How's that for a mouthful of title?! Ru and I finally visited the WOGSP, off of A1A and touching on the shore of the Matanzas River, part of the Intracoastal Waterway. The park was originally part of a Spanish land grant in 1815 that was developed into a plantation, owned by a distant relative of George Washington. Purchased in 1936 by Owen and Louise Young, the couple built a winter home near the waterway under the live oak hammock, and developed the gardens. When Mr. Young died, Louise gave the land to the state. The park is part of the Great Florida Birding Trail....
This is the view of the Matanzas River / Intracoastal Waterway from the WA Oaks Gardens Park...
A great blue heron graciously allowed us to walk close-by due to the fact that a fisherman was nearby fishing off the sea wall.....the heron was all in shadow until the sun broke through the clouds suddenly,
after I'd taken a zillion photos....
The gardens are graced by this huge live oak tree that is dripping with Spanish moss...
I'm surprised I didn't see more mushrooms besides this lone one....
A grey squirrel was keeping a very close eye on us as we strolled by "his" tree....
A pretty, curly frond....
Barely into the garden wandering, the tranquility was interrupted by sudden hammering...I followed the sound as far as I could w/o wading into a pond....a pileated woodpecker sending Morse code...
At the pond's edge is a charming gazebo...
And near the gazebo, this lovely statue....
I'm afraid I don't know the names of most of these flowers...
Bird of paradise, of course.....
I believe this is a double delight rose, a favorite of my mom's...there is a rose garden at WA Oaks...
And pink flowers of many kinds...
Hibiscus of course...
There were many other flowers, some not yet in bloom. We saw one other bird, unidentifiable, that may have been a Caroline wren...besides the usual No. cardinals.
Gorgeous set of pic Jann, I love the sharpness of the Heron, and good to get the Pileated. The flowers too are splended, and a beautiful variety.
ReplyDeleteAll the best Gordon.
Thanks Gordon, it was a great experience getting to see the heron up close like that. I look forward to seeing the flower garden at different times of the year, to see what other flowers there are.
DeleteHi Jann, looks like a very pretty park with lots to see! What a wonderful variety of flowers and great photos of them all! The Great Blue is beautiful too:)
ReplyDeleteThanks Tammy :) I hope we can take the trail when there aren't any mosquitos, this winter. Also would like to see the gardens at different times to see what else blooms there.
DeleteCharming photos Jann, of a truly lovely location. That looks like such a tranquil, beautiful place to spend time, even if there's not a single bird to see. And of course, since you had some great birds too--who doesn't geek out about Pileated Woodpeckers???--it must've been grand!
ReplyDeleteHey Laurence ~ I always go into a nature outing with no or low expectations and am always thrilled to come across a few gems, in the least. :) Nature just never disappoints if we're paying attention!
DeleteLovely photos
ReplyDelete