7/9/2023 0 Comments Driftwood garden storyJon VanZile is a gardener and a freelance writer. With the right wood and the right plants, the end result is sure to be a beautiful sculpture. Just remember: If it’s going to get below about 50 degrees, move the driftwood inside to protect your tender tropicals. The finished driftwood garden can be an indoor conversation piece or can be moved outside. It will hide the roots, and the netting is virtually invisible. You can also use bird netting, fill it with moss, wrap it around the root balls and staple it to the wood. Another option is to tie the plants to the wood.Īfter the plants are fastened, Tippit sometimes uses a clump of Spanish moss to hide the root balls. Ideally, the roots will sense the humidity in the wood and attach. Glue the plant firmly to the wood, with the roots as close as possible. A tall plant goes in back, with a medium plant next to it, then a “fuzzy little tillandsia” to hide the root balls.Īlthough there are a few ways to fasten the plants to the driftwood, Tippit says a hot glue gun is the easiest. He likes to work in triangles of tall, short and medium plants. Tippit says there’s an art to making a good garden. Good choices are cattleya, phalaenopsis and sometimes dendrobium. The best orchids are those that will stay relatively small and thrive in the same conditions as the other plants on the wood. It’s better to buy these plants from a nursery than to collect them from the wild. But many native Florida tillandsia are protected species. They are adapted to Florida’s climate and can withstand heavy rains and severe drought. About 13 kinds of tillandsia grow in Florida, and several are used regularly in driftwood gardens. The inn and restaurant continue to operate today, renting rooms to the public on a daily or weekly basis and serving lunch and dinner poolside and Oceanside from Waldo's Restaurant.The best known of the tillandsia or air plant is Spanish moss. National Register of Historic Places in 1994. While structures of similar style may be found elsewhere in Florida, few are comparable in scale or complexity of detail The two original buildings are unique in the Vero Beach area and continue to serve their historic function of providing accommodations and amenities for tourists. The Driftwood Inn and Waldo's Restaurant feature a rustic "beachcomber" ambiance. With the help of local architect, John Dean and longtime property manager, Jeanne Radlet, the buildings were restored and stand today as a testament to Waldo Sexton, the entrepreneur and eclectic individual that built these structures nearly a century ago. I knew this wasn’t a job for Home Depot or Lowes. It bubbled for a few weeks until last Sunday I decided to drive up to Driftwood Garden Center in Estero, Florida. The New Driftwood - Two hurricanes in 2004 did substantial damage to the property but it reopened in 2005 and retained all the history and ambiance it has always had. Long story, short: I posted the flower image on Flickr and was told it was a Passiflora, a Passion Flower. Two more apartment buildings are now part of the Driftwood Resort, and all apartments and guests rooms on the property were converted to interval ownership in 1979. Waldo's son, Ralph, erected the four story building to the south in 1965, providing more apartment units. In 1963 a 15 unit apartment building was added, just west of the original Breezeway building. They were converted back into guests rooms in 1986. In that year he also moved in a row of fishing shacks that were used for guest rooms and later, for small shops. Waldo continued to expand the Driftwood complex after erecting the inn and restaurant. Waldo's Restaurant was constructed in 1947. This success led eventually to the founding of the adjacent restaurant. Sexton began to cook breakfast for the guests in the family kitchen. Waldo Sexton as a small resort hotel and because there was no restaurant in the vicinity of the Driftwood Inn, Mrs. Though originally built as a family home, within a short time it was being operated by Mrs. Construction of the house began in about 1935 and was completed in 1937. Its also sloped, partly shaded and north-facing, but Geoff didnt let that deter. Waldo has been called "one of the most colorful persons that Florida has ever known," an "imaginative entrepreneur," and an "outrageous, old time eccentric." He moved to Florida in 1914 and began his legacy that includes several buildings still standing in Vero Beach today and was an integral partner in the development of McKee Jungle Garden, also in Vero Beach.ĭriftwood Inn and Restaurant was originally a private beach house called the "Breezeway" by its owners, Waldo & Elsebeth Sexton, because of the opening in the central portion of the first floor. Driftwood Garden is 100 ft long and at its narrowest point is only 20 ft wide. Sexton(1885-1967) built the two buildings which comprise the Driftwood Inn and Restaurant in 1935.
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