RAP Garden Tour Preview

In 2018, Landscape Architect Rick Pariani developed a plan for the Buckland House landscape that would transform the community focused work of Riverside Avondale Preservation. The design, which included the addition of a covered porch, fire and water feature, and greenroom for hosting signature events was the beginning of a reimagining of the use of the Buckland House backyard.

In 2024, work began with Bold City Properties as general contractor and Angela Schifanella, Architect, to enhance the headquarters of Riverside Avondale Preservation. The main features of the renovation included an addition/covered porch, parking lot resurfacing, reinforcing the exterior of the Buckland House, relocating the shed, and a Florida Friendly backyard landscape. One of the main purposes for the backyard and landscaping redesign was to create a place where the community and history could thrive. Wacca Pilatka designed the landscape project at 2623 Herschel Street. They carefully selected historic and native plantings, arranged to complement the natural environment and aid in community gatherings.

One of the most intentional elements of the backyard is the rain garden. As a historic property, our drainage system was dated, so when it rained, unfiltered water ran through the storm drains and into the St. Johns River. In an effort to preserve our waterways, a rock bed was designed and filled with water loving plants as an alternative to a traditional storm drain, enhancing both stormwater management and the natural landscape. In this rain garden, visitors will find iris, fern, river oats, and skyflower while listening to the calming sounds of the fountain. Throughout the yard and along the fence you will notice a mix of saw palmetto, viburnum, pine, coontie, ocala anise, herbaceous ground cover, ferns and sabal minor.

The front yard tells a different story, with azalea hedge and swamp twinflower turf replacement, Wacca Pilatka focused on historic plants that lend themselves to the timeless beauty of the neighborhood.

Throughout the day, guests can explore a Florida-Friendly activation featuring soil sample collection, signups for free yard reviews, and educational displays in the Urban Garden area, including hydroponic systems, vegetable bucket gardens, stormwater runoff models, and drip irrigation components. Master Gardener Talks and presentations will take place throughout the day, with indoor and covered outdoor seating. Restrooms and cold drinks available.

Welcome to 2610 Herschel Street, where Allyson and Paul’s garden beautifully blends sustainability and playful charm, with small disco balls placed throughout the front and backyard creating a fun contrast against the natural landscape and native plantings.

The front landscape was redesigned last year to create a garden where plants could truly thrive. Working with native landscaper Wacca Pilatka, Allyson and Paul introduced thoughtful plantings and updated irrigation, while carefully preserving cherished elements like their lemon tree and vitex chaste tree.

Visitors will find a beautiful mix of gardenia, holly fern, citrus, coleus, begonia, society garlic, redbud, foxtail fern, Stokes’ aster, liriope, mahonia, bottlebrush, azalea, and ornamental grasses throughout the property.

The backyard offers a different kind of retreat, centered around a large pool and framed by thoughtfully placed potted plants along the perimeter. It’s the perfect spot to pause, relax, or groove under the disco ball as you take in the garden’s atmosphere.

Le Jardin de la Joie

Where Folklore and Fairytales Bloom

Step into the garden at 2910 Downing Street, where nature and imagination meet. Le Jardin de la Joie is a curated space filled with charm and character, where every corner and plant contributes to its unique atmosphere.

Explore a landscape where homeowner Pat Joy has paired quirky yard art with creative plant staging that transforms standard planters and garden beds into engaging focal points, encouraging visitors to slow down and look closer.

The garden features a diverse collection of plants chosen for their visual appeal and fragrance. Fig, Persimmon, and Citrus trees add the feel of a traditional orchard. Classic Southern favorites like Camellia and Azalea offer vibrant seasonal color. The setting is further defined by the scent of Gardenia, Confederate Jasmine, and Roses. Bright accents come from Firecracker plants, Agapanthus, African Iris, and Bulbine.

Every plant plays a role in this landscape. Whether in a vintage planter or growing in the ground, each element helps tell the story of Pat Joy’s Jardin de la Joie.

What looks like a classic Avondale landscape out front opens up to a tropical oasis in the backyard. Chuck Ivy has created his own little microclimate, between the fence and the old-growth trees to shelter an incredible plant collection. Step through the gate and you’ll find more than 400 bromeliads— including rare, registered specimens carefully cultivated with help from the Northeast Florida Bromeliad Society.

The backyard is also designed for relaxing and entertaining, with plenty of seating surrounded by giant birds of paradise, bamboo, plumeria, orchids, rhapis palms, and even Japanese maples. So, what sparked Chuck’s bromeliad obsession? “I started with Orchids years ago and found them to be a lot of work. Then I joined the Northeast Florida Bromeliad Society, where members sell and trade plants, and that’s what piqued my interest in Bromeliads.”

And after this past winter, you might be wondering how all those tropicals made it. “I ordered a few greenhouses online and set them up on the patio, then moved as many plants as I could inside. We rolled the bigger pots into the garage, and they made it through the January cold.”

One more standout in Chuck’s collection: a corpse flower, which blooms just once a year—just don’t sniff it!

Homeowner Gina Martinell lives out loud—and it shows. The only thing more colorful than her property is her personality. She’s been cultivating her Pinegrove garden since 1999, pulling inspiration from Italy and California and mixing in a little feng shui along the way. If you’ve driven down Herschel, you’ve probably spotted her eclectic style—repurposed household items turned into garden art and a giant succulent lion that’s hard to miss.

With degrees in art and music, Gina loves the creative process, and her backyard doubles as an art and pottery studio, complete with her own kilns. Start your tour on Pine Grove and wander under decades-old vines into her pottery space, where nature (and animals) are always welcome. A lush vertical garden guides you toward the kilns, with unique pottery pieces and art tucked throughout.

Live outloud with this lovely playhouse!

Asian Inspiration

The gardens at 3521 Hedrick St. were built in the mid-1980’s by owners Michael and Linda Fisher. While meandering through this intimate space, you will notice several asian features. These items are relics from Dr. Linda McLucas Fisher’s many decades of teaching Humanities at FSCJ’s Kent Campus, often hosting her students in this space. Her focus included Asian cultural studies, and she would often showcase her extensive art and sculpture collection from her own home.

In 1988, the Fishers put their own signature on the property with an elegant brick patio, laying the groundwork for the bronze statue, L’Inspiration, and classic mermaid fountain. The popular Buddhist goddess of compassion statue, Guanyin, is depicted in both concrete and pink marble. Bronze lanterns adorn the brick wall embracing the garden. The Michael W. and Dr. Linda Fisher Collection has acquired over 600 museum-quality prints, maps, and publications, a few select pieces of which we are honored to display on the Terrace. The heart of the collection centers on the history of Florida, providing an illustrated look into the European discovery of Florida during the Renaissance, to its later development during the Gilded Age of Flagler.

Beyond the garden gate, the tranquility of trickling water and filtered sunlight beckons guests to enjoy this peaceful oasis. This delightful garden design by Leah Fox Freyfield of Foxy Foliage, includes Gardenias, Hydrangeas, Agapanthus, Pentas, and a bed of Blue Lobelia upon which a Dragon reclines. A Pagoda plant is a new addition, as is the Chinese Lantern topiary tree surrounded by Angelonia. The orb-shaped Blue Point Juniper Topiaries seem to float from their delicate trunks, flanking the fountain.

Garden Tour Demonstrations by Sky Dog Bonsai, are scheduled at 11:00am and 3:00 pm for about 15-25 minutes. Michael will be available throughout the event to answer questions and actively work on creating Bonsai trees. There will also be a limited number of Michael’s creations for sale on site during the tour.

The Proctors' yard has been going native for a while now, and it shows. Rain barrels, compost bins, organic practices throughout. No chemicals. The garden doesn't look "designed" so much as it looks like someone's been making good decisions for a long time and letting the plants do their thing.

There's a lot here. Saw palmetto and beautyberry next to firebush and porterweed, which together pull in a decent amount of pollinators and birds. A river birch anchors one side, a drake elm shades another. Camellias and hydrangeas handle the color. And then you notice the avocado tree, the citrus, the blackberry, and realize this garden also feeds people.

Out back, the brick patio is surrounded by bromeliads, aloe, ferns, and bird's nest ferns. Tea olive is nearby, so the air smells good. Roses and stokesia at ground level, sedum and African iris along the edges. It's the kind of spot where you'll want to sit for a minute.

Carol is planning to bring in a native landscaper to take things further. The garden's already in good shape, but she's not done with it.

Florida friendly elements such as: rain barrel, composts, wildlife support, organic practices, many native plantings, homeowner plans to employ a new native landscaper to enhance her garden. Mature and thoughtful landscape with emphasis on environmental impact as a priority.

Secret Gallery on St. Johns

Tucked behind the home, an intimate courtyard garden unfolds as a lush, immersive retreat—wrapping gracefully around the entire house and anchored by a striking row of palms that sway gently overhead. Designed as both sanctuary and showcase, the space is layered with rich plantings that create depth, movement, and year-round interest.

A vibrant tapestry of foliage and blooms fills the garden, including bougainvillea, crape myrtles, sagos, hibiscus, juniper, boxwoods, holly, citrus, magnolias, coreopsis, farfugium, weeping bottlebrush and yaupon, ixoras, hydrangeas, agapanthus, Japanese pagoda trees and maples, and mahonia. Each plant was thoughtfully selected to contribute to the garden’s defining theme—a warm, radiant palette exploring every shade of orange, from soft apricot to bold tangerine.

Throughout the courtyard, a series of inviting seating areas and curated hardscape elements encourage exploration and quiet moments of pause. Sculptures are artfully placed to surprise and delight, while the gentle sounds of water features add a calming, sensory dimension.

Behind its effortless beauty lies a story of perseverance. The homeowner navigated significant challenges during the renovation, including complex permitting processes and intricate drainage solutions—making the finished garden not only a visual triumph, but a testament to vision and determination.