Here's a close-up of the marble work on the tower. After you see the carillon, wander the 178 acres of natural wilderness and botanical gardens. Visit the open glade, where they are restoring the longleaf pine forest community, encouraging native plants to come back.
The oak dome
There's also an oak dome, a single tree with many trunks, connected by an extensive root system. If you stand in he Oak Dome and look East, you see an amazing valley. It's the Kissimmee River Plain, picturesque lowlands that were once under the ocean. Lake Pierce (in the distance) flows into the Kissimmee River and on to the Everglades.
Kissimmee River Plain
Bok Sanctuary practices controlled burning to keep their land in its natural state. They say that fire encourages plant growth and flowering. They're just continuing the natural cycle that has gone on for thousands (maybe millions) of years.
This is the view from the "Window by the Pond." You enter a little shed with a large glass window along the back wall to get up close to a herbaceous Florida bog. Bogs filter the water and provide a habitat for amphibian procreation.
