Garden Dialogues 2014: Florida Gulf Coast
On March 22, 23, and 29, get exclusive access to private gardens and landscapes in Sarasota and Boca Grande and hear directly from the designers and their clients about their collaborative process.
How do clients and designers work together? What makes for a great, enduring collaboration? Garden Dialogues provides unique opportunities for small groups to visit some of today’s most beautiful gardens created by some of the most accomplished designers currently in practice.
This event is now complete.
Photo by Mary Ellen Flanagan
Saturday, March 22nd, 10 to 11:30am | Boca Grande
Shell House Garden with Mrs. Dorrance Hamilton
Mary Ellen Flanagan of MEF Design
In a neighborhood of restored “Cracker” cottages in downtown Boca Grande, Mrs. Dorrance Hamilton, doyenne of the Philadelphia Flower Show and botanical super enthusiast, has an idyllic and lush waterfront hideaway densely planted with large Tree ferns, unique palms, succulents and orchids. Nestled within are seating areas that offer friends and family places to luxuriate and relax. This Dialogue will also include a visit to the “production garden” at one of Mrs. Hamilton's guest houses. The property, located on the canal, has a low-maintenance landscape with several citrus trees, a papaya and avocado tree, as well as a small vegetable garden that she tends herself. more photos
Photo by Mary Ellen Flanagan
Sunday, March 23rd, 10 to 11:30am | Boca Grande
Ruettgers Garden
Mary Ellen Flanagan of MEF Design
One block from the ocean on the tree-lined and appropriately named Banyan Street, the luxurious backdrop for photos of newlyweds and family gatherings, is a historic cottage with an exuberant collection of tropical plants. Though city-sized, the property also includes sculpture, a pergola, a lap pool, and an antique cistern. Unique to this garden is collection of vines and myriad potted plants the owner selects herself.
Photo by Greg Wilson
Saturday, March 29th, 3:30 to 5:30pm | Sarasota
Casey Key Pagoda Garden
Michael Gilkey, Jr. of Michael A. Gilkey, Inc. with Joe Jannopoulo of Synergy Building
This enchanting 1.2-acre landscape, surrounded on three sides by water, is both a private retreat and a perfect place to entertain. Pathways meander through thematic gardens – Arbor, Bamboo, Chinese, Conservatory, Edible and Rose – and Moon Gates frame views to Blackburn Bay. This South Florida idyll, a close collaboration between the landscape architect and its world-traveling patrons, allows visitors to experience a beautiful and imaginative Chinese-style garden, without all the jet lag. more photos