Ormond Memorial Art Museum and Gardens

Owned and fully maintained by the City of Ormond Beach, the Gardens surround the Museum on three sides.

Situated on approximately 2.5 acres at the southeast corner of Granada Boulevard between Seton Trail and Halifax Drive on Ormond's beachside, a separate fund-raising drive, spear-headed by Mrs. Mary Jane McSwain and Mrs. Eileen Butts, a former director of the Florida Board of Parks and Historic Memorials, produced sufficient funds to hire noted landscape architect, Henry Stockman, of Chicago, to design the gardens in the 1940's.¹

Built on what was once a sand dune, the Gardens are natural ground that was gently developed into a park. Natural depressions were made into ponds and you can climb the steps near the waterfall to the seemingly highest elevation in Ormond Beach.

Parts of the gardens are manicured landscape and other parts are left in a naturally wild state. Although the gardens are located in the heart of the city, walking the paths gives you the feeling of being in a tropical rain forest.

The Gardens contain five ponds that are home to numerous turtles, frogs and fish. Aquatic plants such as water lilies and water lettuces offer food, shade and natural cleansing within the ponds. Look for marginal bog plants such as papyrus, bananas, ginger lilies and wild flowers, which flourish near the three ponds that were formed by natural depressions.

The Gardens are maintained by Janett Van Wicklen. Ms. Van Wicklen has dedicated over twenty years to caring for the Gardens, a true labor of love. Ms. Van Wicklen also contributed her considerable knowledge to the garden plantings section of this web site.

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Native trees such as the Sabal or Cabbage Palm, oaks, Slash Pine, Southern Magnolia, Red Bay, Southern Red Cedar, East Palatka Holly, plus an American Elm and the imported Paperbark and Norfolk Island Pine can be found throughout the Gardens. Under-plantings include ferns, lilies, banana plants, sago palms, irises, palmettos, rice paper plants, staghorn ferns, bamboos, azaleas, flowering shrubs and wildflowers.

Beds of annuals bring a touch of color to many of the formal planting beds as well as providing change with the seasons. Read more about specific plants within the gardens and see photographs of each of the plants. Plant photographs were taken by Ms. Erin Friedberg, former Curator of Education and Special Events (2002-2003) for the Museum, using digital photography.

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The Peacock Fountain is located near the Museum's south entrance. The Peacock Fountain sculpture in the center of the pool was created by Mary Aldrich Fraser, wife of Malcolm Fraser (1868 - 1949), the artist whose works are in the Museum's permanent collection. Mrs. Fraser donated the Peacock Fountain sculpture to the Museum in 1950.

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A large octagonal gazebo (photo above, right) in the south end of the Garden is often the site of weddings. The waterfall (photo to the right), a generous donation by Charles and Linda Williams, is directly opposite the Peacock Fountain and appears in many local wedding albums as the backdrop for the bridal party's official photographs. The Garden can be reserved for weddings by calling the City of Ormond Beach at (386) 676-3250.

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Garden benches and specific plants have been donated by local residents as tributes to family members and friends. Sit and create your own memories in this small bit of old Florida preserved by their generosity. To purchase a garden memorial, contact Ann Burt, Museum Director, at (386) 676-3347, or by email at omam78e@aol.com.

¹ Historical information for this website was obtained from the book Ormond-on-the-Halifax, A Centennial History of Ormond Beach, Florida by Alice Strickland © 1980 Alice Strickland. Southeast Printing and Publishing Company, Holly Hill, Florida, USA. LC Number 80-50573

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This web page was updated on 24-Sep-2007 09:31 PM -0500