Bok Tower Gardens, Botanical garden in Lake Wales, United States
Bok Tower Gardens is a botanical garden in Polk County, Florida, that spreads over a hill and includes native plants and water features. A tall stone tower rises above the grounds and displays carved details on its exterior facade.
Edward Bok commissioned a landscape architect after the First World War to transform a bare sand hill into a planted site with a central bell tower. The president of the United States opened the site in the late nineteen twenties.
The tower bells ring out each day at midday, filling the grounds with melodic sounds that can be heard throughout the plant collections. Visitors often sit on benches along the pathways to enjoy the full sound of the performances while birds move through the surrounding trees.
Entry is available daily and the site opens in the morning and closes in the evening, allowing visitors to spend several hours among the grounds. Paths cover different elevations, so comfortable footwear is recommended for longer walks.
The site sits at a point that ranks among the highest in the entire Florida peninsula, offering a wide view over the surrounding plains. This geographic advantage was one of the reasons the location was chosen for the grounds.
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