Bok Tower Gardens has been hosting visitors at it since 1929. It was a gift from its founder Edward W. Bok. An immigrant arriving at the age of six from the Netherlands who did not speak the language. He worked hard and that all paid off as he became a successful publisher, Pulitzer Prize-winning author, humanitarian, and environmentalist.
Bok’s grandmother would always tell him…
“make you the world a bit better or more beautiful because you have lived in it”
Mr. Bok would spend the winters in the Lake Wales area and he came to love the location. He would often take walks to Iron Mountain. Iron Mountain is one of the highest points in Florida at 295 feet above sea level. It was here he decided to build the garden. He purchased the land and slowly transformed it to the gardens seen today.
The feature that makes Bok Tower Gardens so unique is that Mr Bok commissioned the construction of the Singing Tower. The Singing Tower is a 60-bell carillon that can be seen from miles around.
We love to take the drive to these gardens to just enjoy the sights and sounds of what Mr. Bok gave to us.
When Mr. Bok first envisioned his gardens it was very important to him that the famous landscape architect, Frederick Law Olmsted Jr., design his sanctuary.
The one funny thing we saw while on our trip at Bok Tower Gardens was that the gardens were in between holiday changes for the season.
2 thoughts on “Bok Tower Gardens”
bluevioletzz
I love Bok Towers! My favorite time of year to go is in February. At that time, the lovely azalea flowers in colors ranging from snow white to sweet pinks and deep fuchsias blanket the landscape and each path and turn reveals a more majestic view reminiscent of the paintings of Monet. It also helps that Valentines falls in February so the timing could not be more perfect for some sweet romance.
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allie
Adding this to my list of things to check out around the area 🙂 thanks!
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