WRITING SAMPLE

See the About Us web page for full bios for the authors

A GARDEN TO SOOTHE THE SOUL
by Adele Woodyard
(Article first appeared in Tampa Bay Woman, Jan/Feb, 2003. Updated 10/29/08.)

Bok Tower Gardens in Lake Wales is such a blend of art and nature you feel the serenity as soon as you enter its paths. Depending on the season you stroll past thousands of azaleas and camellias dressed in spring pastels, the cool green of ferns, or the welcome shade of giant Live oaks. A hint of camphor, the delicate scent of waxy magnolias, and heavy sweetness of gardenias, fills the air. Birds vie with the carillon to lift the spirits with song.

Built on Iron Mountain, the paths throughout Bok Tower Gardens occasionally open up to a vista of the surrounding countryside. One of them, the Sunset Overlook, is said to be at 298 feet, the highest point measured in peninsular Florida. Because of its height, the mountain was considered a sacred place by the Seminole Indians.

The present day sanctuary was created as a gift to the American people by publisher/author Edward W. Bok over 80 years ago. In 1922 the Dutch immigrant had landscape architect Frederick Law Olmstead, Jr. transform sandy Iron Mountain into gardens that touch the soul. The carillon tower was added because it reminded Bok of his early childhood in the Netherlands. President Calvin Coolidge officially dedicated Bok Tower Gardens (known then as the Mountain Lake Sanctuary) on February 1, 1929.

The 205 foot-work-of-art “Singing” Tower was built of gray and pink marble from Georgia, coquina rock from St. Augustine. Sculptures of such birds as pelicans, herons, eagles, and flamingos perch in the lacy grilles. A brass door of thirty panels depict the Creation.

The carillon consists of 60 bronze bells that weigh from 17 pounds to nearly 12 tons. They are played from a keyboard in a room beneath the bells. The carillonneur strikes wooden keys with his fists or feet. Music is heard on the half hour beginning at 10 a.m.; a daily recital at 3 p.m. Although the tower itself is closed to the public, the beauty of its art can be seen from the path and its image in the Reflection Pool.

The Gardens are more than blooming flower beds, native and exotic plants and trees. Also a wildlife sanctuary, one of its paths leads to “Window by the Pond”. The building was designed to view such birds as gallinules, kingfishers, herons and other wildlife, undisturbed.

Ambitious nature lovers may want to hike along the trail in the Pine Ridge Nature Preserve. Here are the wild grasses, cacti, palmetto and wild flowers typical of central Florida before developers took over the land. Left in its natural state, the Preserve is a living museum. Around a million years ago the Lake Wales Ridge was the only place in the state that rose above the water. About 10 miles wide and 100 miles long, it runs down the center of Central Florida. It is still considered home to one of the highest concentration of rare plants in the world.

In 1990 Bok Tower Gardens opened a restored, Mediterranean-style 20-room mansion called “Pinewood”, for guided tours. Built in 1929, it is listed in the National Register of Historic Places under its original name of El Retiro, Spanish for “retreat. A fanciful mixture of Moorish, Gothic and Romanesque is displayed in carved wooden doors, wrought iron hangings, columns and exposed beams. Ceramic tile made in Tunisia is imbedded in walls, floors and the music room’s fireplace. The wide staircase in the entrance hall features a different tile pattern on each riser.

The Mediterranean Revival landscape design of the seven acre estate has been preserved. Many rooms flow into out-of-doors. A stone terrace has a glazed-tile fountain shaped like a frog. A waterfall spills down walls of coquina rock to a sunken pool in the cave-like grotto. Dining room windows overlook a walled Oriental Moongate garden.

Although Bok Tower Gardens is a Lake Wales landmark, the little town is also noted for Spook Hill. Follow directions on the sign, and your car actually rolls uphill! There’s no explanation for this strange phenomenon, but it’s not an optical illusion. A carpenter’s level proves there’s an uphill slope in the direction cars travel.