By Carrie Pack
As I sit inside watching the remnants of tropical storm Ida swirling about, I’m reminded of a gorgeous day a few weeks ago when I spent a few hours exploring
Washington Oaks Gardens State Park.
First of all, the roses were gorgeous in the formal gardens. These are nothing like what you’ll see in a florists display. The roses, and all the flowers there, retain the sweet scent that attracts the butterflies. What I love most is the mix of civilization and nature that helped found this land as a homestead nearly 75 years ago.
After serving mostly as farmland with a hunting lodge, the land was bought by Louise and Owen Young, who established the home and the formal gardens in the 1930s. The Youngs mixed their love of the Orient and nature to create a gorgeous landscape of native and exotic plants. Eventually they expanded their property to include the neighboring beachfront. Until the 1950s, the spot was used as a vacation home for the Young family.
In the mid-1960s, shortly before her death, Mrs. Young gave most of Washington Oaks to the State of Florida. As part of her legacy, she required that the gardens be maintained as her family had kept them. However, she also looked to the future and asked the state to expand the garden whenever it was financially possible.
Today, the formal gardens stand as a testament to the Youngs’ vision, but the rest of the park is a reminder of what Florida looked like to natives and explorers in Florida’s early days. I’ll save that story for another time...
Washington Oaks Gardens State Park is located two miles south of
Marineland, on A1A. Admission is just $5 per vehicle and the park is open from 8 a.m. to sundown, year-round.
Follow Flagler on Twitter!
Befriend Flagler on Facebook!