Garden Variety
A Nature Lover's View
Reds, oranges, yellows, pinks, and lush, vibrant greens; the scent of greenery and mulch, mixed with the freshly fallen dewy fragrance of a new morning, and the sun’s first rays just peaking over the chain link fence and starting to warm the day. This was the scene of my first visit to USF Botanical Gardens.
I went on a whim, planning to take some shots with my camera, thinking it might be a nice morning activity. Although I had intended to go for an hour and then leave, I ended up snapping 500-plus photos in the span of three hours spent transfixed over the lush flora of the gardens.
Nature has always held a special place in my heart. I grew up in the woods of Maine, with a backyard about ten times the size of the apartment I occupy now. Maybe more. There was the apple tree, where the tire swing hung; the vegetable garden, right next to the raspberry bushes, which boasted fresh cucumbers in the summer and pumpkins in the fall; and out back, the fairy trees, a cluster of thin trees all angling up towards the sky together, that became a sacred area after my dad named the grouping, “Home to Fairies.”
Becca Barton is a student at the University of South Florida studying magazine journalism and art. She enjoys fashion, writing and graphic design, and appreciates a well-designed ampersand. Originally from Maine, with a brief interlude in DC, she is excited to be a part of the Tampa Bay and VERTICAL community.
I grew up in my backyard, roaming through nature with my sister and friends, making up games that allowed us to stay outside as long as we could. The first thing I look for in any place I live is the nearest form of nature. In Washington, D.C. my escape was the United States Botanic Garden—contained in a building and full of tourists, sure, but it still had the most amount of nature.
The USF Botanical Gardens offers much more to it than it would seem from a quick (or a whole semesters’ worth) drive-by. It begins with a succulent garden, full of cacti, aloe, and other water-storing plants placed, perhaps serendipitously, next to the lake.
The scene then progresses to a Japanese-style shade garden, complete with statues and a babbling brook, all enclosed in a circle of bamboo. Then there’s the fruit garden, with all types of sweet and ready-to-eat citrus hanging high up on the branches. I passed through the butterfly garden, healing herb garden, bee farm, and the student-run vegetable gardens. The flowering tree section was in full-bloom, the branches above and ground below both liberally covered in pink petals.
Tampa certainly offers more places to get my nature fix than D.C., but I think the USF Botanical Gardens may become my go-to nature spot for the same reason as my Maine backyard: it’s close to home.
Get VERTICAL…and be part of something Fabulous!!!