Elizabeth's Secret Garden

  Flagler College is a four year liberal arts college in St. Augustine, Florida. The focal point of the campus is the Ponce de Leon Hall where the female dormitories and dining hall are located. The history of this astounding college begins when the college started out as a luxury hotel built in 1888 by Henry Morrison Flagler. Henry was an industrialist, oil magnate, and railroad pioneer. He started his early career as a store clerk where he learned how to be a business man. In 1868 at age 37, he joined forces with John Rockefeller to form the Standard Oil company and gained his fortune. In 1877, Henry traveled to Florida because the winter climate was better for his wife. In 1881, his wife died of what was believed to be tuberculosis.  With Henry Flagler’s fortune and a newly formulated vision, he set out to begin the design of his first luxury, winter hotel on Florida’s east coast. He hired architects John Carrere and Thomas Hastings to assist him in this expedition. ...

Mr. Acosta is the author of the Hope book. He stopped by “Elizabeth’s Secret Garden” to give us a private review of his story Hope. Hope is about a turtle who endures hardship as its environment in the thermal convection dome off of Costa Rica's shoreline is being destroyed by over fishing and pollution. Even with this destruction, there is still Hope who continues to survive. This Spanish book is a great example of the environmental issues we continue to struggle with today, but all we have to do is take action to correct the problem. HOPE website: http://www.epicisland.org/   I have enjoyed going on tours of Mr. Acosta’s Jatropha plantation in Costa Rica so we invited him for a visit of my secret garden. My visit to Mr. Acosta’s farm in Costa Rica:  http://elizabethssecretgarden.blogspot.com/2010/03/jatropha-plantation-tour-in-tarcoles.html

Castillo de San Marcos is the oldest masonry fort in the United States in St. Augustine, Florida. Its construction began in 1672 by the Spanish. It was completed twenty-three years later in 1695. It was put together with a stone called coquina. This Spanish word translates to mean “little shells”. The coquina was a sturdy material for forts during this time because it absorbed much of the impact caused by cannon shells and allowed little harm to the fort’s wall.     The fort was built to protect and defend Spain’s claim of Florida in the New World. The fort was a stronghold in battle, but this did not stop the United States from acquiring the fort after the signing of the Adams-Onis Treaty of 1819. In the hands of America the fort served as a military prison and the name was changed to Fort Marion. In 1924 the fort was designated a National Monument. Then in 1933 it was transferred to the National Park service from the war department. In honor of the two and half centu...

“Elizabeth’s Secret Garden” A Study of Butterflies in North America, describes the life cycles of 10 species of North American butterflies including the Monarch, Queen, Cloudless Sulphur, White Peacock, and more. The book takes readers on several tours of butterfly gardens and conservatories in Florida. It also explains how to raise butterflies using inexpensive, readily found supplies. The photos in Elizabeth’s book are from her own personal photo collection. The book includes detailed  descriptions of butterflies, host plants, common butterfly diseases and predators. To adapt the book for the classroom or homeschoolers, 10  pages for children have been included. The discovery pages include, color in photo, questions, facts such as range, and host plant of the butterfly. Overall the book has 55 pages.   I hope you enjoy this sneak peek of Elizabeth’s new book! You can purchase a download at the following link. http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/elizabethmann   Co...

Above are the Old City Gates of St. Augustine, Florida. St. Augustine, Florida is the oldest city in the continental United States. Juan Ponce de Leon was the first Spanish explorer to discover Florida’s coast in 1513. He claimed the land for Spain and called it La Florida , which means “Land of the Flowers”. Territorial disputes occurred between the Spanish, French, and English making fort construction and protection necessary. St. Augustine was founded in 1565 by Pedro Menendez under contract to King Phillip of Spain. The oldest wood schoolhouse in the USA dates back to 18th century. It is located inside the Old City Gates in St. Augustine, Florida. The schoolhouse was constructed of red cedar and cypress which were fastened together by using wooden pegs and handmade nails. The schoolhouse has two stories. The second floor is where the schoolmaster and his family would have lived. This 19th century watermill illustrates what a running watermill would have looked like...