INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — McKee Botanical Gardens marked its 10th anniversary with a celebration featuring lots of local flavor. Nearly 2,000 people sauntered through history on Sunday afternoon, enjoying the various verdant paths of this “strangely ethereal” spot.
Beneath the gracious palms and seductive Spanish moss, nature lovers of every stripe identified myrtles, sabal palms, cypress trees, and other indigenous flora and fauna. A slight breeze blowing through the bougainvillea gave the illusion of crisp that made homesick-for-fall northerners smile.
Waldo Sexton, one of Vero Beach’s forefathers, described the oak hammock as a spot “where the divine and the everyday meet.”
The surreal, haunting spot soothes the tired soul with benches everywhere along the paths for tired bones and soles to rest.
Sexton and Arthur McKee were on stage, in a historic portrayal of the process of how they both shepherded McKee Jungle Gardens into existence.
“It was as though my own mortality was staring me in my face,” said McKee, when told by his doctor that if he didn’t eradicate the stress in his life, he wouldn’t have a life left to live.
He took the warning seriously and moved to Vero and found that golf wasn’t a settling enough experience for him.
Looking for serenity and peace, McKee began growing orchids. The gardens were where he allowed the public to come and “touch nature,” which became his greatest satisfaction.
“The goose pimples that run up and down your back when you do something good for someone else” are what propelled Arthur McKee to work with Waldo Sexton, Vero’s own P.T. Barnum, to make the gardens a peaceful haven where “nature reaches out and puts her arms around me,” McKee said.
Waldo Sexton always did know how to call attention to himself and his projects, and his Hall of Giants and Spanish Kitchen at the gardens hearken back to the days of cowboys grilling hundreds of pounds of beef and potatoes, singing and telling stories deep into the night, under the vast, starry, tropical skies.
The afternoon festival, including music, barbecue and kettle corn, let the community see the beauty for themselves, with reduced admission fees, as well as fun exhibits and face painting.
“We come here for inspiration,” said local resident Fran Chauncy, a former school teacher from southern New Jersey.
“But when I want to come here, he always says, ‘why do we have to leave our own garden,'” joked his wife, Jeannie, an artist and avid gardener.
People chatted over cups of tea and coffee, gaining the stamina necessary to take another path through the garden or a trek through the incredible garden themed gift shop, a necessary stop on any holiday shopping agenda.
McKee Botanical Gardens
Location: 350 US 1, Vero Beach.
On the Web: www.mckeegarden.org
Phone: (772) 794-0601
Hours: Tuesday-Saturday 10-5, Sunday 12-5