Bok Tower Gardens Rises in USA Today Poll Voting

Bok Tower Gardens is currently ranked third in a USA Today reader's choice poll of Best Botanical Gardens in the nation. The voting is ongoing, and the poll allows readers to vote for their favorite garden once a day.

The poll leaderboard may be found at 10Best.com. In the final days of the contest, the leaderboard is not visible, so the winner will be a surprise.

Bok Tower's famed Mountain Lake Sanctuary, actually older than the tower itself, was designed by the Olmsted landscape design firm. The term "landscape architecture" was coined by Frederick Law Olmsted, who was renowned for his designs of such landmark parks as New York's Central Park, the grounds of the US Capitol in Washington DC, the Niagara Reserve, North Carolina's Biltmore Estate, and Mount Royal Park in Montreal, Quebec. Olmsted died in 1903. His son, Frederick Law Olmstead Jr., designed Bok Tower Gardens.

The gardens were nearly completed when Edward Bok decided that they needed a centerpiece, and hired the noted architect Milton B. Medary to design the soaring carillon tower as a centerpiece.

The voting for the best botanical garden will close at noon on Monday, April 22. The winners will be announced on Friday, May 3.

Those interested may cast their daily ballot here.