M•e ~Explore with a Friend

Last Wednesday night I had the pleasure of attending the Gardens by Moonlight At Vizcaya Museum & Gardens event. I entered a contest they were hosting for two tickets to attend the event and I won! So, if you’ve hesitated before, enter those contests, you never know if you are the winner! Villa Viscaya as it was known, was the winter home of James Deering, heir of the largest producer of agricultural machinery in the nation. Due to his declining health issues as he suffered from anemia his doctor recommended he spend most of his time in warmer climate. Vizcaya’s main House was built between 1914 through 1922. But, the gardens, you can say are still an ever changing landscape mixture of formal gardens and native South Florida fauna.

 

This was not my first time visiting Vizcaya, but it was my first visiting at night.  I brought my sister along who had never been there.  I have to say, that although the main house was not open for tours, the experience made me feel like it was a completely different place that I had never experienced before. The lighting at night, the sound of the waves crashing, and the magnificent view of the Full Blue/ Red Moon was breathtaking. Walking the gardens at night made me feel as if there had just been a party held there, and we were wrapping up for the night. I kept thinking about the parties held there, the stories told, and lives that created such an incredible space that can still be enjoyed by locals and visitors today.

 

We took the horticulturist tour around the gardens, and learned about the different purposes, divisions, and areas the Villa is surrounded by. Many of the oaks who have formed a beautiful canopy around the gardens today, were rescued from the rapid building and clearing of land that Miami was dealing with in the 1910’s. The Secret garden was originally thought out to be an Orchidiarium . However, due to the extreme heat, the plants did not do well. Today, it is the home of many different types of air plants, cactus, and agave plants. 

If you have not visited VIscaya, please put this on your "Tourist in my City" list soon. If you’re a local like me, I advise you to visit between November-March so that you can truly enjoy the gardens without melting of heat. Camera, comfortable shoes, and time, are a must for your visit. Have you visited Vizcaya? If so, what is your favorite area? Special thank you to VIscaya Museum & Gardens for hosting us on such a beautiful night!