A pair of Dioon mejiae guards the front entrance to the Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens.
Photos by Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star
By Deborah S. Hartz-Seeley
Find yourself a parking space on Barcelona Road in West Palm Beach. Now walk past the beautifully restored 1920s homes that make up this El Cid neighborhood as you amble toward Lake Worth.
A grouping of sculptures by Ann Norton stands sentinel in the sculpture gardens.
When you come to the seven towering royal palms situated in the swale, you’ve arrived at No. 253. Don’t be put off by the unassuming two-story house with wrought iron balustrade.
This is the entrance to the Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens and the well-preserved studio of sculptor Ann Weaver Norton. This 2½-acre property offers visitors a chance to see her oversized works of art or “gateways” set against a backdrop only nature can provide.
No wonder its front coquina walk is guarded on either side by two Dioon mejiae, which are ancient cycads standing erect as soldiers.
Native thatch palms and coontie grow side by side.
Now make your way through the home that was re-designed in 1934 by Palm Beach architect Marion Sims Wyeth. Although it retains some of his signature touches including the pecky cypress ceilings, it is now used as an art gallery.
You enter the garden through French doors that swing out onto an expanse of lawn with lake views. This is your introduction not only to the garden but also to Norton’s massive artwork. Immediately visible is one of brick set in a pool surrounded by grass and lots of greenery.
Seed pods of a cycad from Africa offer a pop of color.
The garden was designed to let the artwork speak. That’s why you’ll find few exotic blooms to detract from the sculptures.
However, the garden does showcase 300 different species of palms from around the world. It’s believed to be the most extensive collection in South Florida outside of the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in Miami, says landscape designer Jeff Blakely, who is on the garden’s board of directors.
While some of these palms are natives, others come from as far away as Afghanistan and New Guinea.
You’ll find varieties such as the Teddy Bear Palm from Madagascar that has a fuzzy reddish brown crown shaft resembling a bear cub clinging to the top of the trunk.
Blakely particularly likes the Florida Thatch Palm, a native of the Keys that is salt tolerant. It has even been found growing on the rocks by the ocean, he says. It’s the perfect choice for this garden that can get salty gales blowing from the north off the ocean.
The silvery fans of the Copernicia hospita are offset by the dangerous looking teeth on its trunk. “I think it’s one of the most beautiful palms around,” Blakely says.
And the ruffled fan palm has fronds that look to me like they were carefully pleated by a child folding a “paper” fan.
You’ll also find more cycads as well as crotons and bromeliads that add unobtrusive touches of color to the greenery. The black prince croton has leaves that turn almost black when grown in the shade yet, given light, they turn green and red.
As you make your way through the dense vegetation, you virtually stumble upon Norton’s figurative sculpture that was inspired by a trip to Utah’s Bryce Canyon. Monumental in size, the sculpture is made up of seven representational figures cut into 20 feet of Norwegian granite.
Norton wanted her locally produced works to be showcased by native plants. That’s why you’ll discover plenty of coontie and coco plum as well as gumbo limbo trees and dahoon holly.
As you continue on the twisting path, it’s a surprise and delight to happen upon one of Norton’s brick artworks whether surrounded by water or gently nestled among the ever changing backdrop of trees and shrubs. “This garden is a quiet space in the city,” says Dara Lepore of Montreal, who is visiting with her sister, Norma Lepore, a snowbird living in Hypoluxo. “It’s like being far from everywhere.”
Deborah S. Hartz-Seeley is a certified master gardener who can be reached at debhartz@att.net when she’s not digging in her yard.
If You Go
Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens,
253 Barcelona Road, West Palm Beach; 561-382-5328; ansg.org.
The garden is open to the public
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. Admission is $7 for adults; $5 for students; free for children under 5.
Street parking is available.
Pick up a laminated map of the artwork in the garden at the front desk, and then enjoy a self-guided tour among well-labeled trees.
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