Friday the 21st of March 2025

Hurricane damaged house - still
intact but leaning at 45 degrees

We decided to go and visit the Selby botanical gardens in Sarasota today. Our neighbours had been last week and recommended it. The 15 acres of gardens are on the water's edge of the Sarasota Bay in the centre of the very modern part of the city. They were opened in January 2024 and within the area there is a tropical rainforest, a tropical conservatory and a garden showing plants of native Florida. The main exhibits are air plants and orchids. The boys just happened to call us on "What's app" while we were in the children's rain forest garden so we were able to show them some of the interactive garden.

As an aside, on the route south down the Island, I have included a picture of a damaged house from the 2 hurricanes last October.  One cannot imaging the trauma the owners have suffered.  I suspect the only option is to demolish it. 



Within the gardens was an exhibition of George Harrison's (of The Beatles) garden at Friar Park in Oxfordshire. Apparently after The Beatles split up, he was a keen gardener who designed a garden for Chelsea as well as redesigning the gardens at Friar Park at Henley on Thames, which had originally had spectacular gardens made by Sir Frank Crisp, but had fallen into disrepair in later years when nuns were trying to establish a convent.

It was an interesting day and here are some of the photos from it...... 




George Harrisson above a Koi fish pond







Bonsai









Ferns














Tree roots










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