Behind the Garden Wall: Mead Botanical Garden, Winter Park, FL

Sometimes hidden gardens present fine rewards. Such is the case with the Mead Botanical Garden in Winter Haven, Florida. Tucked behind a residential neighborhood, Mead Botanical Garden is a modest trove of tropical species.

Theodore Mead, age 22

The Garden opened in 1940 in honor of noted horticulturist Theodore L. Mead (1852 – 1936). Mead was a pioneer in breeding new varieties of tropicals such as caladiums, bromeliads, orchids, daylilies, amaryllis and crinums. He was also a butterfly aficionado, apprenticed to William Henry Edwards, author of The Butterflies of North America. Mead is appreciated for discovering more than 20 new species of North American butterflies.

Neoregelia carolinae

Theodore and his wife moved to Oviedo, Florida in 1881. Oviedo was formerly known as the Lake Jesup Community. There he built greenhouses, propagated epiphytes and other tropicals, planted a citrus grove and gardens.

South Florida Railroad Depot

He was a sort of pioneer in the area. This was the “Old Florida” that some of us love to read about. Central Florida was becoming more accessible, thanks to railroads such as Henry Plant’s South Florida Railroad from Sanford to Tampa, with a railroad link to Oviedo. The Steamboat, Volusia, plied the waters weekly from Sanford. Orlando was soon to be re-incorporated.

Florida steamboat

 Considerable interest in citrus production was being promoted. Orchards were being planted. 

Of course, transportation was needed. A historical marker, located at the boat ramp at the end of Black Hammock Fish Camp Rd, east of FL 417 and north of Oviedo, tells of some efforts.  

“The Lake Jesup Steamboat company was incorporated in 1882 by lake area fruit growers by acquiring the steamboat Isis. This shallow-draft flat-bottomed boat sank that same year north of here in Lake George, a part of the St. Johns River...

South Florida Railroad's Oviedo Depot

“In 1888, Oviedo orange growers formed the Oviedo, Lake Charm & Lake Jessup Railroad, with the proposed rails to end at Solary's Wharf. This line never operated, but it did serve as a ploy in forcing the South Florida Railroad to lower unfair rates for hauling fruit.” Theodore Mead, having a degree in Civil Engineering from Cornell University, might have been involved.

After Mead’s death in 1936, his orchid collection was bequeathed to Eagle Scout and protégé, Jack Connery. With the aid of Rollins College Professor Edwin Grover, an effort was begun to create the botanic garden in Winter Park on 40 donated acres, about 15 miles from Oviedo. This is the basis of the garden we enjoy today.

Mead Botanical Garden kiosk

Mead Botanical Garden is a pleasant diversion from the well-known area attractions. Most of it is well-kept. (There’s only so much that volunteers, non-profit corporations and city partnerships can do.) Even so, good camera angles can capture the best features.

The garden is bordered on two sides by Howell Creek and Lake Lillian Marsh. Short strolls provide good views of both. Other points of interest include a camellia and cycad collection, a wildflower garden, rose garden, hummingbird garden, greenhouse, lovely bromeliads and various venues for meetings, lectures and entertainment.

Follow me behind the garden wall.

Mussaenda erythrophylla

Succulent, Euphorbia and palm collection

Billbergia pyramidalis

Livistonia chinensis

Creek view

Boardwalk

Medinilla magnifica

Codiaenum variegatum

Clerodendrum thomsoniae

Bromeliad collection

Neoregelia carolinae

Aglaonema communtatum

Kalanchoe gastonis-bonnieri

Tradescantia spathacea

Creek view

Aristolochia macrophylla

Bletilla striata

 

Clerodendrum trichotomum

 

Return to GoGardenNow.com.

Washington Oaks Gardens State Park, Florida

In 1936, title to a tract of land known now as Washington Oaks Gardens, a Florida State Park, was received by Louise Powis Clark (1887-1965), a widow with three children. It was to become a winter home for her and her third husband, Owen D. Young (1874-1962), also recently widowed. Both were from New York. Louise owned a lingerie company in the Philippines. Owen had been a lawyer, diplomat, and chairman of the boards of General Electric Company and RCA. But there's very little about Washington Oaks that immediately suggests the owners' wealth.

The area had been home to diverse residents, from aboriginal people to Spanish and English Colonists. In 1818, Jose Mariano Hernandez acquired the tract as an addition to his plantation, Mala Compra (Bad Purchase), to the south. Since it overlooked the Matanzas River, he called it Bella Vista (Beautiful View).

Eventually it passed to heirs, one being George L. Washington. Members of the family lived on “The Washington Place” occasionally from the 1870s to 1890s. The Washington lodge no longer exists.

In 1923, the property was sold to developers to be subdivided into residential lots known as Hernandez Estates. But the financial crash of the ‘20s and the Depression of the ‘30s put an end to that dream.

Louise and Owen discovered the property along old highway A1A in 1935 while visiting her mother in St. Augustine, FL. The developers had failed to pay taxes on some parcels, land values were way down, and the romantic couple from up North had money to spend. Louise acquired title in 1936. She and Owen were married the following year.

Rather than rename the place, they called it “Washington Oaks.” Perhaps they liked the sound of it, or named it so because George L. slept there.

Being a designer with interests in weaving and pottery, Louise went to work designing the house and gardens with an artistic eye. Their home was modest, and took full advantage of the view of the river. She combined native and exotic plants in the garden, and included oriental motifs.

Owen Young was a businessman who took an interest in horticulture, so he planted a citrus grove. Naturally, he set up a fruit stand beside old A1A where he occasionally tended and sold citrus to passersby.

My parents often took us boys to Florida in those days, sometimes traveling that scenic highway. I like to imagine we passed the old man hawking oranges by the road, not realizing he was the co-founder of RCA, NBC, and a consultant to presidents.

The Youngs eventually purchased land across the road, allowing them beach access. Owen built an office on that side so he’d have a quiet place to do business and study.  He built a nice home there for the caretaker, too.

Traffic increased, and road noise began to disturb the Young’s idyll, so they prevailed to have A1A relocated closer to the beach. A quiet, scenic portion of the old road still exists, reminding visitors of those days long gone.

Follow me to see what grows beyond the garden wall by clicking on the links below.

Travelers might have barely noticed Washington Oaks simple coquina gates. Coquina stone is sedimentary rock consisting of coquina shells and sand. It was often used as a building material.

The driveway at Washington Oaks opens to a fine view of the comfortable house and the Matanzas River beyond.

Much of the Young’s home looks as it did in the 1950s and '60s. A vintage television displays recorded episodes of old shows.

The front door of a home on the river always faces the river. Remember that.

A view of the Matanzas River from Washington Oaks Gardens, a Florida State Park.

A cistern at the site of the old Washington lodge.

Roses ‘Sweet Surrender’, ‘Gold Medal’ and ‘Pope John Paul II’ in the formal rose garden.

Visitors can rest on the garden bench beside the pond.

Bromeliads form a ground cover among palms.

Curcuma provides pops of color in the tropical garden.

A Bird-Of-Paradise (Strelitzia reginae) flower hides among the foliage.

A sculpture from Asia and koi reflect the Young’s affection for oriental motifs.

In The Compleat Angler, Izaak Walton observed “the Carp is the Queen of Rivers: a stately, a good, and a very subtil fish”. Koi are glorified carp. For bait, Walton instructed, “Take the flesh of a Rabbet or Cat cut small, and Bean-flowre;…and then mix these together, and put to them either Sugar, or Honey, …beat together in a Mortar, …and then make it into a ball, or two, or three…” Since I had none of those things, nor a fishing license, I simply watched them laze about.

Plumbago auriculata in the foreground, Monstera and magnificent ferns among palms to the rear.

A bridge not too far with Clerodendrum speciosum beside.

Ponderosa lemons (Citrus limon) in the citrus grove.

“Now the serpent was more subtle than any other wild creature that the Lord God had made.” (Genesis 3)

Impressive oaks (Quercus virginiana) at Washington Oaks Gardens State Park, FL.

Owen Young’s office now houses the gift shop at Washington Oaks Gardens State Park, FL.

Old U.S. Hwy A1A near Washington Oaks Gardens State Park, FL.

Coquina rock formations on the beach at Washington Oaks Gardens State Park, FL.

Return to GoGardenNow.com.