Young Gardeners Restore Florida Museum Garden With Natives

When winter storms damaged the garden surrounding a beloved turtle sculpture in Palm Coast, Florida, a group of young gardeners saw an opportunity to make it better than before.

The Jr. Garden Club of the Garden Club at Palm Coast partnered with the Palm Coast Historical Society on April 25 to completely refurbish the garden bed in front of the museum building in Holland Park. The garden wraps around Garfield, the seventh turtle sculpture on the popular Palm Coast Turtle Trail.

Margie Brady, chairman of the Jr. Garden Club, met with Historical Society President Peter Johnson to plan the restoration. He wanted plants that wouldn't require constant attention, so Brady suggested something smarter: Florida native species.

"I suggested Florida native plants due to their easy care and that they are more likely to survive a winter like we had this year," Brady explained. Johnson loved the idea immediately.

Brady consulted with Celena at Kraken Ventures, a native plant specialist, who designed a plan featuring resilient beauties like stokes aster and black-eyed Susan. These plants evolved to thrive in Florida's climate, meaning they'll need less water, no fertilizer, and can weather future storms.

The Ripple Effect

This project does more than beautify one garden. By choosing native plants, the young volunteers created habitat for local pollinators like butterflies and bees. They also showed their community that sustainable landscaping can be both gorgeous and practical.

The Jr. Garden Club members are learning environmental stewardship hands-on, lessons they'll carry into adulthood. Meanwhile, museum visitors will enjoy colorful blooms year-round with almost no maintenance required.

After planting the last flower, volunteers gathered for doughnuts and lemonade to celebrate their work. "It was such a joy to help bring this project together," Brady said. "Thanks to all the volunteers for their energy, good conversation and fun."

A winter storm damaged a garden, and young people turned it into something more resilient than what was there before.