Gardens and Villages

This time of year, Florida blooms. On May 12 we drove to Largo, Florida, to visit the Pinellas County Botanical Gardens, and Heritage Village right next door. I did have an ulterior motive; I wanted to test a new camera lens. My workhorse Canon 100mm – 400mm still serves me well as a main lens, but lately I feel its limitations. I wanted another lens for landscapes, and for travel. The 100mm-400mm just attracts too much attention. After researching and reading reviews, I purchased a Tamron 18-270mm with vibration control. The day after receiving it, we went to the gardens.


The Pinellas County Botanical Gardens opens at 7 a.m. and closes at 7 p.m. It spreads over 30 acres, with a winding path that leads garden to garden. Fountains gush like geysers, or trickle down stone layer to the basin below. Color bursts out everywhere. We met people from Texas enjoying their vacation, and saw others sitting on the scattered chairs just enjoying the beautiful sunny day. The Wedding Garden, a popular place for weddings with its open area and gazebo, contains four individual areas: Jazz Garden, Rose Garden, Topiary Garden and Cottage Garden. Demonstration gardens like the herb garden and the citrus garden make me wish for a green thumb.

Birds and reptiles enjoy the gardens too. A small alligator sunned himself and kept an eye on the baby Moorhens swimming with their mother. A Green Heron stood very still on a log, and a Limpkin appeared and disappeared in the grasses as he searched for food at the waters’ edge.

These beautiful gardens require a lot of attention and care, mainly from an army of volunteers who contribute their time, labor, and talent to keep it going. Admission to both the Botanical Gardens, and the Heritage Village (which I will talk about in the next post) are free, and well worth visiting. We visit several times a year, and find something new and unique every time.