A video garden tour - Key West
West Martello Tower - Key West Gardening Club.
This is a little mid-week extra for paid members, but free members can read the commentary below. Hope you enjoy it. JP x
A visit to the West Martello Tower Garden in Key West has become an annual tradition for us and our lovely friend Michael from Chicago. We hire bikes, the old fashion type, with a handy basket at the front, a satisfying bell and no brakes! It takes a few minor incidents to remember that you have to peddle backwards to stop. But, cycling through the lush green streets of the historic district with a gentle warm breeze running through your hair is one of the best feelings on earth. On our way toward White Street Pier we pass fragrant Frangipani, lush Red Ginger, the trumpet-shaped violet blooms of Thunbergia grandiflora, silvery Buttonwood and the chameleon colours of the Garden Croton. It’s the closest thing to paradise.
Our first port of call is always the pier. We pay homage to the AIDS memorial and then race to the far end of the jetty just to be up close and personal with the calypso blue of the ocean and, if we’re lucky, watch the pelicans as they greedily dive-bomb for lunch. We take the obligatory selfie and then head toward West Martello Tower.
It’s a Civil War-era brick fortress, which was built in the 1860s. It has been lovingly reincarnated as the Key West Garden Club, a magical tropical oasis. It’s the most wonderful way to spend a morning just meandering the winding brick paths through a sequence of gardens, or rooms such as the butterfly garden, cactus garden, orchid displays and waterfall and lily pond. The fort, with its vaulted ceilings, gun mounts and conservatory, creates a fascinating historical backdrop to the plethora of towering tropical plants and trees. The gardens have almost been completely destroyed on more than one occasion by hurricanes. It’s testament to the enduring sense of hope and rebirth from the volunteers that these gardens continue to bring peace and inspiration.
At the water’s edge of the fort is a gazebo with stunning views of the Atlantic Ocean. I could sit there for hours. Come with me on this little video tour of the gardens, lovingly tended to by the members of the Key West Garden Club. Hopefully, it will transport you to another world for a little while and warm your soul.