I walked into work today in a vile mood, I mean maybe the worst mood I've been in years. One of those moods where you just want to be by yourself and throw your phone away in a trashcan and light it on fire.
Of course, I knew my mood would worsen with any perky interactions with my co-workers. It was a chore trying not to make eye contact with anyone and just sneak to my cubical.
First, Justin came skipping up to me in the parking garage shouting, "Yay, you're here!" (I wanted to get back into my car and drive home). Then small talk in the hallway with Kristen about which popular TexMex restaurant we both agreed had bad food (Now, I really wanted to leave). My mood worsened when Roxanne my spirited friend in the newsroom, "Hey T.A.!" (How dare she, doesn't she know what a bad mood I'm in?). Then Nicole said, "Hey trouble maker! How ya' doin'?" (I'll show you trouble).
I say all this because despite my horrifically "me-monster" narcissistic moodiness my attitude had a major overhaul instantly when I started shooting my segment at Mounts Botanical Garden of Palm Beach County.
Mounts recently opened "Windows on the Floating World: Blume Tropical Wetland Garden. I needed to stop, relax, calm down, and have a "Moment of Zen." The garden's gorgeous displays of plants, waterfalls over natural stone, and Koi fish pond was exactly what the doctor ordered. As my shoulders relaxed my mood brightened as I was told the story of how this garden was created by Mounts Botanical Garden's Curator & Director, Rochelle Wolberg.
"What's unique about this garden is it was designed by a husband and wife team, Mags Harries and Lajos Héder who are artists, it wasn't designed by typical landscape architects," boasted Rochelle.
Windows on the Floating World features transparent, open-gridded, 4-foot-wide walkways on the surface of the wetlands to give visitors the feeling of walking on water. Within these walks are four “windows.”
Terri Neil, Director of Marketing at Mounts Botanical Garden, says, "Each window is going to be changed out so that each season we can grow the different plants that are viable in a wetland ecosystem." Terri says they will then be able to educate their visitors.
There is also a fish feeding area where I saw the biggest Koi fish and a cute couple beyond the pond getting their engagement photos taken.
So if you are feeling irritable and are just in a bad mood, do yourself a favor and find a bench in the shade overlooking "Windows on the Floating World." You'll get an attitude adjustment when you take some time and reflect on what's important.
The Deets
Mounts Botanical Garden of Palm Beach County
531 North Military Trail
West Palm Beach
Hours: Monday - Saturday from 8:30 am to 4 pm
Sunday from noon to 4 pm
Price: Free, but the suggested donation for entry to the Garden is $5 per person.
Phone: 561-233-1757
Website: mounts.org