The Palm Beach County Chapter of the Native Plant Society presents…

The 2024 Native Garden Tour

When: Sunday, November 17, 2024, 9:00 AM–3:00 PM

Where: Central Palm Beach County

Cost: Free for FNPS members, $10 for non-members. Tickets can be purchased at the PBC FNPS chapter meeting, in-person at any of the gardens, or online HERE.

About the Event

Join this year’s Native Garden Tour to explore six unique native gardens in central PBC and celebrate backyard biodiversity!

What to Expect at Each Location

• Self-Guided Tour
• Docents On-site
• Free Plant Giveaway
• Native Gardening Inspiration

Important Details

When arriving at the gardens, please park on the road, not the grass, and keep driveways clear, especially for neighboring properties.

Call for Volunteers! Please email us at palmbeachfnps@gmail.com to volunteer.

 

To purchase tickets, CLICK HERE

To purchase tickets, CLICK HERE

ADDRESSES & MAPS

Pan's Garden: 386 Hibiscus Ave, Palm Beach, FL 33480

Eden Place Healing Arts: 1423 N. Federal Hwy., Lake Worth, FL 33460

Julia's Garden: 1629 North N St, Lake Worth Beach FL 33460

Denise's Garden: 13519 Jonquil Place, Wellington FL 33414

Fatima's Garden: 11291 Cowen Court, Lake Worth FL 33449

Helen's Garden: 11668 Piping Plover Rd, Lake Worth FL 33449

The 2024 Native Garden Stories

Pan’s Garden

Pan’s Garden is Florida’s first, all-native botanical garden. Created by the Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach in 1994, the half-acre garden includes wetland and upland areas, and it is currently planted with over 270 species of native plants, almost sixty percent of which are indigenous to the barrier island. The mission of Pan’s Garden is to protect and celebrate Florida’s indigenous plants and the wildlife they support.

Eden’s Place Healing Arts

The Eden Place Garden was born in 2015 when I changed this formerly residential property to commercial. This process included a substantial landscaping plan, that at first was quite intimidating to me. I had no gardening experience. All I knew was that I wanted environmentally sustainable and low-maintenance landscaping. Right around that time, there was a wonderful presentation about Florida Native plants at the Lake Worth Library. During that event, I was truly inspired and excited about planting a garden. The beauty of the native plants and the idea of attracting birds, bees, and butterflies seemed like the perfect match to surround my Healing Arts Office-to-be. A Native Garden would not only help create the natural ambiance that I strived for but also enhance the healing benefits of our work. Nature heals the Soul!

When I purchased the property, there was hardly any landscaping. Such a great opportunity to start from zero and to start out right! Indian Trails Nursery made the original landscaping plan and planted the trees. The rest of the plants came from many different nurseries and were planted by my husband, myself, and one helper. Our garden was on the Garden Tour in 2016 when it was still very young. A lot has changed since: Trees and bushes have grown big, new plants have been added where others have died, and new plants are spontaneously popping up in different areas, and I often allow it. The 2 Geiger trees at the entrance were not happy there, so we moved them to someone else’s garden and replaced them with 2 Bahama Strongbarks, my favorite tree. My other favorites are all the different vines throughout the garden, I have a passion for vines and trellises.  

I enjoy and appreciate our beautiful, a bit wild, and self-sufficient garden every day when I go to work, and am happy that I get to share it with our customers, staff, and visitors. My hope is that some other business owners will see it and follow by example. 

 

Julia’s Pollinator Haven

In 1998 I purchased my home replete with its weed lot, melaleuca tree, strangler fig, and areca palms. From the beginning, I had planned to go native in order to save water and to reduce maintenance as I grew older.  Little did I know then that the installation of my 8’x10’ plot of butterfly plants would become a labor-intensive yard of native wildflowers, shrubs, and trees. I began gradually by expanding my patch of butterfly plants over a two year period all the while learning more about native plants in general. I credit the dedicated and generous members of the local North American Butterfly Association with stoking my enthusiasm for and knowledge of natives.  Throughout the years I have continued to learn about the characteristics of natives and to add less familiar plants to my garden. My entire yard is now a certified butterfly garden with little room for expansion. But somehow I still continue to find spots for that special wildflower or unique plant.

Denise’s Native Wildlife Backyard Sanctuary

When my husband and I purchased our home, the realtor described the backyard as a park. It had large slash pines, multiple pond cypresses, several deck walkways, a child’s swing set, a viburnum hedge, a gardenia bush, and a bush we could not identify so we referred to it as “tree bush”.  Opossums frequently took up residence under the decking and we began to affectionately refer to our home as “Opossum Pine”. As time passed, the decks and swing set rotted and became unsafe, the “tree bush” turned brown and died, and we began taking cover indoors to avoid the mosquitos. It was time to reinvent our “park.”  Only this time we wanted to focus on creating a sanctuary for birds, bees, insects, reptiles, and small animals among the ever-increasing strip malls, golf courses, lawns, and palm trees. To do this, we set out to learn about and acquire native plants that attract birds, bees, and butterflies. It is here that we want to thank Jeff Nurge, Melissa Moyroud, Marta Edwards, Paul Harding, and the FNPS Palm Beach County Chapter, without whom none of what you see would have been possible. 

When you visit what we believe now looks more like a park than what previously existed, you will still find the viburnum hedge and the gardenia bush. However, you will now also find gumbo limbos, wild coffees, lignum vitae, wild cinnamon bark, frostweeds, Jamaican capers, stoppers, native porterweeds, tea bushes, marlberries, beautyberries, salvias, coonties, native firebushes, and more. You will also find a meditation area, three bird feeders, and two bird baths. You’ll see the butterflies, bees, birds, and squirrels. Our sanctuary is small, but it is what we can offer. Perhaps the next thing we should add is an opossum den. It is, after all, “Opossum Pine.”

Fatima’s Native Butterfly & Pollinator Oasis

Originally, my goal was a bit self-serving—I wanted to learn more about growing my own fruits and vegetables. I was fortunate enough to be accepted into the Master Gardener program, and that experience truly transformed my life. One of the most eye-opening lessons came from Teri Jabour, who taught me that each butterfly species relies on specific "host plants" for their caterpillars and also requires nectar plants for adult butterflies. I immediately began incorporating both into my garden.

I then joined the Palm Beach County Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society, which was another major turning point for me. Before long, our yard was filled with native plants, replacing all the grass. However, I was limited by the size of our garden.

During the 2018 garden tour, we visited Helen Laurence’s garden in Homeland, and my interest in the area was piqued. The next stop was Melissa McGuaghey-Moyroud and Richard Moyroud’s place, where I was captivated by the diversity and beauty of the plants at the edge of their property—a design Melissa refers to as a "mixed planting."

Fast forward to today, and we now live in Homeland—our own little slice of paradise nestled beside the northern boundary of the Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge. Our five-acre property features a stunning cypress swamp and is surrounded by water on three sides, with resident alligators adding to the wild charm. My mission now is to contribute to the preservation of native habitats and provide food for the local wildlife, including birds, butterflies, bees, deer, rabbits, armadillos, and even peacocks and bobcats.

To fill our garden with native host and nectar plants, I’ve relied on local native nurseries for support. Melissa McGuaghey-Moyroud has installed several mixed plantings at the property's edges, Jeff Nurge of Native Choice designed a nearly one-acre butterfly garden, and Carl Terwilliger of Meadow Beauty and Jane Thompson of Indian Trails have helped source unique and hard-to-find plants. Although we've been here for less than three years, it’s an ongoing project. My ultimate goal is to replace all the grass with native ground covers and food for both wildlife and ourselves.

I love stepping outside or looking out the window to see the butterflies and birds thriving in our garden.

Helen’s Cypress Wonderland & Garden

These gardens are part of a 5-acre property in the equestrian community of Homeland, adjacent to the northern boundary of A.R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge. We chose this land because of its remnant pond cypress hammock and different ecosystems. We have created gardens that correspond to the variety of habitats. In addition to the original cypress hammock and pine flatwoods, we now have pollinator gardens, seasonal wetlands, pond gardens, and wildflower meadows that are mowed only once a year.

By the time we purchased it in 1989, the lot had been partially bulldozed and burned, and it was infested with Brazilian Pepper, Melaleuca, Earleaf Acacia, and Old World Climbing Fern; the removal of invasive exotics and their replacement with native plants has been an ongoing effort.  We created the pond to manage water flow and to maintain a year-round wetland habitat for aquatic native flora and fauna. We are constantly learning the lesson of ‘right plant, right place’ as we attempt to create a refuge for the many critters that now call this place home. We have enjoyed visits from otters, foxes, marsh rabbits, deer, alligators, raccoons, possums, armadillos, many insects and birds, smaller reptiles, amphibians, and other creatures who harvest the fruits of our labor!