The garden is in the form of an almost perfect
isosceles triangle, situated behind the building that
houses the restrooms. A walkway runs between the
building and the garden. Everyone visiting the Port
Boca Grande Lighthouse and Museum uses the
walkway. The northern and southern edges of the
triangle measure approximately 35 feet long; the
eastern side abuts the parking lot for about 18 feet.
The tip of the triangle points westward toward the
Gulf of Mexico.
It is a harsh ecology of sand dunes, storm surges,
and near constant winds off the Gulf. In September
2017, Hurricane Irma swept away the 8 foot high
dunes along the western shore of the park, leaving
the western corner of the garden bathed in sea
water for nearly a week. Plants and the wooden
stakes supporting the identification signs were
rotting under water. The Gaillardia, Scorpionstail and
Beach Sunflower were destroyed, and the dark,
rambling lower branches of the Varnishleaf were left
bare.
This day in November, however, the sun shone
warm and a gentle breeze shifted through the air,
while Bonnie and I toured the little garden-in-thesand,
listening to Christine and John tell the history
and joys of this singular space. They were waiting for
us under the shade of the knurly old Ficus tree
(Ficus aurea). Whether or not, the tree is actually
aged or not, is truly up for debate. Its nature is to
wind and curl around itself or a nearby tree. This
Ficus has been twisted and turned around itself by
the winds off the Gulf and oversees the northeast
corner of the garden, while giving refuge to a Whisk
Fern that has tucked itself in the lower spaces of the
knotted trunk. Two Corkystem Passion vines have
planted themselves in the sand at the base of the
tree. Several more Corkystems are beginning to
twine up the fence that separates the garden from
the parking area. Growing along the northern edge
are White Indigoberry, Seaside Goldenrod, Seaoats,
and newly-planted Gaillardia.
Beach Sunflowers are once again filling in the
western tip of the triangle with their brilliant yellow
blooms. Native Lantana, Beauty Berry, and Beach
Creeper grow along the walkway at the southern
edge. Coontie plants are growing on the opposite
side of the walkway, which is shaded by the
restroom building. They are older native residents of
the space, planted prior to the garden. Varnishleaf,
Buttonwood, and a small, but determined
Joeweed fill in the center area of the garden.
It’s been over 12 months since Irma passed
through, and new leaves are sprouting on the
lower branches of the Varnishleaf. Christine is
excited to see its recovery. “It’s coming back in a
big way!” she exclaims. And the curious Ficus,
expressing all the character of a seemingly
ancient being, bears a few late autumn berries.
The original mulch turned to powdery duff long
ago and, now, the garden is mulched by the
natural debris dropped from the plants
themselves or brought in by the wind.
Since the garden was first planted ten years
ago, Christine and John have continued to tend
it, watering, weeding and trimming. When we last
spoke with her, Sharon told us of her plans for a
native butterfly garden that would be completed.
It is be located on the north side of the Gasparilla
Island Rear Range Light, the first lighthouse on
the right before you reach the State Park. The
Planter's Garden Club, the Boca Grande Garden
Club and Barrier Island Parks Society contributed
portions towards the cost of the butterfly garden.
Sharon says, the butterfly garden already has
monarch caterpillars on the milkweed.
The little triangle garden seems to have
acquired several different names, and now I’ve
tagged it with yet one more - ”The Little-
Garden-in-the-Sand.” The ground at the tip of the
Island has no humus, nothing decaying to hold it
in place. Buffeted by wind and waves off the Gulf
of Mexico, parched by a tropical sun, plant debris
turns to a powdery duff that blends with crushed
shells and grit. The existence of plants growing in
it relies on sustenance from minerals in the sand,
moisture in the air, and the potential to maintain
stability. Their delicate root systems seem to have
evolved to hold true with ease. Perhaps, it’s a kind
of resilience, too, that holds them in place.
There are those, who, like Christine and John
Holyland, Sharon McKenzie, and many others,
who support and respect the area’s fragile
ecology and what is able to grow and survive in
it. They keep true to their mark as well, sustaining
an ecological partnership that holds within itself
a kind of constancy and resilience.
GM
68GASPARILLA ISLAND March/April 2019