Improvements at Key West Botannical Gardens

A year ago I went to the Key West Tropical Forest and Botanical Gardens on Stock Island and I came away with the feeling that it will be a great place in about five years. Gardens need time to grow and get bushy. Tropical gardens and botannical gardens also need more than just a bunch of plants. They need bridges, benches, art, and all kinds of points of interest like that to engage the visitor.

I was there yesterday and looks like there are some major improvements going on. For starters, looks like a lake is being dug. There are some large trees set up around the lake as well, propped up by two-by-fours. This is exciting, and they've already put in a bridge over the water. Sounds like a point of interest and something that will engage the visitor to me.

Audubon House

With family visiting, it's time to hit the tourist spots again. And bonus, it's slow season in Key West so locals get discounts left and right this time of year. Mel Fisher's even gave my parents the locals discount just because they were with us. $6 admission!

Audubon House is right across the street from Mel Fisher's Museum. It's just a white house with a white picket fence and lots of lush foliage from the outside. I have to say I wasn't thrilled about visiting this attraction. But I was pleasantly surprised. We got a personal tourguide who knew more than we ever wanted to know about John James Audubon and the Geiger House which is now called the Audubon House just because Audubon stayed there for a few weeks in 1837. She gave a great speech and the house was beautifully preserved. The Audubon lithographs were stunning in person, and I came away with a new appreciation for one of our earliest conservationists.

The tropical gardens surrounding Audubon House are nice too, although their billing as "the best tropical garden in Key West" make it kind of a letdown. But the yard is great, beautiful enough for people to book their weddings there all the time. If you like orchids, then visit Audubon House. They have them growing on tree trunks there.

The gift shop is beautiful but not the place to pick up that cheap trinket souvenir of your Key West vacation. Items for sale include precious bird sculptures and prints of Audubon's work that cost in the hundreds. Some of the nicest things are the cards featuring his birds from Florida.