| Horticulture Specialist, Bill Koen. |
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The Gate to Hollis Gardens. |
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Click here to get a bird's eye view of Hollis Gardens and learn more about its development. |
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Lakeland Blooms Rick Kelly |
| I discovered Hollis Gardens quite by
accident. While attending a University of Florida Environmental
Horticulture Department open house, I
met Lakeland landscape architect Brian Dick, who told me about the garden
and invited me to visit. Once there, I also met Bill Koen, horticulture specialist, who with Brian, gave me my
first tour of this wonderful
garden.
The garden is formal and packed full of fascinating and beautiful plant materials. Like most of our Florida public gardens, plant material and color change with the seasons. This garden tells a story of Florida agriculture as you move through theme rooms of plant life that include Florida natives, annual hybrids, perennials, as well as fruits, vegetables and herbs used as ornamentals. Those rooms featuring flowers are organized into rooms of specific color, such as the red, yellow or white room. Neatly pruned hedges delineate these "living" rooms with carpets of perfect bermudagrass. In addition to the plants, there are water features, sculpture and architecture that enhance the beauty of the garden, rather than compete with it. You will want to take your shoes off and make yourself at home in this friendly place. You will also come away with a greater knowledge of plants, as well as Lakeland's role in the development of agriculture in our state. Lakeland offers even more beyond the walls of Hollis Gardens. A visit to the library or other sites in the city will reveal a keen interest this city takes in the use of plants in the landscape. But don't take my word for it. See it for yourself. I am grateful to Brian Dick for introducing me to this wonderful garden, and especially to Bill Koen and his team for the help in establishing the first display of our best-of-class. They did an outstanding job. Bill is a true plant lover who is eager to learn more. He also has a keen eye for putting together beautiful displays that are well maintained. Visit all the wonderful public gardens in Florida. They can be found at this link: http://www.floridaplants.com/flgardens/regional.htm. |
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Click on the thumbnails below to see more pictures of my visit. |
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The first Best-of-Class Display of Annual Bedding Plants - Lakeland County Library |
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A Cooperative Effort Between Hollis Gardens & University of Florida - IFAS |
| Below are photographs of many dianthus, snapdragon, pansy and viola best-of-class selections that Bill Koen installed in the Lakeland Public Library. He found performance to be outstanding, with some cultivars in between flushes of color. Each cultivar is labeled with its name, and the site is identified as University of Florida best-of-class selections. Since these photos were taken, he has added our web address to the sign. |
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| One of several tree circles with each cultivar forming a "spoke" to the wheel. | University of Florida best-of-class sign. |
Best-of-class dianthus. |
Best-of-class snaps ready for a second flush of blooms. | |||
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| Best-of-class snaps, strawflower and dianthus. |
Best-of-class pansies and violas. |
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More best-of-class pansies and violas. |
Library landscaping with annuals such as hollyhock and strawflower. | Library wall beautifully covered with Ficus pumila (top) and pyracantha. | ||
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Hollis Gardens |
| The next series of photographs provide a glimpse of the great diversity of plant material that fill these Hollis Gardens. |
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Variegated Algerian Ivy |
Artistic road block, rather than the common poles we normally would see. | A hedge of natal plum lines the walk running past the visitor center to Mirror Lake. |
Fruits grown in Florida, such as strawberries and peaches (pictured here) are featured in the garden. |
View of Mirror Lake framed by date palms. | ||
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Many of the water features seen throughout the gardens. |
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| A swirl of color from begonia (foreground) and dianthus (background) | Rooms are created with hedges for walls and soft turn for carpets. Each room has a theme, such as flower color or plant type (herbs or vegetables used as ornamentals) | Sweet alyssum [Lobularia maritima (Brassicaceae)] in a variety of colors fill this area near the entrance. | Path through butterfly garden (2001). |
Begonia beds surround juniper topiary. |
Butterfly flower is, as expected, found in the butterfly garden. | ||
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Roses in the Hollis parking lot (2001). |
Butterfly garden in 2001 and 2003 with a variety of perennials and annuals (left to right) include milkweed, penta, also known as Egyptian star cluster or star clusters (Penta lanceolata) [Rubiaceae], dianthus and golden dewdrop (Duranta repens) [Verbenaceae]. |
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| A blanket of dianthus and a screen of hollyhocks from the backdrop to this place of rest. | Golden Dew Drop is a fountain of blue-violet color in the foreground, while being surrounded by color from many other species. | Ficus pumila [Moraceae] (Climbing ficus or Creeping rubber Plant) turns this masonry wall into a living wall with texture and a soft green color. | Another swath of color from flowering tobacco. | The herb room. | |
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| Hybrid hibiscus and hollyhock | Osteospermum | Old man palm | ||||
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| Variegated pentas | The red room. | Red flowering tobacco planted in the red room. | Sculpture in the garden. | Variegated citrus. |
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| Chard in vivid color. | Vegetables in urn disguising a drain. |
Ornamental Kale. |
Leeks. |
Rooms with soft carpets of bermudagrass. This is the "vegetable room" | A veil of tall verbena screens the herb room. |
Graceful Deodora Cedar. |
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| Tall verbena. | A weeping tree. |
Views of the "white room". |
Wisteria arbor will be a grand is inviting, in bloom, or not. | ||
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Several views of the yellow room. |
The oldest municipal building in Lakeland has been restored to activity center with beautiful hardwood floors | Another view of center. | Flowers edge the walkway from the Activity center to the gardens. | ||
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City of Lakeland Bedding Plants |
| The city offers floral color in abundance, as well as some unexpected "bird life", as displayed in "the ultimate swan" shown below. |
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| Lakeland topiary. | Petunias in the city. | One of the many swan art figurines found around the city. | More city annuals. | Beautiful city display of violas and geraniums. | A closer view of geraniums and violas. | The ultimate swan. |
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Tiger Town - Lakeland - Winter Home of the Detroit Tigers and Lakeland Parks & Recreation |
| The Tigers reside here for spring training, enjoying the warmth and friendliness of Lakeland, as well as the floral beauty displayed therein. |
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Detroit Tigers spring training facility and annuals used in the landscaping. |
Lakeland Parks & Recreation building. | Newly planted coleus at Parks & Recreation. | ||||
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