I’m one of two travel journalists exploring this county’s farmlands, heritage gardens, ranches and nature reserves along with 20 tour operators – professionals who organize bus tours – from April 1-4. All of us are attending the Travel South Showcase conference in nearby Kissimmee April 5-7.
Located in Central Florida, I’m told that Polk County was named after James Knox Polk, the eleventh president of the USA.
Today we visited tidy Hollis Gardens, a 1.2 acre formal neo-classical garden overlooking Lake Mirror in downtown Lakeland. It’s pretty – but more than that, is particularly fascinating to gardeners because of its heritage tree section known as Trees of Americana.
Gardening foreman Stacy Smith explained that the tiny arboretum of perhaps ten trees showcases species which are direct descendants of famous American’s trees, all grown from seed or cuttings. I found Abraham Lincoln’s Overcup oak [Quercus lyrata], and Helen Keller’s Water oak [Quercus nigra].
Trees of Americana is inspiring: it’s a great concept that I’ve not hitherto noticed in any other arboretum. Have you?
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