Customer Reviews

Key West Gardens and Their Stories

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Key West Gardens and Their Stories embodies author Janis Frawley-Holler's love of Key West's mystery, romance and tropical ambiance as revealed in its public and private gardens. Gardens on this two- by four-mile frost-free island-city are infinite variations on a theme: how one uses fountains and tropical plants (especially palms, crotons, orchids and flowering trees) to create private oases in cramped spaces. Frawley-Holler's 128-page book, lavishly illustrated with 173 color photographs by her husband Darrel Holler, goes well beyond a listing of plants in each of 57 gardens. Into the essays she weaves personal stories of individual gardeners, how and why they planted what they did and historical tidbits about Key West -- the wealthy 19th-century city at the end of the Florida Keys, whose independence, freewheeling ways and Victorian architecture continues to charm writers, artists and visitors. "Restful Respites Open to All" (public gardens) and "Gardens with a Past" (museum gardens) where anyone can wander at will, open the book. Here are not just tropical areas, but also St. Paul's Episcopal Church's rose garden, the Hyatt Resort's Turtle Garden and the Memorial Sculpture Garden. "Awaken unto the Gardens" (the rear gardens of hotels, B&Bs and other lodgings) are tantalizingly hinted at by the streetside landscaping. Here Frawley-Holler shows us the stress-free ambiance lodging owners create through profuse blooms, fountains, pools and shady restful nooks. In "Tiny Gardens and a Grand Collection", Gardens of Old Town", "Truman Annex" and "Gardens Out of [Old] Town" Frawley-Holler takes us into private inner sanctums, rich with textures, riotous colors and unexpected eclectic accents expressing the owners' personalities. Roses raised by a sea captain, jungle murals mimicking the surrounding foliage, whimsical metal sculptures -- even Ernest Hemingway's infamous urinal now a watering dish for the six-toed descendants of his cats. After four months of research, Frawley-Holler knew much more about tropical plants and Key West history than when she began. Even so, her sensory impressions take precedence over Latin names or historical dates. Holler's photos are a treat, for photographing gardens with their variegated sun and shade is an almost impossible task. (He took many photos at sunrise, he reveals). Each photo illustrates a garden's unique features, further emphasizing the infinite variations among tropical gardens. A special treat are the close-up shots of individual blossoms that winter visitors never see. The book is best dipped into, savored a few gardens at a time. Visitors to Key West may want to peruse the chapters on public gardens before mapping a route or setting out, or even take the book along. (A mention of those gardens that charge admission would be a helpful addition.) The rest of us, wherever we garden, will find Key West's Gardens and Their Stories an inspiring and delightful peek behind garden gates for glimpses into the most private, romantic aspects of America's Southernmost City. ##

Key West is a tropical plant lovers paradise and this book is choke full of color photographs of some of the most fascinating gardens there. Not only is this book full of great photographs but there are many fascinating stories concerning the histories of the ground where the gardens now grow.
If you like history and you like tropical plants this is the book for you. I also found many inspiring ideas for future landscaping and greenhouse design and I am sure you will too.

Key West Gardens And Their Stories will appeal to any with a special interest in Key West gardens and their histories. Enjoy full-page color photos of garden settings accompanying descriptions of the gardens and their histories. The result is a fine local history Florida residents will love.

Stuck living in the arid southwest, I got an idea. (It's 100 degrees here and I just turn off the inadequate AC and open the windows - no difference.) If I can't actually reach out and touch some of them there tropicle fercundities, well, dag nab it, I can at least shell out $14 on Amazon and get me some damn pictures. (It's 100 degrees, remember.) Anywho, this away I get to forgo the 100% humidity and the Ernest Hemingway lookalikes, not to mention the occasional hurricane.

It is an amazing place though and the compression of the real estate contrasts sharply with where I live. It's more like the Carribean than the rest of Florida. (It looks like you'd need a machete just to get to the bathroom.) And no cheesy Mardi Gras photos to mar the beauty of these images. During my brief visit to Key West in 1985, I was struck by the beauty of the place, but then concluded that it was basically an isolated, tourist trap that would not work for me as a place to live. But, when I look at the pictures in this book, the illusion returns, along with my desire to go there. But, then I visit a Key West website and the pictures of some sleazy bathing suit contest bring me to my senses. (Maybe I need to go back and visit the Medicine Garden and have a talk with Pejuta.) Key West is a study in contrasts, and this book captures it's classy, restful qualities.

I stayed at Key Lime Village, where a bunch of domesticated rabbits traversed silently around the grounds, while a reposing, stony-eyed Mayan kept me company by the pool. Something like Tangier, it is a dream at the end of the world. I think you need all of the humidity and water and I don't think the western United States, including California, has such a place - you'd have to go to Mexico. But, what do I know?

The only thing that would improve this book would be if the scope had been extended somewhat to show the beautiful streets off of Duval, along with some of the less affluent, but, in some ways, more highly colorful, architecture that makes walking or biking around the Old Town so pleasurable. But, for that, you might really just need to go there.

Full of gorgeous photos of gorgeous gardens, this book made me desire my own tropical garden even more. what was best about it was I actually stayed in one of the inns whose garden is in this book and got to not only walk around it but see it in it's actual glory! Beautiful book!

Great book. Will use it next time I'm in Key West to come up with my own garden tour.

The pictures in this book are very beautiful and I loved the little anecdotes about the gardens and their owners.

Beautiful photos, well-researched text. Would have liked more photos of plant specimens mentioned in text. Great for the botanist and home gardener alike.

I keep this book in my file cabinet at work...when I just need five minutes to unwind and think of something wonderful, this book it just like a mini-vacation for the brain. The pictures are wonderful!