The small, 5-acre garden nestled off Savannah Road in Fort Pierce is a rare urban oasis – a quiet, fragrant, colorful wonderland of flowers, trees, shrubs, burbling waterfalls and whirlpools. Climbing out of the car and entering any of the numerous “rooms,” a hush descends. It’s a place for you to collect yourself, hear yourself, and reflect.
It’s been that way for three decades, especially for head gardener Miriam Charles, who was pressed into volunteer service when her mother, Gloria Moore, became one of the founding members of Heathcote Botanical Gardens.
“This is like a gem of Fort Pierce,” Charles said, walking the grounds on a hotter-than-usual summer day. She lives here, in Fort Pierce, and is still amazed when she meets people who had no idea Heathcote exists.
“It’s just a love of the garden,” she said when asked why – after all these years – she returns to the heat, the sweat, the humidity. “I want to keep it going.”
Heathcote Botanical Gardens is the creation of a handful of women who wanted to see plants, not buildings, sprout up on the site. The family who owned the property once held a plant nursery on the site. When the family decided to sell, a developer was waiting in the wings. That developer planned to bulldoze the nursery plants and all the other greenery.
Community members rallied and raised the funds needed to save the property from construction.
As time progressed, so, too, did Heathcote, expanding from a small Japanese Garden “room” to include other “rooms” such as the Reflection Garden, Bonsai Gallery and Pavilion, the Rainforest, the Palm and Cycad Walk, and butterfly, children’s and vegetable gardens.
“It’s a labor of love,” said Diane Kimes, Heathcote’s executive director. She oversees an army of more than 200 volunteers and is one of just three paid staff members. Kimes views Heathcote Botanical Gardens as a “living museum” – a place for people to visit, reflect and learn, all while in the midst of nature.
Kimes marvels at the region’s ability to not only support Heathcote, but also two other botanical gardens – all in relatively close proximity. There’s the Port St. Lucie Botanical Garden in Port St. Lucie, as well as McKee Botanical Garden just north in Vero Beach.
“It’s collegial,” she said of the relationship among the gardens. “It’s like restaurants. There’s more than one. There’s something for everyone.”
“Each one is unique,” Kimes added.
Under Kimes’ leadership, Heathcote Botanical Gardens is reaching out to attract younger visitors – millennials, in particular – with various programs aimed at teaching stewardship, sustainability and eco-friendly gardening practices.
“I think we’re on the right path,” Kimes said, noting that the younger generation is interested in knowing where their food comes from, how it was treated, and what they can do to ensure that it can be sustained.
Along with attracting notice from the youth, Kimes is working with the USDA, offering Heathcote Botanical Gardens as a site for researching citrus greening – the cancer killing off citrus trees around Florida.
One particular pest – the Asian Citrus Psyllid – has been tied to the contagious disease.
“It’s like the lionfish of the botanical world,” Kimes said. The USDA has numerous plants established near the citrus grove at Heathcote, with sticky traps set up in hopes of catching not only the psyllids but also other insects that might help researchers determine what predators the disease-spreading bugs might have.
Looking ahead to the next 30 years, Kimes expects to see Heathcote Botanical Gardens grow, building on what is already there – but that takes new members, more donors and, ultimately, more money.
“Money solves a lot of problems,” she said, quickly adding that when people discover Heathcote, they love Heathcote and want to support Heathcote.
She oversees an operational budget of less than $250,000 annually and is constantly looking for philanthropic partners to work with.
“It’s a constant challenge,” she said.
“We’re always looking for new ideas, energy, volunteers and donors.”
If You Go…
Address: 210 Savannah Rd., Fort Pierce
Phone: 772-464-0323
Web: www.HeathcoteBotanicalGardens.org
Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Admission: $8 adults, $6 seniors, $3 children ages 6-12, free admission for those under 6, members and veterans with ID.
Upcoming Events: Sept. 9 – Bonsai repotting class; Sept. 9 – Fresh for Kids Family Fun Day