It’s been two weeks since I got out on an outing to the coast. I visited River to Sea Preserve and Washington Oaks Gardens… two of my favorites.

Yesterday was laundry day and wouldn’t you know it, a dazzling blue bird day with bone-chilling temperatures. The high was 46 F. I went for a walk and it took blocks before I started to warm up despite wearing three layers of clothing. My blood has thinned a bit since living in a subtropical climate. I haven’t broken out my parka yet!

This is the pond near the picnic area at River to Sea Preserve. At the start of my walk, I had the place to myself. 

This is the path where I saw the coral snake a couple of months ago. No snakes today; it was too cold for the reptiles. I was simply comfortable.

Here’s some Resurrection Fern with a lush growth on an ancient oak’s limb. The Live Oaks live for hundreds of years and send out huge limbs paralleling the ground, arching over the canopy of Saw Palmetto and other shrubs. Each oak is a microclimate of its own. During the drier months, the ferns tend to shrivel up. As you can see, there has been an abundance of rainfall this “dry” season thanks to an El Nino weather pattern.

This shaggy hammock is just feet… perhaps an 1/8 of a mile from where salt water killed other oak threes during one or more of the hurricanes. Matthew (October 2016) did considerable damage to the coastal areas with inundations that flooded over Highway A1A and into the coast scrub on the west side of the road. The palms and Saw palmetto have been the first to recover, regaining their height and bulk in the ensuing years. Not the oaks, except in thin strips like the forest noted above in my photo.

After finishing my stroll through River to Sea, I drove south to Washington Oaks Gardens State Park to visit the more formal setting of an old estate. Above is one of the paths in the park, lined with Crepe Myrtle that bloom in the spring. Crepe Myrtle is one of those signature Southern plants you will find in many gardens.

For all this was an estate, the original house is quite modest. It plays the role of a small museum today. Other buildings on the property have been made into a gift shop and quarters for permanent park staff. There is a small but busy gardening crew always at work in the garden during weekdays. The guys were mowing and raking today. Garden work is never done.

This is the .5 mile Mala Compra Trail which skirts the intracoastal and ends in a picnic area. There is no camping at this state park. This is a nature trail with periodic descriptions of some of the common plants. Mala compra means “bad purchase” in Spanish… at least that’s what Google translator claims. There is a legend that goes with the name but I don’t remember it right now. Of course, Florida used to be claimed by the Spanish before the Americans took over. Some of the old estates were originally part of Spanish land grants.

This is Black Mangrove, a plant that thrives in brackish water and sometimes on higher ground. There is quite a lot of Black and Red mangrove in certain areas of Florida.

Sorry about the blurred photo… I saw a couple of pelicans on the other side of the river, farther than my camera’s magnification could successfully pick up. And I don’t use a tripod, just my shaky arm, LOL. At least you can discern it’s a pelican. White pelican. I have observed whole flocks of these birds cruising up and down the coastline especially in SE Florida. 

Next, I wandered up the trail from the riverside to the formal gardens, entering the rose garden through this lovely vaguely Oriental gate.

A gazebo, towering oaks, giant subtropical plants, ponds (a bit green from algae) and coquina paths define these formal gardens.

Occasionally a bright blossom will catch the eye as you pass on the path… This is an early iris. And blurry, again. Shakey arm?

This part of the garden is defined by trim paths, close ground covers punctuated with plants like the Tractor Seat plant (rounded leaves above) and the colorful shrubs.

https://www.thejunglecollective.com.au/tractor-seat-plant-ligularia-dentata-reniformis-care-tips/

I finished up my walk passing through the camellias and azaleas. The camellias (Camellia Japonica) were looking a little damaged from the frequent rain. The azaleas will bloom later, probably in a couple of months as their buds are getting fat. The azaleas in the gardens look like oriental species. They’re evergreen and not the deciduous natives. In Georgia, the wild azaleas bloom in March or April. None of the plants in the formal gardens are labelled. I took horticulture decades ago and so have a rough idea what I’m looking at…

I walked back to my car and stopped at a Mexican restaurant for a bite of lunch. All in all, it was a pleasant outing despite the heavily overcast skies. The temperatures were lingering in the upper 50’s, depending on whether the sun was cracking through the cloud layer. There was little to no wind today and the humidity was extremely high. We’re due to have some more rain this evening.

Well, that was a nice break from the news cycle. Now, back to my observations of the Matrix.

Eliza

https://sunnysjournal.com

COMMENTS ON.

In case anyone thinks I’m whining over the muddy trails, Jim (above) makes a comment about the rainy autumn into winter weather we’re experiencing. He is speaking from Moses Creek, one of the hikes I did about a month and half ago. I watch Jim’s great YouTube channel to learn more about the Southern plant palette.

E