By Nanette Wiser
VINTAGE TREASURES Browsing antique stores and historic home tours are my jam, and the monthly Vintage Marche in downtown St. Pete yields glorious treasures from the past so I decided to plan a gilded era escape for Valentine’s Day. What could be more romantic than descending down a grand staircase, rocking on a sweeping veranda bathed in sunset or slinking away to a wood-paneled den-like space for a glass of wine beside the fire? Couples relish these exact scenes at Belleair’s 35-room Belleview Inn, a romantic and intimate 1897 Queen Ann-style Victorian Inn. The most romantic room is named after the 1908 steam yacht built for Morton Plant (the son of Henry Plant, who built the original hotel), the fourth-floor King Iolanda Suite is home to a parlor adorned in Victorian-era appointments and a claw-foot tub that feels like it could have been plucked from the original hotel. There’s also an audio guide narrated by the hotel’s historian, Joey Vars, (as well as QR codes posted around the property) to give you the back story as you explore the grand Tiffany Room, the column-lacking lobby, and the original grand staircase that has been climbed by the likes of the Studebakers, Fords and the Vanderbilts. www.opalcollection.com/belleview-inn
GARDEN CLUB Pinellas County’s garden clubs bloom in almost every community (Clearwater, Redington, Pinellas Park, Belleair and Clearwater) and specialty clubs for bonsai and orchids are popular as well. The Garden Club works with the city of St. Pete on April’s Green Thumb Festival at Walter Fuller Park. The West Coast Florida Orchid Society is a non-profit plant society dedicated to the preservation and conservation of orchids. Founded in 1942, membership is open to everyone interested in the culture, enjoyment, and study of orchids; the group is an affiliated society of the American Orchid Society. Hosting monthly meetings, the next one is 1/11@6:30pm (Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd, 10891 102nd Ave N, Seminole). Become a member www.fwcos.org/about and learn to grow orchids with them at their monthly meeting. Members have access to water testing, members-only events, special sales and discounts at local supporters. Long-time members have decades of experience growing award-winning orchids and are eager to share their knowledge with you. In addition, Society meetings feature talks from orchid experts. Former speakers include Fred Clarke of Sunset Valley Orchids, Prem Subrahmanyam Sr., of Florida Native Orchids, and other prominent members of the community. In addition to the annual show 1/27-28 at Seminole Rec, mark your calendars for the orchid plant and supply sales at Florida Botanical Gardens 2/10 8-11am.
