On a recent visit to see family in Florida, Bill and I had a chance to revisit the Naples Botanical Garden. After a 17-month hiatus, the garden reopened last November and we were excited to see its new features. One of those features topped both of our lists in a game we play while traveling.
You've probably played a similar game: Each "player" is asked to name a favorite place or event, things they would enjoy doing again, things they never want to do again, a favorite meal from the trip -- stuff like that. We always like to find out what the other thought was the biggest surprise of the trip.
We found our surprise in the Brazilian garden, which has as its centerpiece a new water feature. While I was taking pictures of the water lilies, Bill was wondering what made the water so dark. He didn't see anything that would seem to produce a high tannin content in the water, so he asked a docent.
The answer? They put dye in the water to make it dark. But they don't do it for purely aesthetic reasons. They do it to help keep the algae down. A lot of algae makes more work for caretakers and can have an adverse effect on the health of the water plants they want to showcase.
We both chose it as our surprise because it was such an elegant solution to a practical problem, and because it contributes to the aesthetic impact in such a big way. Which goes to show yet again that every problem also presents an opportunity.
I'm pretty sure I can get water that color this summer at my place, but it won't be pretty. I'm planning to ret basswood bark again, and I'll post pictures of the process at Two Red Threads. It's a stinky, messy process (at least the way I do it), and oddly, I really get a kick out of it.
So what's been your biggest surprise this week?
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