Feb. 7, 2017---Harry P Leu Gardens:

The forecast said we'd have rain today, so we put off going to Merrit Island another day.  But it turned out to be a pretty nice day afterall.  I started it off with a walk by the lake across the street from our condo while Ken fought with our internet connection.
Love the landscaping around the resort!

Hibiscus always remind me of Hawaii, so they're a favorite of mine.

There are some pretty good sized fish in this lake!  Too bad Ken can't fish in it.

Just another flowering tree.

We decided to head to a garden in Orlando.  People always say they're going to Orlando, but usually they're really going to Kissimmee. 

Being members of the Missouri Botanical Gardens, I'm always looking to use our membership at reciprocal gardens.  Harry P Leu gardens in downtown Orlando is one of them.  I've been here a few times, but this time they were having a special exhibit---dinosaurs in the garden.  Being infatuated with toy dinosaurs as a child, I was excited to see life size dino replicas in the garden.

Even without the dinosaurs I love to wander through the garden.

looks like the azaleas where blooming.

even saw this little guy---i believe this is a Carolina Wren.

The first dinosaur---Daspletorus, obviously a relative of the T-Rex.

love the pattern on these plants.

Another type of hibiscus, I think

It's a big garden and the map to the dinosaurs scattered throughout the garden was a bit hard to follow, but we managed to find them all.  Lots of beautifully landscaped areas along the way.

love the pineapple design cut out in this fence.

interesting beams on the pergola

There were a few sculptures throughout the garden, too.

love seeing all the greens and flowering bushes and trees again

Hybsibema---he is a plant eater.  They lived in herds with other plant eaters for protection.

another sculpture.

a nice shaded walk.

love all the colorful flowers.

Dimetroden---he was a carnivore and his back fin helped him warm up quickly.  Fun fact:  Dinosaurs were around for 165 million years as compared to our 2 million so far.

Looks like a Magnolia.  I'm looking forward to them blooming in Georgia since there are Magnolia trees everywhere there!

all different colors and kinds of flowers.

love the big old live oaks, too.  Especially with the air moss hanging down from their branches.

There were even roses blooming in Feb.

Sordes---these were flying carnivores with hair instead of feathers.

Bambiraptor---only weighed about 7 pounds as an adult.  He was a carnivore that walked on his 2 hind feet and it's thought that he was covered in feathers.

another flowering tree.

I loved seeing these all over the trees where we lived in S. Florida last year.

The park is also known for all it's camellia trees.  Many of them were blooming now.

Another one

Placerias---technically not a dinosaur, it was a herbivore mammal-like reptile because of it's tooth and jaw features. 

loved the flower lined walkways.

loved the bark on this Weeping Lacebark Elm

and all the unusual flowers

just another of the hundreds of camellias

Parasaurolophus---a herbivore.  The crown was thought to help with it's hearing and help regulate temperature.

interesting dried up leaves.

Ken off in the distance.

Looking towards the plant clock feature.

Citipati---omnivore that walked on 2 legs but had a beak like a bird.  Fun fact: some dinasaurs may have lived as long as 200 years.

bromiliads growing on a tree?

Allosaurus (the only one I recognized from my childhood toys)---carnivore that weighed up to 4 ton.  Fun Fact:  many dinosaurs swallowed large rocks that stayed in their stomach to help them grind up their food.

young allosaurus

alligator plant

don't know what this is, but I like the way the base of the spent flowers look like stars.

another wide angle view of the garden.

Compsognathus---one of the smallest, fastest dinosaurs.

boardwalk in the park

Quetzalcoatlus---wingspan up to 39' long, they were a carnivore that soared and could weigh up to 220 lbs.  Fun fact:  all dinosaurs laid eggs and 40 different kinds have been discovered.

a turtle convention

the lake edge of the garden

Syntarsus---stood about 5' tall and weighed about 65 lbs.  A fast moving carnivore.

One of the many colorful plants

back to where we began.

We sat and enjoyed the breeze and a water before heading off.

the front porch as we were leaving.  I'd love to have a porch like this!

By now we were getting hungry, so we headed to Disney Springs and took the boat ferries to Port Orleans for an early dinner as the clouds started to roll in.  Part 2 of today is here .