This past weekend during our escape to Kandy, we had the great luck of visitng the Peradeniya Botanic Gardens, Sri Lanka’s Nation Garden. You should really look at the gallery for the most phenomenal pictures. While it is hard in the tropics not to just accept the fact that you have no idea what you are looking at, botanically speaking, here at the gardens there were maps, plaques, and more, all to give us a hand. Ignoring the cannon ball tree, enormous fruit bats, Orchid House, and the irresistible hunt for the sausage tree, the highlight of the gardens is a ficus. As we came around the bend, Kara excitedly pointed it out. “Isn’t it amazing?” “I guess so,” I said, feeling a bit botanically gracious. I guess it was a pretty tree. “I mean its all one tree,” Kara continued. I was a bit confused, “Is that large for a ficus? Do you just find it aesthetically pleasing?” As we walked over to a cafe to get lunch, I could tell Kara was a bit deflated at my lack of enthusiasm. While she excused herself to the restroom, I casually thumbed through Lonely Planet to the section on the gardens. “The ficus, covering 6 hectares, stands as the nations botanical gem”, it said. Something was wrong. I looked back out at Kara’s tree and noticed that the green hill behind it was not a hill at all.