A Visit to Vizcaya Museum & Gardens
During the cold Northeast winters, it's nice to head south and visit gardens flourishing with lush green foliage.
During a short weekend trip to Florida, my head gardener, Ryan McCallister, visited Vizcaya Museum & Gardens, previously known as Villa Vizcaya, the former winter residence of businessman James Deering of the Deering McCormick-International Harvester fortune on Biscayne Bay. The extraordinary early 20th century estate includes Italian Renaissance-inspired gardens, statues, fountains, and a beautiful collection of plantings.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
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- Platycerium is a genus of about 18 fern species in the polypod family, Polypodiaceae. Ferns in this genus are widely known as staghorn or elkhorn ferns because of the uniquely shaped fronds. Staghorn ferns like this one, abound throughout the estate.
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- Here is a map of the Vizcaya grounds. Villa Vizcaya was originally 180-acres and included the Main House, the gardens, and the Village—a cluster of buildings that housed the residence staff, machine shops, and domestic farm functions. Today, approximately 50 of those acres still remain as part of the Vizcaya Museum & Gardens, now maintained by Miami-Dade County.
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- James Deering built his winter home between 1914 and 1922. This is the east façade of Vizcaya’s Main House, which was designed after an Italianate villa.
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- This fountain is one of the twin cascades, leading from the entry piazza to the arrival court.
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- Known as the Barge and built by Alexander Stirling Calder, this structure is located in the water outside the Main House. It was meant as a breakwater to protect the mansion from rising tides. Shaped as a boat, the Barge is decorated with carvings representing mythical Caribbean creatures.
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- The gardens of Vizcaya are reminiscent of gardens created in 17th and 18th century Italy and France. The overall design includes a series of outdoor “rooms.”
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- There is a formal pool flanked by clipped native oaks. These hedges protect the gardens by blocking wind and rain coming from Biscayne Bay.
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- The wall pots of the Secret Garden were created to hold plants from Vizcaya’s orchid collection, but proved unsuitable. Now they hold succulents, which thrive in the bright sunlight and salt air.
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- Dripping over this planter is the threadlike Rhipsalis baccifera, commonly known as the mistletoe cactus, an epiphytic cactus which originates from Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Florida.
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- The Secret Garden features grottoes. Their interiors were created to resemble the grottoes of Italy.
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- Here is a view from the Secret Garden through the gazebos of the East Statuary Walk.
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- Atop what is called the Garden Mound is collection of gnarled Live Oak trees, some of which are about 200-years old. These trees were dug from other properties as mature specimens and brought to Vizcaya.
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- Here is a waterfall in the formal gardens leading to the Mound. It is flanked by parallel staircases.
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- These stairs, which also lead to the Mound, are framed by rusticated stucco and stone walls. They were originally designed with ramps to accommodate gardeners’ carts and wheelbarrows.
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- The statues, busts, vases and ornamental urns range from antiquity to the Renaissance and Baroque periods, and also include various art pieces from Deering’s time.
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- Deering wanted the gardens to have an aged and mature look, so he used old and weathered architectural pieces wherever possible.
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- Designed to complement the estate, the David A. Klein Orchidarium was created and features tropical orchids and other native plantings.
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- Majestic palm trees dot the gardens and offer much-appreciated shade from the hot Floridian sun.
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- If you follow my blog regularly, you may recognize these blue agaves. I have a large collection of agaves at my farm. Agaves are exotic, deer-resistant, drought-tolerant, and make wonderful container plants. And, do you know… tequila is distilled from the sap of the blue agave? Agave tequilana has sugars named agavins, mostly fructose, in the core of the plant that are suitable for the preparation of alcoholic beverages. In fact, the blue agave is an important economic product of Jalisco, Mexico, where tequila is produced.
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- In this corner is a potted Silver Saw Palmetto, Serenoa repens ‘Silver.’ It is a small, slow-growing palm tree native to the southeastern United States. It is known for its striking silvery-blue fronds, which can reach up to five-feet long.
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- And here is a Strangler fig, one of several stunning specimens at Vizcaya. Strangler fig is the common name for a number of tropical and subtropical plant species in the genus Ficus, which all feature a common “strangling” growth habit. If you’re ever in the area, do stop by Vizcaya Museum & Gardens. I have been there many times myself and enjoy every visit.
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