An auspicious date, today.
So I decided last weekend to a take a little side trip and travel down US 17. Why US 17? Well this stems from something I may post on another day about Florida's development history and how it is tied to the railroad and how the railroad, in many cases and places, set the canvas for the road system in Florida today. US 17 from the State Line to Punta Gorda nearly follows the exact route of the Southern Atlantic Railway. There is an inherent and "un-ordinary" history of Florida that is told throughout this corridor. So I decided to try out a portion from Green Cove Springs to Winter Park - a portion of which is part of the Florida Scenic Highway Program (River of Lakes Scenic Highway).
The corridor lived up to what I thought it would be - elements of the railroad, old depot buildings, other buildings that are organized around what would have been the depot, but now are seemingly pointed in the "wrong" direction relative to the street, and other cultural legacies. One that took my breath away was somewhere just south of Pierson.
Florida has many histories and this one in particular involves ferneries. Or plant nurseries that specifically cultivate and sell ferns. Beginning in the late 1800's, these fern farms supplied much of the florist industry with those wonderful accents you receive when someone buys you flowers. Pierson in particular (known as the Fern Capital of the World) was a "hotbed" of these nurseries. The beauty of the temperate native landscape in this area of Florida is the natural shading and wind protection Live Oaks provide for the plants underneath. This was a perfect "natural" location for ferns to grow with minimal maintenance.
Today you can see both the more cultivated farms with their shade structures and irrigation systems, and the natural oak hammocks areas. But be warned, if you are used to seeing a "normal" Florida oak hammock, it's quite unusual to see the very soft, and bright green, of fern ground cover disappearing into the shadows of the oaks.
See for yourself:
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| A "Natural" Fernery near Pierson, FL directly off US 17 |
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| The Large Oak Hammock (as seen from my car window) with the Fernery groundcover |
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