Porch Pansy: Mable Ringling’s Secret Garden

Florida is populated with a long fascinating history. One such place is the Ringling Estate in Sarasota, Florida. John and Mable Ringling built their Venetian Gothic mansion, Ca’ d’Zan, on 66 acres of the Sarasota Bay. John Ringling, with his brothers, were the entrepreneurs of the highly successful Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus that reigned as the quintessential entertainment experience in the early 20th century. The estate compound includes the Ringling Circus Museum, the Ringling Museum of Art and the Bayfront Gardens, including Mable’s famed rose garden and her secret garden.

Mable's Secret Garden

The secret garden is a smaller garden located north of Ca’ d’Zan. Trees surround it and near it are the resting places of John, Mable and Ida, John’s sister. The garden is small in comparison to the large Italian inspired rose garden or the large banyan trees that tower over the property. This garden contains flowers that Mable received from local friends and is a great example of a lot of the flora found in Southwest Florida gardens.

Left Side of the Garden. Their graves lie behind the statue in the right background.

The Right Side of the Garden

Amaryliss grows here in SW Florida and blooms in the spring. They can take full sun and light shade and prefer moist soil. They die back for their resting stage in the winter and grow up to two feet tall in the spring.

Pentas are a hardy specimen that blooms year round and can take the dry and the wet season. They grow up to two feet tall and like well-drained soil and full sun.

Curcuma, also known as ginger and turmeric, emerges from their winter naps to display elegant lush leafs in the spring followed by short stalks of flowers. They prefer morning sun with afternoon shade and well-drained soil.

Crown of thorns come in colors of white, yellow and orange, bloom year round and have mean looking stems riddled with thorns. They are tough plants and do well in the heat, drought and seaside conditions.

Aloe vera is very drought tolerant and needs well-drained soil. They are easy to grow and require little maintenance, growing in clumps. Their red inflorescence flower stalks make for an interesting display in the garden.

The African iris can grow in the sandy soil without much water, but flowers well in rich moist soil, and they grow in many drainage canals. The tall stiff leaves make a nice accent or ground cover.

The blue flag iris has lavender to purple blossoms and requires very moist conditions. They have sword-like evergreen leaves that give height to a bog or garden and bloom in the springtime.

This false agave has large sword-shaped leaves. This plant can grow up to eight feet tall and 10 feet wide. It grows for several years then blooms once, much like a yucca. It produces a tall spike up to 25 feet tall then dies off.

This variety of kalanchoe is thyrsiflora and has scallop-shaped leaves. They like well-drained soil and grow in small clumps.

Sansevieria, also known as snake plant or mother-in-law’s tongue, requires well-drained soil and is very drought tolerant. They can grow in sun or shade and spread in clumps. They come in many varieties, some tall or short and with thin or broad leaves.

Bromeliads make great landscape forms and often produce brilliant inflorescences that last for months. Most do well in the shade around trees, but there are more sun-tolerant varieties available. Small little pups spread out from the main plant. They get their nutrients from standing water in their cup-like centers.

Caladiums appear in the spring from their winter naps and do well in the Florida heat and humidity, though prefer some afternoon shade. They come in a variety of colors like green, white, red and pink.

Bougainvillea has small white flowers surrounded by brilliant colors of papery bract. They like lots of fertilization and grow well on trellises or fences. This one is very unique with variegated leaves and a white bract.