The Edna May Garden

Please note: the current images reflect an earlier incarnation of the garden and will be updated soon.

Gardens are meant to evolve, and this one, which has been in the same family for more than 100 years, has seen its share of changes. The property started out as Aunt Lottie's begonia nursery in the early 1900s then became Edna May's home and garden in the 1960s. Forty years later, the home was passed down to Edna May's granddaughter and her family. By this time, the garden needed some love and refreshing. The granddaughter and her husband enlisted the help of garden designer Lisa Moseley for a major rehaul while aiming to preserve some of Edna May's additions: the central magnolia tree, a bougainvillea in a particular shade of lilac, and some banksia roses. Moseley's new design debuted on The Garden Conservancy's Open Days tour featuring tidy, hedge-lined decomposed granite paths; native and Mediterranean plants; areas in which to entertain; and a small lawn and swing set area. When it appeared on the tour five years later, in 2012, Moseley had added a pool (which replaced the lawn and swings) and a chicken coop, and brick had been swapped for the decomposed granite. Now, more than ten years later, Moseley has given the garden another update. She installed an outdoor kitchen under the pergola, the patio around the firepit was enlarged and is now shaded by an imported old olive tree, and a guesthouse now stands where the coop once did (the chickens moved to a nice home in Brentwood). Much of the plant material has changed in the past twenty years, but the magnolia, the bougainvillea, and banksia roses still thrive.

Open Days 2023: Saturday, May 6
Hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.