A fountain highlights the Formal Garden area of the Society of the Four
Arts in Palm Beach. Photos by Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star
For more photos, click here
Welcome to Secret Gardens, a seasonal series by certified Master Gardener Deborah S. Hartz-Seeley about great gardens that are open to the public. She can be reached at debhartz@att.net
By Deborah S. Hartz-Seeley
Take a seat on the curving bench in the shade of the Japanese privet. Now thumb through the artful brochure you took from the white mailbox hanging beside the front gate.
From its map, you’ll learn that you are sitting in the Moonlight Garden. At night, its white blooms reflect the glow of the celestial body. Explore further and you’ll find a Chinese Garden, a Formal Garden and the Madonna Garden with its fountains and greenery designed to showcase a relief of the Madonna and Child.
This is just part of what you’ll discover when you visit the Society of the Four Arts Garden in Palm Beach. It’s set into a cozy corner just outside the larger Philip Hulitar Sculpture Gardens.
If you’ve driven down Royal Palm Way, chances are you didn’t know you were passing this oasis tucked behind a stucco wall. Towering bamboo stands sentry at this spot that has attracted visitors from as far away as China, Germany, Canada and Peru.
A water lily in the pond of the Madonna Garden glows in the late afternoon light.
Once inside, you’ll leave the bustle behind to discover natural beauty. Red dragonflies hover over a pond studded with blue, yellow and white water lilies.
The air is perfumed — literally — by a ylang-ylang tree that has flowers used to make Chanel No. 5 and the Michele champaca, a variety of magnolia that’s the basis for Joy perfume.
The garden was first planted in the 1930s by members of The Garden Club of Palm Beach. The women hoped to help people moving from the North learn to landscape their new homes in the subtropics. The different “rooms” were designed to showcase styles popular at the time and many of the plants are labeled.
The garden suffered neglect during World War II and later was damaged by three hurricanes — Frances, Jeanne and Wilma. In fact, the garden was closed for two years after Hurricane Frances in 2004. “I couldn’t get onto the island for a week after that storm,” says Joanna Kitson, who has worked in the garden for 11 years.
A lion-face door knocker is part of the Spanish Facade Garden.
But all that has changed. The garden, still maintained by the garden club, is back to its former beauty with lush greenery shaded by plenty of towering trees and palms.
You’ll smile when you see the Old Man Palm with its body-like trunk covered with shaggy growth resembling a curling beard. At ground level, bromeliads look like works of art. Their leaves are painted with neon pink, dark purple, yellow and lime green in all sorts of patterns from stripes to polka dots.
And be sure to enjoy the aptly named Sausage Tree that’s been here since 1956. When in bloom, its wine-colored bell-shaped flowers hang from the branches on long flexible stems. Their sweet nectar attracts a flock of thirsty green parrots living on the island, Kitson says.
In time, the flowers give way to fruits that actually look like sausages hanging on strings. These can grow to 3 feet long.
An agave plant.
The Chinese Garden is a tranquil area entered through a red gate decorated with blue ceramic tiles and carved wooden panels. The entry is guarded by two marble foo dogs. You can tell the male from the female: Mom protects her puppy under her front paw, Kitson explains.
Your children will enjoy helping Kitson feed the guppies living in the many of the garden’s ponds and fountains. She explains that guppies are small enough to be ignored by the egrets and ospreys that fly overhead looking for dinner.
Youngsters also may like the pancake plant growing in the well in front of the Spanish façade. Its flat, pad-like leaves earn the plant its name.
Those who like things neat and orderly will enjoy the Formal Garden.
Here, a central fountain is surrounded by decorative tufts of mondo grass and small bushes neatly crafted into horseshoe patterns.
When it’s time to return to the chaos of modern life, don’t worry. The garden is waiting for you to return. It’s open year round.
The Society of the Four Arts Garden, at the northeast corner of Royal Palm Way and Four Arts Plaza in Palm Beach, is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5p.m. You enter through the gate next to the Gioconda and Joseph King Library on Four Arts Plaza. For information, visit www.fourarts.org or call 655-2766. Closed major holidays.
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