03-08-2017: Marie Selby Botanical Gardens

Over the years that we visited Dad and Shirley during their winter stays on Siesta Key, we went to Selby Gardens a couple of times.  Also, during past visits Deeny took us to Selby Gardens, so we’re very familiar with it.  When Deeny suggested that we go to see the Marc Chagall exhibit at the gardens we jumped at the chance.

Marie Selby was an interesting and amazing woman.  She was born in 1885 in West Virginia.  Being of an adventurous nature, she was the first woman to cross the United States by car.  In 1908 she married William Selby, an avid fisherman who brought her to see Sarasota a few years later.  Marie fell in love with the area and the couple purchased a 7-acre parcel bordering Sarasota Bay.  That acreage forms the cornerstone of the botanical gardens.  When Marie died in 1971, after years of planting flowers, trees and shrubs, she bequeathed the property to the community, and since 1975, Selby Gardens has been open to the public.  An abutting property, the Payne House was purchased and together the properties pack an unbelievable amount of vegetation into just 13 acres.

Selby Gardens is best known today for its collection of epiphytes, especially orchids and bromeliads, as well as their canopy ecosystems.  They currently have the largest living bromeliad collection in the world.

Selby Gardens was curating an exhibition, Marc Chagall, Flowers, and the French Riviera:  The Color of Dreams.  Throughout the gardens were quotes by Chagall about flowers and gardens and in several areas plantings were of flowers that one would see in France.

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Chagall quote

I wasn’t familiar with Chagall’s stained glass work, but the gardens exhibit included several “faux” stained glass pieces in the conservatory.  The conservatory holds a fantastic collection of orchids and bromeliads and the stained glass fit right in with the riotous colors.

In one corner of the conservatory, they created a little French cottage door.

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Cottage door

The orchids and bromeliads in the conservatory are breathtaking in size, color and shape.  I don’t know many of the names but I certainly love every one.

I could spend several hours in the conservatory.  It really is breathtaking and you can find all kinds of interesting flowers and bromeliads tucked into and behind other vegetation.  It’s like a treasure hunt!

Down a path from the conservatory there’s a little waterfall and koi pond.  The koi are huge and just walking up to the edge they congregate and stick their open mouths up out of the water waiting for a little treat.  I watched a little girl and her Dad feeding the koi.  I’m surprised the little girl wasn’t frightened by all the fish.

Selby has created a wonderful children’s rainforest area around some huge banyan trees.  There’s another waterfall, all kinds of musical instruments to play, a rainforest walk up in the trees, and then there are several little huts where volunteers host various activities for the kids.  It’s a really great section and kids of all ages, like me, enjoy this section a lot.

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Enjoying the rainforest activities

We rested for lunch and sat outside on the patio of the original Selby home.  It must have been an amazing property when the Selbys lived there.  The grounds were certainly a work of art and of love.

Our last stop was to see the 3 Chagall paintings on display in the Payne house.  There was also an exhibit of many photographs of Chagall over his life.  The 3 paintings on display were The Lovers, Bouquets of Lilacs at St. Paul, and Couple with Lilies of the Valley.  The largest, The Lovers, was very interesting.  It is a blend of sentiment and fantasy, and I guess much of Chagall’s work is described as having a dream quality.  The paintings do tell a story in a dream-like way.  And of course the flowers contained in many Chagall paintings are often wildly colorful.

It was a great visit to Selby Botanical Gardens.  If you are ever near Sarasota, a visit to Selby is a must.

After dropping DeLuna off at her apartment, we made a quick stop at the jetty.  There is a water pass between Venice and Casey Key (Casey pass) and a long breakwater was built.  It attracts fishermen and sightseers, and of course birds.

Back at Deeny’s we sat out in her back room and gabbed.  We eventually had dinner, which was salad, smoked oysters, and cheese and crackers.  Deeny buys these little pots of soft asagio cheese which is out of this world.  We all really enjoy it.  We then finished off another wonderful day watching Rachel Maddow.  We all seem to crave hearing her explain what’s happening related to the current administration.  Fortunately, we are all of the same political, moral and ethical ilk, so we can watch Rachel together and carry on our own commentary on how we feel about the current administration.

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