Thanks to volunteers, Eden's beauty shines like a jewel

One of the Emerald Coast’s best-kept secrets is Eden Gardens, a real jewel in the crown of Florida’s State Parks. Eden Gardens is located near Point Washington on Tucker Bayou on County Road 395. The park preserves the historic Wesley mansion in a setting of massive, spreading, moss-draped, live oaks, and is surrounded by azalea, camellia, rose, and fern gardens.
  
The Friends of Eden formed in 1994 as a not-for-profi t community support organization. Spearheaded by founder Joan Thomas, Friends of Eden has grown into a small army of dedicated volunteers. Together they have wrested the grounds of the old estate back from the wilderness to its former magnificent state of a Southern plantation.
  
Working, semi-retired, and retired, locals, northern transplants, snowbirds, young and old, they have a common creed, said current grounds chairman Wayne Carlisle – “a passion about this park.”
  
“We were down here from St. Louis in the ‘80s just wandering around when we discovered this place,” said Marianne Burback. “It was like, wow! Those magnificent trees! And you couldn’t see the flowers because they were all overgrown,” she continued, reliving her first visit to Eden. Some live oaks on the grounds are more than 600 years old.
  
Archaeological digs and assessments of the new area have unearthed pottery shards evidencing early human habitation back to 500 B.C.
  
Members of the Friends of Eden not only look after projects on the grounds, they also run the Fig Leaf Gift Shop in the Manor House and propagate and sell plants from their nursery on the grounds.
  
The Pavilion they constructed has a full kitchen and is available for wedding receptions and other special events. 
  
Their budget this year of $90,000 is supplied by membership dues, gifts from individuals and organizations, as well as grants from the state. The thousands upon thousands of hours of volunteer labor stretch those dollars to incredible lengths.
  
Planning for the future is detailed in a 10-year master plan. With the addition of 100 acres to the site, there is a long list of ongoing projects. In the next year, a new entrance to Eden Gardens, funded by the state, is to be constructed off County Road 395. This will provide a more scenic approach to the park and divert away from the local school and residences.
  
Friends of Eden’s contribution to the project will be a reconstruction of the original entrance pillars complete with its wrought iron gates, plus some new landscaping to focus visitors’ approach to the manor house.
  
Plans also call for the addition of a picnic area, restrooms, fishing and canoe and kayak launching area along Tucker Lagoon. The goal is to keep the area largely natural and undisturbed with nature trails and areas for bird watching in the salt marsh.
  
Tucker Bayou itself was once a fresh water lake, but opening of the banks and construction of the Intracoastal waterway turned it into the saltwater body of today.
  
Eden Gardens is open 365 days of the year from 8 a.m. until sunset. Guided tours of the Wesley Mansion are offered on an hourly basis 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Thursday through Monday.
  
The park offers many recreational opportunities to visitors with disabilities. Should you need assistance to enable your full participation, please contact the park office at (850) 231-4214.