As 2016 comes to a close, I looked back at all the wonderful places I was able to visit this year. In January I was able to attend the Tropical Plant Industry Exhibition and I was in heaven! Houseplants everywhere!
We even were given barrettes for our hair with succulents. It was a wonderful day!
The day before the TPIE I was privileged to attend a tour for the Garden Writers Association members that attended the show. We started at Vizcaya Museum and Gardens on Biscayne Bay. It was one of the most beautiful gardens I’ve ever been in.
But, the “piece de resistance” of the trip was a visit and dinner at The Kampong, the home of David and Miriam Fairchild. I have read all of his books and was absolutely beside myself when they told us we were visiting. I was not disappointed!
The next day my husband and I visited the Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden.
We then drove to Key West and visited Ernest Hemingway’s home. I had to see the 6 toed cats!
We then headed west and stopped at the Everglades National Park. Yes, I was that close to an alligator. I was standing on the dock looking at the view and then looked down and saw this. Believe me, I’ve never moved so fast!
The last stop was the Marie Selby Botanical Garden in Sarasota, one of my favorite gardens. If you haven’t visited there, you really should.
That was a wonderful trip to Florida. Later in the year I decided to go the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden to see the conservatory, and meet Elvin McDonald. He has written more houseplant books than anyone, I love his books and wanted to meet him. What a wonderful place and a wonderful man!
This year has been so rewarding and exciting. I can only hope I am so blessed in the new year. I hope I get to visit more conservatories I haven’t been to before. Someday, I’d like to have visited everyone in the United States. A girl can dream, right?
I hope you enjoyed a small tour of some of the places I was able to visit. I am so thankful for all of you that read my blog and I hope you have a Happy New Year!
So nice that you got to visit the DM Botanical Center — it’s in my neck of the woods in Iowa (I live near Iowa City), and I was married under the geodesic dome in 1998. I’ve never met Elvin McDonald myself, but I did see him walking around with a tour of people when I visited the DMBot this past summer. And so many other places and lovely gardens you got to see this year. Best Wishes for 2017! -Beth
Beth,
Thank you for the comments. I was very lucky last year and hope to see more this year. Elvin is a lovely man and has lived such an interesting life and worked with so many famous people. It was on my bucket list to meet him. Have a wonderful new year! Lisa