2005 Mount Dora Garden Tour Garden #5

The fifth garden on the 2005 Mount Dora Garden Tour was very different from a lot of Florida gardens as it included an extensive vegetable garden. Having an herb farm, I run across a number of vegetable gardeners, but overall, vegetable gardening is not nearly as popular in Florida as it is in many other parts of the country.




Two views of the organic vegetable and herb garden.


An intriguing greenhouse which the program said was made from recycled materials.


Another sky vine. These vines work best on an overhang where the flowers can gracefully drop down.


An arbor filled with bottle gourds.


A cute birdbath with a smiling snail. Must have just eaten a big helping of vegetables.


This was my favorite element in this garden: pots of herbs on vintage classical pedestals edging the deck.

2005 Mount Dora Garden Tour Garden #3

I said earlier that garden #2 was my favorite, but I think maybe THIS is my favorite. I love the energy and creativeness of #2, but I think this garden (and cottage house) is the one I would love to live in day to day.


The perfect cottage entrance.


We were greeted by Betty Boop…


and a basket of flowers. I love the skyvine, seen frequently around Mount Dora.


Mosaic stepping stones…


with an herbal theme!


The writing was on the wall along with ivy and a window box.


We got to see not just the garden, but the house, too. Here's a wonderful blue and white porch. Such soft colors and the sunlight coming through the windows - sublime. Wouldn’t you just love to curl up here with a book?


Another artist had been painting across the street.

2005 Mount Dora Garden Tour Garden #4

Garden #4 (I’m out of order and will do #3 tomorrow) on the 2005 Mount Dora Garden Tour was a backyard in the downtown area with several nice sculptural pieces in a yard designed for kids.


One of the more striking plants was this luminous grass displayed in an old pot.


A nice fish pond with water lilies.


A big wooden emu tucked among the ferns holds a hanging pot of petunias.


Boy, and I thought my yard had some big lizards.


Two colorful funky sculptures.

2005 Mount Dora Garden Tour Garden #2

The second garden on last year’s garden tour was my favorite. I love collages made with found objects and that’s exactly what this garden is. Found objects, plants, and artwork that in most hands would just be a yard full of kitsch, but in the hands of the right person becomes a whimsical work of art.


An old stove surrounded by plants and glass becomes a gardening altar.


Another painter set up in this garden


A number of humorous vignettes including this convention of frogs seen through a veil of hanging glass discs.


An encouragement to just BE






More views of the garden. No grass to mow, just mulched pathways winding through nicely shaded areas of plants and art.


One last look back as we leave.

Garden Gloves and a Cat

A cute story about a cat who steals gardening gloves from around the neighborhood.

A Return to Blogging: 2005 Mount Dora Garden Tour Garden #1

Like a lot of bloggers, I got real excited when I first set up my blog but soon found it soaked up more precious time than I had expected and after only a handful of entries I stopped writing. I still like the idea, however, and am determined to give it another try.

Last November I took the Second Annual Mount Dora Garden Tour presented by the Lakes and Hills Garden Club. I took my big 2 megapixel floppy-disc-using first-generation-digital Sony Mavica camera and managed to take a few pictures at each of the 6 stops. Luckily I’ve since upgraded to a Fuji F-10 6.3 megapixel so I’m hoping pictures of subsequent trips and garden studies will be better. That’s my plan: to photograph and write about my own garden and about other nurseries, herb farms, herb shops, garden shops, herb fairs, butterfly farms, public and private gardens, herb society meetings and garden tours I visit/attend.

So to start, here was garden #1 on the 2005 Mount Dora Garden Tour:


This house and garden was on Sheridan Road in the Sylvan Shores area. First to greet us was a cheerful painted mailbox and you can see the Garden Club volunteers manning the ticket table in the background.


The house is named “Tudorville”. I like the idea of naming houses and they’ve made a cute sign.


Most of the gardens had an artist painting the gardens and homes. A great idea! Did they do that last year, too?


There were a number of paintings throughout the garden. This one blends right into the foliage.


Lots more paintings and a bench to sit on and contemplate.


A number of garden sculptures, too, from a traditional St Fiacre statue to funky modern flamingoes.

Stop number two tomorrow.