This is garden two, the Tuscawilla Preserve at the (slightly odd) Museun of Arts and Sciences in Daytona Beach, Fl. The preserve is not truly a garden, but is a preserved area of a hydric hammock, that is, not quite wet enough to be a wetland, but the soil is mostly saturated. Trees growing in saturated soil must have some adaptations to live in these environments, like roots close to the surface, aerial roots, or these:
Buttress Roots, to increase stability in high winds.
After driving around the asphalt, concrete, strip-malled area around the preserve, I found it to be a refreshing echo of what interior Florida must have been in the pre-development era (the garden is 7-8 miles inland). From the boardwalk (which makes walking possible) you get a sense of the dense nature of palmetto scrub:
You can hear the world around you (traffic noises), but once you are in the scrub, you cannot see very far at all.
At the entry to the garden is a small water garden and planted area. It has a few small ponds and, of course:
An orange tree or three.
If you are in the area, it is a pleasant walk!
Happy garden visits!
Part II's, uh, garden, is more interesting than the first one. I'd definitely enjoy it, as it would be new and different. It has somewhat of a jungle look, based on childrens' book illustrations I've seen. :)
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