2.21.16 - Vizcaya and Botanical Gardens

We made a very ambitious day for ourselves touring Vizcaya and the Botanical Gardens.  By the end of the day, our brains were filled with images of Italian Villas and rare botanical specimens.  What a grand day.

Vizcaya

Just south of Miami, in Coral Gables, lives Vizcaya.  We had never heard of it before this trip, but everyone we know who has traveled Miami area, said it was a must.  So tour it we did.
Vizcaya was the 70 room villa and winter vacation estate home of James Deering (think Deering-McCormick-International Harvester).  

It has a distinct Tuscan Italian Renaissance style and a magnificent view of Biscayne Bay.  The home, built between 1914-1922,  is now a National Historic site.  Deering used the home until his death in 1925. 

There are coral stone carvings, columns gazebos, and other structures throughout the estate.

Formal gardens:

It was fun seeing brides having their formal wedding pictures taken at this venue.

There are numerous and significant challenges to maintaining this property and it is considered one of the most endangered historic places in the US.

Fairchild Tropical Botanical Gardens

Our last tourism stop in the greater Miami area, these gardens (started in 1936), are comprised of 83 acres of rare tropical plants, orchid gardens, Chihuly glass sculptures, birds and a butterfly house.  The gardens were designed to emphasize variety and they include specimens collected from all over the world.  Staff scientists are actively conserving tropical plants hoping to avoid extinction of species. 

Rainbow Eucalyptus

This very large Baobab tree, planted here in 1939,  is from the plains of Africa.  The tree hordes moisture during the rainy season, then during the dry season, elephants strip the bark off it to get to the moisture inside.  The wood is soft and spongy and does not show growth rings - it is difficult/impossible to age the tree.  Sometimes the tree develops a hollow in the trunk, which can be used as a house.  The young leaves can be eaten much like spinach.

Tom is tired of standing in front of large objects in order that we get a size reference.

Mature white mangroves.

his palm tree is going to die this year.  It is the type of palm tree that flowers once, then dies. Thousands of seeds will be strewn about - he last gasp of species survival before it dies.

Other oddities - Cannonball tree, and sausage tree, both with strange seedpods.

Chihuly sculpture:

This strange palm grows in a branching pattern.

Fantastic cactus garden

Leaving the gardens at the end of the day, with the deep afternoon sun, was so beautiful

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