Marie Selby's Little Eden Part 2

The elegant white house in the post below used to be owned by one Christy Payne. It had been his retirement home. Can't be bad. It was later added to the Marie Selby Gardens. I was intrigued by what looked like a collection of orchid flowers floating in jam jars above the fireplace. I had visions of Victorian explorers snagging orchids (along with beetles and such) and sticking them in alcohol to preserve them.

In fact, it was a very modern way of studying the structure of the orchids. Also at the Gardens was a lily pond. The very slim egret is trying to be invisible.

In the background is a tree festooned with ribbons, possibly carrying hopes and wishes. A little new-agey, along with the various exotic deities about the place. I preferred some straightforward  Monet-esque waterlilies.

This is about the nearest they come to a beach but you look at that view and wonder if it's changed over the centuries.

Another bird enjoying the view and possibility of lunch.

Pleasant paths meandered through exotic vegetation.

And I assume this was another epiphyte (see post below).

As was this.

But not this. The paths were still decorated with Christmas lights. It would all look gorgeous at night.

I like these wooden walkways. This led through mangrove swamps. Mangroves, (which sound like something out of Lewis Carroll but actually come from mangue-grove in the English sense) have their roots in salty water and are home to all kinds of wildlife, stop the coast from eroding and are a good place to park your boat in a hurricane. They are being sadly depleted, what with the gallloping waterfront development all over Florida.

This was a gorgeous shrub. Brunfelsia pauciflora. All the way from Brazil. I want one.

And there were a lot of the famous banyan trees with their enormous roots, like gargantuan writhing serpents, great for kids to play among.

 And this was the children's rainforest area - note the steamy mist rising from the waterfall.

 A pond full of overfed goldfish - or koi carp.

A grounded yellow blossom fallen from a tree.

We watched this chap walking out into the bay to fish.

Another timeless scene - apart from the multimillion dollar houses across the way. This is Florida after all.