like a wet area.

Looking across the pond we can see a magnificent water fountain. It is powerful and makes quite a sight; especially when lit up at night.

Now this is a picture you won't see on many Lake Eola websites, but I loved this building. It is the restroom pavilion of the park. The glass blocks were so in tune with Florida and the coral blues and aqua were a very nice contrast. It was a very well taken care of service area for this busy park area. Orlando is doing well with their maintenance.

Birds are the word in Florida--they are everywhere. All kinds of birds are abundant, but more so water birds when near the water. I have no idea what kinds of birds we saw except for a few. My daughter, who is an avid birdwatcher, could probably tell us but she did not join us on our walk this day.

These birds are easy to identify. They are mute swans. I think everyone loves swans and I am no exception. These birds were the queens of the little lake. There are also black swans in this lake.

Traveling along the path we find this male mallard taking a little nap.

The lake was surrounded by sculptures. Some were massive like 'The Muse' and this one called 'Take Flight', but some were also as small as a sparrow. I did not photograph all of them but this one is quite noteworthy to me.

And to this bird too as it took refuge on a piling.

All of the sculptures had metal plates identifying the sculpture and it is interesting to note that the artist of this sculpture as well as 'The Muse' are both Kentucky artists....

in the garden....

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A Visit To Bok Tower Gardens in Lake Wales Florida

I am just back from Florida and wanted to share with you all some of the sights of sunny Florida this time of the year. While we here in Tennessee are in the 20s-40s mid Florida enjoyed temperatures in the 70s and 80s. Wow! It was rather warm. I loved the tropical air and the gardens too. I am not so sure I'd love them so much in the summer but for March it wasn't so bad. 

A sight we can see here in Tennessee this time of the year is a camellia. The one shown above was growing amongst many more in a public garden held privately, called Bok Tower Gardens. It's cultivar was listed as 'Akashigata'. 

To my understanding, Bok Tower gardens and the adjoining Mediterranean styled mansion (to be posted later) are gardens the public can visit but they are held in a private foundation's hands. That is what I mean by public garden held privately. Therefore, this attraction must be self sufficient because I don't believe it gets any endowments from the government.  For further information check the website. 

On our way to the mansion, named Pinewood, we passed a Gopher Tortoise crossing sign. And lo and behold there was the tortoise! Our cart driver knew right where he was sunning and stopped so I could snap a photo. According to this website gopher tortoises are one of the oldest living species and it originated in the United States 60 million years ago. It is on Florida's endangered list so of course, in this garden, you must protect it, hence the sign to watch for these tortoises crossing. Tortoises are land dwellers; a big difference from turtles. 

You can't visit Florida without seeing large elephant ears. 


Or tangerine trees. These trees are part of the garden belonging to the Pinewood Mansion. More on that next week. I was intrigued by their topiary form. Most of the tangerines had been picked a few weeks ago when these trees were trimmed. 


A perfect view of the gardens, complete with Spanish moss draped off from the tree. 


Finally, a highlight of our visit was the HUGE koi pond. Our cart driver also told us there was a tilapia pond just below this one but we did not get to see it. These koi were gigantic. There was a nearby feeder dispenser that we were able to buy some food to feed the koi. Mr. Fix-it enjoyed hand feeding this big female. 

More on Bok Tower Gardens next week. As always, I like to highlight military friendly places to visit. While Bok Towers is not a major attraction as compared to Disney it is still a wonderful place to visit and as a bonus, offers a 50% discount for military! You can't beat that. The atmosphere is laid back, unhurried, and delightful. There was a wonderful restaurant that served organic food and was reasonably priced. The reasonably priced part is oftentimes hard to find in attractions like this. If you ever get the chance to visit the middle of Florida look up Bok Tower Gardens in Lake Wales....

in the garden....

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

Our Florida Vacation

This is part two of the Ramsey family's Florida vacation scrapbook. Florida is such a nice destination for vacations and whenever I think Florida I think flamingos. Do you all also think that? Or perhaps you think sunshine and fresh squeezed oranges. All wonderful thoughts of this sunny state. 


Our flamingos were on display in Busch Gardens Tampa. Did you know Busch Gardens is owned by the Anheuser Busch Company? And did you know the Anheuser Busch Company is very friendly to military personnel? I hope you do because the cost of the millions of free tickets Anheuser Busch must have given away since at least 1990 (after Desert Shield/Storm) must be an astronomical amount. The very fact that Anheiser Busch is so generous to the military sure has my attention and all of my gratitude. You see, active duty military and their immediate family members can get into the Busch parks free of charge. What a deal! Just Google 'Salute to the Heroes' or check out this website for more information. 

After delivering my uncle safe and sound at his home southwest of Orlando we decided to stay in Florida an extra day so we could visit Busch Gardens Tampa-especially since the tickets were free. The pictures in this post were all taken in Busch Gardens Tampa and this is a scrapbook for my family. We'll get back to regularly scheduled garden posts next week.



If you have never visited a Busch Gardens park you are missing out. All of the Busch parks that I have visited (Sea World, Busch Gardens Williamsburg Virginia and of course Busch Gardens Tampa Florida) are top notch. There is something going on all the time in the parks. The gardens and landscapes are extraordinary, people are friendly, and there is a wide range of rides and shows and animals that appeal to people of all ages. 

The Williamsnburg Virginia Busch Gardens Park has a theme of Europe. Since the Ramsey family lived in Europe for over ten years visiting the Williamsburg park is sort of like home-very comfortable and familiar to us. Busch Gardens Tampa has a theme of Africa. This park certainly did not remind us of home and was quite exotic and fun for all of us in the Ramsey family. We visited the Serengeti Plains and were able to get up close and personal with kangaroos-all without leaving the United States.

We saw elephants of the live kind and also the bronzed kind. He kind of reminds me of Dumbo. 

The caladiums simply shined under the cooling trees in the park.

This palm was such a great feature I took several pictures of it. Just look at the architecture of it! That silvery blue color sure makes it stand out too.

This tree was an acacia tree. It is in the mimosa family and is native to Africa. The bark was so shiny and smooth. A very cool tree! Most of the specimens and plants were marked with easy to read plant labels. Hence, the 'Garden' part of Busch Gardens. The Busch theme parks are not just amusement parks but also botanical gardens, operas, theaters, restaurants, and of course amusement in the form of many rides including roller coasters. On this visit I don't think I rode any roller coasters. Rattling my brain is not something I enjoy so no roller coasters for me. The Jimster and Mr. Fix-it rode quite a few though.

More of the gardens. Commercial parks and properties really have to mass plant for big impact. Busch Gardens got it right for sure.

We saw giraffes of the live kind and these topiaried giraffes were pretty neat too. Busch Gardens must employ a million horticulturists to take care of all the gardens and plants. What a big job.





And finally I include two pictures of the Jimster. For him the most wonderful part of his visit to Busch Gardens was not riding all the roller coasters-two times each, it was not the food or the shows, it was not the great weather and myriad of gardens, no, for the Jimster the best part of the day was the kangaroos. He got to feed them and get up close and personal. While he was feeding the older kangaroos there were several baby kangaroos who were being fed by the workers. The babies were so cute in how they sucked on the over sized bottles.



One of the last things we did before the end of the day was to go back and see the kangaroos. Feeding time in the morning was a time when the kangaroos were very active and sociable. When we went back in the evening the kangaroos were sleepy and just kind of hanging out. Fortunately we snapped a picture of the Jimster in front of this albino kangaroo.


Like all great theme parks Busch Gardens provides nighttime entertainment. The show we went to: which was called Kinetix; was very full but there was still plenty of seating for everyone. We planned all day to see this show and were not disappointed. This Kinetix show was full of energy and marvelous tricks and dances and music. I captured some of the act in this short video. Check it out as you too will be amazed....


in the garden....

Today is Veteran's Day so I think this post and Skeeter's post yesterday come at an opportune time. If you ever get the chance to visit any of the Anheuser Busch Gardens and you are active military be sure to check out the free admittance. Walt Disney also does something like this and perhaps other parks but in my experience none go as far as Anheuser Busch to allow all family members free admittance to their parks.  Happy Veterans' Day!






Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden