Hi friends, welcome back to the finale of my Miami Series. After tour the interior of Vizcaya, it was time to brave the heat and tour the lovely gardens. The garden was designed by landscape architect Diego Suarez and "decorated" by Artistic Director Paul Chaflin who also did the mansion. The goal was to create a fusion of formal French and Italian gardens from the 1400s to 1700s. It did remind me a little of being in the Versailles garden, but on a much smaller scale. This design was harder to execute than expected because the climate is so different down in Florida plus the annual threat of hurricanes. Both designers had to consult local experts to substitute plants that would thrive here.
The garden is arranged with paths branching off into smaller gardens throughout. I enjoyed discovering the different areas although the humidity I could do without 🙂
This walkway is lined with Venetian statues dating back to the 1700s.
This structure is called The Casino, meaning little house in Italian. It was under construction while I was there, but Deering used this room for reading, playing cards, and hanging out with his friends.
Behind the Casino was a giant lagoon that Deering and his guests would explore on gondolas, but his nieces donated the land to the Catholic Church who filled it in. This picture is from Vizcaya's website and showed how it used to look. The estate was originally 180 acres, but only about 50 remain in possession of Vizcaya.
Some movies were shot here including scenes from Money Pit, Iron Man 3, and Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. I saw quite a few quinceañera photoshoots while I was strolling through the gardens. It is a beautiful backdrop!
They were setting up for an event on the back patio. I was here on a Monday so I don't think it was a wedding.
This barge was used as a happy hour spot, but they had to row over there. The barge was built on a sandbar and then they dug the land out in between to fill it in. The barge also helped to break up the waves coming to the shore and for a smoother passage for those visiting by boat. The left of the barge was the dock for Deering's yacht and to the right is a tea house.
His pool was half indoor, half outdoor. The house also had a bowling alley and hidden bar because alcohol was illegal at the time.
I loved visiting Vizcaya and would highly recommend stopping by on a trip to Miami! Hope you enjoyed this little Miami series. Jon and I enjoyed our break from winter and weren't quite ready to leave!
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