Ladies and Gentlemen Step Right Up, Stroll the 66 Acres of Ringling Bayfront Gardens

The Ringling on Sarasota Bayfront in Sarasota Florida has a number of outstanding

venues and is a centerpiece for Sarasota.  I had gone to see the Bayfront Gardens of Ringling, where The Museum of Art, Circus Museum, Asolo Theatre and the Ringling’s winter home Ca’D’Zan also exist, all on the same compound.

If the name Ringling sounds a bit familiar, it should. John Ringling was one of the five brothers who owned and operated the circus rightly called “The Greatest Show on Earth.”  His success with the circus and entrepreneurial skills helped to make him, in the Roaring Twenties, one of the richest men in America, with an estimated worth of nearly $200 million.  In 1911, John and his wife, Mable, purchased 20 acres of waterfront property in Sarasota… where I stood and marveled on this very day.

Mr. Pearl Fryar’s Yard Beautification Project Turned into An International Treasure

It all began in 1984 in an effort to win "Yard of the Month".  Mr. Pearl Fryar started to work on his 3-acre garden at his home on the outskirts of Bishopville, SC.

In the northeast corner of South Carolina, almost directly south of Charlotte NC, is one of the best topiary gardens in North America and even better, the story of its creator, curator and horticulturalist, Mr. Pearl Fryar.   In January I drove with my relatives from Greensboro, NC  to see what has been billed as the most amazing topiary garden around. I had heard, read and even seen the video ‘A Man Named Pearl’ of the creator of this garden and his extraordinary creations!  This visit turned into something quite special for me.

Combining Science with Design and Insights, Milliken Addresses Today's Concerns

The Roger Milliken Center in Spartanburg, S.C. is a staggering 600 acres of manicured fields of staggering beauty.  Inspired by Mr. Milliken, no doubt raw farm land (peach orchard) in its beginnings, now transformed with many types of ornamental and shade trees, architected together with the variety of ponds and fountains, fields, vistas and allees! 


The picture in image one to the right, shows a pathway leading from one corporate structure to a prominent fountain!  The 20 or so Zelkovas on either side of a stone walkway flanked by 50 understory Magnolias and large clumps of Holly leading to this dramatic fountain surrounded by another 25 mature Magnolias!  Wow!

Fight Love Live and All That is Filoli Gardens

Filoli Gardens in Woodside California, just south of San Francisco on Highway 280, is a splendid place everyone should see! 
 

The property developed in the early 1900’s by a family whose wealth was from a gold mine, really!
In the area they established this 600-acre estate wanting to make a place similar to where they had travelled in Ireland. In addition to the manor house (remember the opening clip of the series Dynasty? This is the house).  But my favorite are the 16 acres of gardens surrounding the home.

Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge

‘Way down upon the Suwanee River’

A very interesting stop off I-75, east of Valdosta Georgia (southern Georgia) is the Okefenokee Swamp!

More correctly called the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, approximately 400,000 acres! The site now sets between i-95 to the east and I-75 to the west. The name Okefenokee is thought to be Cree Indian for “land of trembling water” or "quivering earth" in that there exists many floating islands which are really large peat beds.

Of course, all the customary creatures live here! Wildlife species include wading birds, ducks, alligators and other reptiles, a variety of amphibians, bobcats, raptors, white-tailed deer, black bears, and songbirds.

Our Dying American Elm Tree

The Great 'American Elm' Tree

As a practicing Massachusetts Certified Arborist, I had known of American Elms and their curse which kills.  The fungus which penetrates their vascular system through an insect vector and the elm bark beetles.   I also knew the control methods available which may or may not ward off infection.   

At the front of our home in Massachusetts is a multi-trunk mature Elm, my estimation 50 years old.  I had created a shade garden 5 years ago below it.  Nobody enjoyed mowing under the tree as part of a hill so I just landscaped with a number of shade plants, many hosta, bleeding heart, lily of the valley and Solomon seal.  But now their home and shade was coming unraveled.

Fernwood Nursery and Gardens, Montville, Maine

Fernwood Nursery and Gardens, Montville, Maine

My wife and I took off on a car adventure from the small town of Lincolnville, Maine after a friend enthusiastically suggested that we visit the Fernwood Nursery in Mid coast Maine.   We got in the car the following Saturday and started driving northwest to Rt 3, west of Belfast and yes, we found it down the characteristic “dirt road” just off Rt 3.  What a wonderful surprise we had in store!  There were 2-3 other customers walking the nursery, ample parking and a lot to see!  To our left were Ash trees creating a high shade canopy over lightly organized, informal rows of shaded plants.

Fernwood Nursery & Gardens

58 North Ridge Rd.
Montville ME, 04941 | 207 589-4726