By SHELDON KIRSHNER, Canadian Jewish News

LAKE WALES, Florida — A place of wonder, serenity, grand vistas and meandering pathways set in a semi-tropical locale, Bok Tower Gardens is one of the most beloved tourist attractions in central Florida's Polk County. Consisting of a botanical garden and a nature trail, a soaring Gothic Revival bell tower producing ethereal music, and a stylish mansion widely regarded as one of the finest examples of Mediterranean architecture in the United States, it was originally created as a bird sanctuary and wildlife haven.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Bok Tower Gardens was the brainchild of Edward Bok (1863-1930), a Dutch immigrant who wanted to make America "a bit more beautiful." That he succeeded is beyond any doubt. Bok, whose grandson Derek was the president of Harvard University from 1971 to 1991, was a journalist who edited the Ladies Home Journal for 30 years and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1920 for his autobiography, The Americanization of Edward Bok. His wife, Mary Curtis, was the founder of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.

The community-minded couple, who maintained a winter home in Polk County's Lake Wales, embarked on their grandiose project in 1927. The president of the United States, Calvin Coolidge, dedicated it on Feb. 1, 1929.

The Boks commissioned Frederick Law Olmsted to design it. An illustrious landscape architect, Olmsted designed Central Park in New York City and Mount Royal Park in Montreal, as well as the campuses of Auburn University in Alabama, Smith College in Massachusetts, Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania, Cornell University in New York, Stanford University in California, Iowa State University and Michigan State University.

Iron Mountain, the site of the gardens, was a desolate sand hill when Olmsted first set eyes on it. But at 298 feet above sea level, it was also one of the highest points in low-lying Florida.

Asked to transform it into "a beauty spot second to none in the country, Olmsted proceeded to plant a plethora of trees, bushes, ferns and flowers. As visitors wander through the manicured grounds, an island of tranquility, they see palms, oaks and pines, jasmine and a profusion of seasonal flowers ranging from azaleas to magnolias.

And in a clearing, they may spy a bright red sculpture, The Red Hot Palm Meadow, sculpted by Winter Haven painter and architect Kenneth Treister, the designer of the Holocaust memorial in Miami Beach, a sculpture garden for a Coral Gables temple and a synagogue for a Jewish home for the aged in Miami.

In line with Bok's wishes, Olmsted also drew up plans for a reflection pool for the garden's centerpiece, the carillon tower. Constructed from pink and gray Georgia marble and Florida coquina stone, the Singing Tower was designed by Milton Medary, and can withstand extreme hurricane winds.

Square at its base, the tower changes into an octagon at 150 feet. The heavy brass door leading into the tower – which is graced with biblical embellishments from the Book of Genesis – was crafted by a Jewish immigrant from Poland, David Yellin (1885-1940), a prime figure in the Arts movement and one of the most admired designers of decorative ironwork.

The interior of the tower is not open to the public, but as a journalist, I was admitted. An elevator whisked me up to a platform high above an exquisite panorama of citrus groves, lush forests and shimmering lakes. The 60 bronze carillon bells in the bell chamber, a few floors down, ring out daily recitals at 3 p.m. and half-hourly clock pieces starting at 10 a.m.

Twice a year, magical moonlight concerts under the stars, featuring classical hits from the ages, take place at the base of the tower on a sloping grassy field adjacent to citrus plantations. The event draws thousands of visitors who bring along picnic baskets.

During my visit, the Orlando Philharmonic Symphony played a rousing program of Offenbach, Copeland, Berlioz and Lehar. Prior to the concert, I followed the Pine Ridge Trail to the Pinewood Estate, passing scampering gray squirrels and orange trees laden with ripening fruit. The 20-room Mediterranean Revival villa, which is open to guided tours but was closed when I was there, was expressly built in the early 1930s for a vice-president of a major steel company.

Open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the autumn and winter months, Bok Tower Gardens is three miles north of Lake Wales, off County Road 17A. Nearby is the Lake Wales Arts Center, another attraction worth visiting. Inside a former Catholic church built in the Spanish Mission-style, its shows tend to be eclectic.

When I passed through, Florida-themed paintings and photo graphs were on display. The exhibition ends in January.

To the northwest, in Lakeland, the biggest city in Polk County, my senses were also tingled by the Hollis Garden and the Polk Museum of Art. The neo-classical garden in downtown Lakeland contains a rich variety of trees, flowers, shrubs and herbs.

In a corner of its secluded Butterfly Garden, I crunched up a yellow cassia flower and a buttered popcorn aroma arose from my fingers. Rounding a bend, I bit into a Japaneseraisin tree fruit, which tastes just like a pretzel.

Thanks to an informative guide, I was also directed to a miracle fruit, a red berry that plays havoc with your taste buds; an exotic tree that yields a fruit like a sausage; a "toothache" plant that numbs your mouth; a berry that doubles as soap, and a Kaffir lime that enhances Thai cuisine.

Interestingly enough, the mint in the garden comes from a specialty grower in Canada.

The Polk Museum of Art, the pride of Lakeland, brims with modern, contemporary and Asian paintings and drawings, European and American decorative arts, pre-Columbian and African art and an exhibition of photographs about diverse societies, including Israel, all of which I found quite stimulating.

I rounded off a day in Lakeland at an outdoor classical concert at Lake Mirror performed at night by the Imperial Symphony Orchestra. The sweet sounds of Verdi, Rossini and Von Weber were intensely satisfying.