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Live oaks, alligators, birds and buddhas.
In Louisiana, you can find live oaks, birds and alligators almost anywhere…but a buddha?
Avery Island, the birthplace of Tabasco® pepper sauce, is one of five “islands” rising above south Louisiana’s flat coastal marshes. Owned over the past 180 years by the Marsh, Avery and McIlhenny families, the island’s 2,200 acres is covered in lush subtropical vegetation and majestic live oak trees covered in Spanish moss. What’s underneath, however, is what makes it fascinating…a deposit of solid rock salt thought to be deeper than Mount Everest’s height.
Since, tourists can’t visit the salt mine, they should be contented to visit the natural spectacular that lies above, Jungle Gardens.
After our tour of the Tabasco® Factory, we made the short trip to Jungle Gardens, just down the road. Although it’s been said by many foreign visitors to the island that they are shocked that more people do not walk around the premises and prefer to drive…maybe its because locals know how exhausting the extreme humidity can be on hot days. Though it was not so hot and humid on the day we visited, we opted to drive the four and half mile route and enjoy the beauty of the gardens at designated stops.
A tour can be accessed on your cellphone (in either English or French) and you can learn about the many stunning attractions within the garden’s boundaries.
First on the list, the live oaks. When I think of where I grew up, this is what I remember…the centuries old trees with limbs so large and heavy that they sometimes rest on the ground and are covered in Spanish moss and resurrection ferns. Hundreds of live oaks were planted on the island from 1860 to the 1920s and line the roadways, cover the property and provide shelter for picnickers and those seeking sanctuary from the scorching Louisiana sun. One of the most significant in the gardens is the Cleveland Oak, named for Grover Cleveland, the two-term U.S. President who was a friend of Joe Jefferson. Jefferson was the actor of Rip Van Winkle fame, who owned nearby Jefferson Island. After two trips to Louisiana, President Cleveland received the honor of having two oaks named after him, one on Jefferson Island and one one Avery Island…after the President apparently hugged both trees. The tree in Jungle Gardens is about 23 feet in circumference and over 300 years old.
Another famous tree, not far from the Cleveland Oak, is the Survey Tree. This tree (also called Witness Tree) was used by surveyor, Thomas Orme in 1810, when measuring the Elizabeth Hayes Tract, as point “D”. This tract was the first land purchase by John Marsh, whose descendants still own Avery Island today. This Survey Tree and a live oak, which was designated point “A” are the oldest surviving witness trees in Louisiana.
Next on the tour is Bayou Petite Anse, the waterway which runs around the west side of Avery Island and Jungle Gardens. The bayou connects to Vermilion Bay and eventually the Gulf of Mexico. Because it contains both fresh and salt water, fishermen need to obtain both freshwater and saltwater licenses to fish in this bayou.
Now, the gardens are not a zoo, but rather a natural habitat for many species of birds and animals, including the alligator. Because it is not a zoo, getting up close and personal with the alligators is possible, yet not really advised as alligators can move extremely fast. E.A. McIlhenny was the first to note the unique ways in which alligators build their nests as well as other behaviors. McIlhenny published “The Alligator’s Life History” in 1935 and to this date, it is still regarded by many herpetologists as the most accurate study of alligator behavior in the wild. A copy of the book can be purchased in the gift shop and while there, make sure to check out the preserved body of Monsurat, the largest alligator ever taken on the island (18 feet, three inches long). The best viewing area to see these sometimes massive creatures is in the Venetian Garden.
Stop number four on the tour is the Ward Boathouse which housed the 70 foot luxury motorboat of Charles Willis Ward, a friend of E.A. McIlhenny, when he was at a hunting and fishing camp in Jungle Gardens. Together these men, both avid conservationists, bought 54,000 acres of coastal marshland to the southwest of Avery Island as a waterfowl refuge. In 1911, the men gave 13,000 acres of this land to the state of Louisiana, now known as the Ward-McIlhenny State Wildlife Refuge.
Moving on, we finally arrived at my favorite part of the Jungle Gardens…The Torii Gate and the Buddha. The gate and the Buddha seem to be at odds with the Louisiana setting, yet fit so well amidst the tranquility of the gardens. It is possible that E.A. McIlhenny’s friends, Robert M. Youngs and Ernest B Tracy, knew exactly what his oasis needed when they gifted the magnificent Buddha statue to him in 1936. The Buddha was built for the Shonfa temple in northeast Peking when it was looted by a rebel General and sent to New York to be sold. Found in a warehouse Youngs and Tracy, they knew exactly where its new home should be. McIlhenny immediately decided on the location and began building a garden, temple and lagoon with arched stone bridge, filling the area with beautiful and rare Asian plants and tall Chinese bamboo. The serene setting is one to relish and you should spend adequate time here enjoying the peaceful atmosphere. Also, if you are lucky, you may encounter local Buddhists conducting ceremonies at various times during the year, most notably on Buddha’s birthday.
Once you’ve noticed the beautiful Chinese bamboo near the Buddha temple, you will notice that it grows everywhere in the gardens. In fact, Jungle Gardens houses one of the oldest timber bamboo groves in American. When E.A. McIlhenny decided to plant bamboo, it was with the idea that both the timber and edible shoots would be beneficial to the Louisiana economy and more than sixty-four species and varieties were introduced. Keep an eye out for the most interesting of the varieties still in existence, including the “Robert Young” near the Camillia Study Garden, the large, timber-type “Moso” and “Henon” bamboo near Bird City and a small patch of “Meyerii” bamboo located near the old Jungle Gardens entrance gate.
Continuing our journey, we came to the Wisteria Arch. Though not yet in bloom, you can envision how lovely it must be to drive through a purple tunnel and breathe in its bouquet. Though about a hundred yards shorter now than it once was, getting to see this blooming marvel is a must…and even if it is not in bloom, you can only imagine.
Just near the Wisteria Arch is my other favorite part of the gardens, Bird City. Set a ways down from the road is a lofty Observation Tower that awaits visitors who can gaze upon the rookery where snowy egrets reside and come to nest every spring. This pattern has continued since 1895 when McIlhenny, then a young man, decided to create a nesting ground for egrets over water where they prefer to nest. Hand raising eight Snowy Egrets, he finally freed them for the migration south. The next spring, six of the eight returned, pairing off and hatching eight more chicks. Sixteen years later one hundred thousand birds had returned reviving the dwindling Louisiana egret population. This is a haven for bird watchers as many other birds frequent the area, including herons, teal, ducks, coots and other non-wading birds. It is truly a spectacle to see the mass of white flitting to a fro on the bamboo raised platforms as well as the other animals that make their home here. As you take a walk down the path to the water’s edge, keep a look out for turtles and alligators basking themselves in the sun’s warmth.
For the dendrophiles out there, a treat awaits you on the path to the Observation Tower… .a Queer Tibertan Evergreen. This tree looks similar to a cypress tree and is one of the sole survivors of the Coal Age, having been found in a remote Tibetan valley.
Just before reaching Bird City is the Palm Gardens. McIlhenny was facinated with palms and cacti and discovered that they grew well in this particular site, an old mining sand pit. Here you can discover Sago palms, Chinese Tung Oil trees as well as ferns and bamboo.
Another uniquely cultivated area is the Sunken Gardens. Once an engineering marvel, this area was designed to slow the rush of rainwater from the frequent thunderstorms that plague the area. This space was designed to not only aid in the drainage process but also act as a peaceful, shady area with access to the old nursery. Though I took a quick walk around this area, it seems that it has fallen into a bit of disrepair. Apparently, you can still stroll through the site of the old nursery to see camellias and azaleas, however, it was late in my visit and I opted out of that decision.
Just before the Sunken Gardens lies the former home of Edward Avery McIlhenny. Returning to Avery Island in 1898 and taking over the family business, he built this house near Bird City. The home was burned to the ground in 1925 and quickly rebuilt. The home is not open to the public and appears to be under some sort of construction. Maybe a home tour in the future?
I have been to many touristy spots throughout the world and seem many famous landmarks. Yet…there’s nothing like a warm spring day in Louisiana enjoying the flora and fauna that I grew up with. As children, we don’t seem to appreciate all that is around us, taking it for granted. I guess it takes being away for awhile and seeing it again with fresh eyes.
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Jungle Gardens
- http://www.junglegardens.org/
- Address: Hwy. 329, Avery Island, LA 70513
- Hours: 0900-1700, daily
- Admission: Self-guided tour, Adults, $8.00, Children, $5.00. Self-guided tour+Tabasco® Factory Tour combo, Adult, $12.50, Child, ages 5-12, $9.50, Senior, $11.25.
- Getting There: Take US 90 Exit 128A on LA 14 toward New Iberia for approximately three quarters of a mile. Take a right on LA 329, and it is 7 miles to Avery Island’s TABASCO® and Jungle Gardens.
After paying our admission, we meandered through the museum, learning about the McIlhenney family and the tabasco sauce’s beginnings, from why the type of bottle was used to used to the use of its “caution” label.
My favorite part was the merchandise dedicated to the Tabasco® brand. From Tabasco® Barbies, to bobbleheads to golf clubs, there are many fans of the product willing to buy products that look like it or bear the label. Tabasco® has appeared in many motion pictures, television shows, songs, novels, comics and photographs. Stars that are fans have even gotten in on the action. Supermodel Kate Upton sported a dress with the Tabasco logo as a Halloween costume in 2011 and Michael Anthony of Van Halen owns a Tabasco® Sauce themed guitar.
Another part of the museum that was especially interesting to me was of life on the island. A friend of our family grew up there and her father worked for the McIlhenney family for most of his life. I remember attending her wedding as a child and how the idea that we were going “all the way” to an island was so exciting. The modern day inhabitants, however, were once preceded by Native Americans who had found that the island harbored a precious natural resource…a massive salt dome. The Native Americans extracted the salt which was traded with other tribes. Much like the Native Americans, the McIlhenney’s made a living from the land by discovering that he field’s unique soil aided in the growth of the pepper which was used in the production of Tabasco®. Today, some members from the same family who once assisted Edward McIlhenney in his quest to produce the unique product still work and reside on the island.
After exiting the museum, we followed the well marked path leading to other parts of the tour. As we made our way to the rear of the property, we were a little taken aback at the signs warning that bears frequent the area. Cautiously, we walked along the well-manicured path, under the massive oak trees toward the Greenhouse where pepper plants are cultivated. It should be noted that while the first peppers were completely grown and then mashed into the finished product, the seed peppers now are grown in the unique soil of the salt dome but then exported to international farmers to ensure steady growing seasons.
After the Greenhouse, we moved to the Barrel Museum which impressively displays many barrels and the materials used to produce them. A short video as well as photography aids in the understanding of how these wooden containers used to age the peppers are constructed.
Continuing on the the Barrel Warehouse, it was a necessity to breathe shallowly and sometimes completely pinch your nose. This huge warehouse safeguards thousands of white oak barrels of mash from many nations which is aged for up to three years. These barrels are topped with a layer of salt, from the island’s dome, which protects the mash from impurities. With the evolving and mellowing of the flavors, the smell becomes extremely pungent…especially on warm days.
After the aging is complete and the mash is checked for flavor and heat level, it is then transferred to the Tabasco® factory, our next stop. During the fourth stage of the tour, we learned how the mash is blended in large vats.
The sixth part of the tour is a diorama showing how minors work and extract salt from the mine. Exiting the “mine”, we entered into the part of the plant where the Tabasco® is bottled. Being that it was a Saturday, the plant was not in operation, however, I am sure that watching the bottles travel throughout the busy workroom and the numbers add up on the production board is quite impressive.
Once our tour was complete, we headed to Restaurant 1868. Invited to a crawfish boil that afternoon, I insisted that I would only accompany my parents and save room for the many pounds of the crustaceans that I planned to stuff myself with later in the day. Once I walked into the cafeteria-style eatery, smelled the cajun cooking and read the wide array of dishes offered, my resolve was starting to crack. The final straw was when a patron walked by with a plate of the crawfish nachos…okay, so I made room for crawfish nachos and later had boiled crawfish!
Stomachs full, we finally headed next door to the country store. Anything Tabasco® can be found here, but, the best part is the sampling area in the rear of the store. You can try many of the different flavors of Tabasco and some samples of the food products. You’d think after my huge plate of crawfish nachos, I should not have been able to look at food, but I sampled everything, including the Tabasco flavored green beans. In fact, I loved them so much, I walked out with a case of them!
Truly a surprise, the Tabasco® Factory Tour was more than I ever imagined. I visit some unique cities and museums around the world, but this well put-together attraction can measure up any day.