October Beauty at Bok Tower Garden

Douglas Hunt
by Douglas Hunt
In 1921, Edward Bok, a Dutch immigrant who became a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and the editor of Ladies Home Journal, and his wife commissioned the renowned landscape architect Frederick Law Olsmstead to transform an arid sand hill in central Florida into "a spot of beauty second to none in the country." Today that land is known as Bok Tower Gardens and is a National Historic Landmark. One Saturday each October, the gates of the gardens swing open for free for a plant sale and shindig known as Boktoberfest, an event that draws visitors from far and wide, including me. Here are some of the things that caught my eye.
This is the plant I always most covet when I visit Bok Tower, false blue ginger, Dichorisandra thyrsiflora (hardy in zones 9a through 11).
An unlabeled, but lovely, salvia.
Southern classic: live oaks and Spanish moss
Bracts on a bromeliad
A lovely pairing of a coleus and zinnias
A spider web you wouldn't want to walk into
The wonderful native beautyberry (Callicarpa americana), planted in profusion throughout the property
Golden shrimp plant (Pachystachys lutea), hardy in zones 9a to 11
Ceramic artistry at the Pinewood Estate, a 20-room estate on the property
Asters—in Florida—and looking as lovely as they do everywhere.
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  • Barb Rosen Barb Rosen on Oct 18, 2014
    Oh My, Douglas! I will have dreams about that false blue ginger!
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    • Douglas Hunt Douglas Hunt on Oct 19, 2014
      @Barb Rosen I tried to grow some from a little cutting that I bought at Boktoberfest three years ago and had no luck. You were supposed to grow it in the original pot through the winter and then plant it out in the spring. I think I need to find a bigger one and try it again.
  • Rhonda B Rhonda B on Oct 23, 2014
    Beautiful pictures! Thanks for sharing!
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