gardens – marginalia and such

My mom used to tell me about this little Japanese garden by the beach where there was a huge Buddha statue. Like many of her stories, this was before my time which meant that it was a place I only ever heard of–one of the many near mythical places that she used to go to with my dad when they were courting.

Last year, the bchan and I went to Jungle Island and we noticed that the Miami-Japan garden was right next door to the park. We said we would go one day… and today we did! It was a Labor Day surprise that I wasn’t expecting, and it was a lovely treat during what proved to be a very hot day.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t prepared to go on such an outing, so I left my camera at home and had to rely on my cell phone *for shame*. At least the picture quality is better than that produced by my old phone.

I finally visited the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Gardens today. I’ve been meaning to visit for years and was sorely disappointed when I didn’t get to go during the Chihuly exhibit a couple of years ago. It was definitely worth the wait. The August heat was dreadful, but the bright day was wonderful for a picnic and photographic excursion. My b-chan learned that the steep entry fee was being waived during Sundays in August, so today was our last chance to visit for free. I hate to admit it, but the $20 entry fee per person has deterred me in the past.

We were able to have a lovely picnic under the shade of a banana tree on the edge of a bubbling rock fall. I prepared all sorts of little finger sandwiches (cucumber cream cheese, avocado and chicken with swiss, and savory meatball with mozarrella) with a side of Sun Chips, fuji apple slices, and strawberry tea with a splash of ginger ale. It was a surprise for the b-chan who expected plain old ham sandwiches and water 🙂 . There was a threat of rain for a few moments, but other than a bit of distant thunder we were able to stay dry… and hot. Oh, was it ever so hot. And steamy.

Some of the plants were not in bloom because of the late season, but we still managed to see some gorgeous flowers and I got a chance to snap some shots. I even chased some butterflies, though I still think they are creepy little bugs that lure you in with their colors.