Post #58338 by Reever on Tue, Nov 4, 2003 9:35 AM

That is officially the coolest flower I have EVER seen.

My wife and I had a fantastic time a couple of years ago driving all the way down the East coast of Florida, dropping in on Wayne Coombs, soaking up some rays. One of the most memorable stops we made was to Parrot Jungle in the suburbs of Miami. Like the McKee Gardens (a new must-see stop... thanks for the tip!) Parrot Jungle was a pre-Disney midcentury roadside tourist attraction. It shows up on all the old souvenir maps of Florida. And we found it filled with more charm, beautiful craftsmanship and natural beauty that we even imagined. I grew up hearing my parents talk of the wonderful time they had at Parrot Jungles decades before, and we will force our kids to see our picturs of it as well one day, I'm sure.

The bad news is, the original park is now closed, thanks to city ordinances. Apparently, as urban sprawl encroached, the park became more and more restricted in the hours they could stay open, the lights they could burn, and the noise that was appropriate for a "jungle" to make late into the night. If you saw this park, you could hardly imagine how anyone could feel anything but blessed to live near such a parcel of paradise, but never underestimate the silliness of city folk. The good news is, Parot Jungle now has their own island off the coast of Miami! I have not had the pleasure of seeing the new location (and it can never be the same as the original) but I have no doubt they've done a lovely job, and I hope to see it one day soon. Go to http://www.parrotjungle.com/ for more info.

Does anyone from Miami know what's happened to the original park? I wish the city would make it a city park, but I don't imagine the odds are good, when it's zoned for commercial use. I'm guessing they'll pave over paradise and put up a parking lot. If I had the cash, I'm buy the whole thing up, erect a tiki hut for me and the missus right in the middle of the whole shebang, and have the finest tiki bashes Miami has ever seen in the gardens surrounding my new cabana home... ah...