Welcome to the Digital Guide for the 15th Annual Open Garden Day in West Floral Park and Fisher Park.
Welcome to our Gardens!
We invite you to wander through our nine lovely gardens, enjoy the Promenade with vendors, information booths, presentations, live music and more, and explore the beauty of our two neighborhoods.
This year, you'll find the following elements:
If you are as addicted to social media as we are, please consider posting about us during your visit using the hashtag #OpenGardenDay. Don't forget to tag us as @WFPandJFPOpenGardenDay on Facebook or @OpenGardenDay on Instagram! We love having more followers.
EVENT MAP
Parking should be plentiful throughout our neighborhoods.
We encourage attendees to consider walking, as you may find little gems and photo-perfect vignettes between the featured gardens. The distance from Garden #1 to Garden #9 is approximately 1.6 miles long if walking over the footbridge between River Lane and Riviera Drive.
SHUTTLE
For your convenience, we have five shuttle stops strategically placed. A shuttle should be available from any stop within 20 minutes.
Zoom into the map to see more detail.
PROMENADE
SCHEDULE
Starting from 9:00 AM
Starting from 9:00 AM
from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Starting from 10:00 AM
10:30 AM
from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM
11:30 AM
from 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM
2:00 PM
from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM
Starting from 01:00 PM
Starting from 01:30 PM
Through 4:00 PM
Fun Facts about this Garden:
- We have a rescued squirrel that lives in our garden shed who is named Eddie.
- We have 42 Japanese Maples in our yard.
Mi Casa es Su Casa, a ranch style home built in 1962.
Our treasured memories began in June 2011. Our gardens have been transformed over the years. The gorgeous rose garden was lovingly cared for by my husband. He would bring beautiful bouquets to me. Sadly, he passed away in 2021. The garden is dedicated in his memory.
Our pomelo tree has juicy fruit, providing it year-round for our family. Succulents, palm trees, potted plants and beautiful travelers’ palm trees have grown beyond what we imagined! The front courtyard is where we enjoy having breakfast or lounging and enjoying the birds’ sweet serenades and watching the free-spirited butterflies. So peaceful.
Our backyard is predominantly cement, both to conserve water and for the kids to have more play area. Known as the “Party House”, the fun happens here. Our built-in BBQ grill and fire pit areas are welcoming for summer gatherings with family and friends. The gazebo, added during quarantine, is for relaxing and enjoying our yard. We have an abundance of fragrant plants, succulents, opuntia cacti (nopal) and a lemon tree! “The Casita”, was a favorite destination when the kids were small. Losing interest as they grew older, our three 4-legged kids, Zeus, Zoey and Bobby have taken possession of it. Also, we can’t forget Cinnabun, our rabbit, who enjoys the backyard (supervised of course). Year after year, wonderful memories abound.
Our memories began in this 1962 ranch style home in mid-December, 1975. Our gardens have had transformations, the most dramatic one in December, 2015.
Due to the severe water shortage in California, we decided to incorporate a low water usage landscape in our front yard. Our flowering beds remained,
utilizing an irrigation system. This allows for beautiful color plants such as camellias, roses, milkweed (a favorite of the Monarch butterfly), razzleberri fringeflower … just a few of the many plants thriving in the north-facing garden. There is no need for a push lawnmower other than as a garden ornament!
Our backyard provides two spaces for enjoying the outdoors plus a third space for a garden prep area. We have two desert tortoises, Michelangelo and Donatello. Our two resident “tanks” were hatched in September, 1985 and were adopted by our family in June, 1993. Although we have a desert-scape area for them, they call the backyard their space. They have very friendly personalities!
The fountain in the middle garden provides a place for the birds to drink/bathe. Our retreat is a welcoming space to watch the many birds, butterflies, lizards and hummingbirds that come and go. The plants are planned for their use. Our bountiful Fuyu persimmon tree bears fruit in the late fall … just this past season, there were over 300 persimmons harvested and enjoyed by neighbors and friends.
Fun Facts about this Garden:
- Both homeowners were born and raised in Santa Ana. The wife’s family owned and used this iconic Maytag Wringer Washing Machine appliance from the early 1950’s until 1998.
- The two “tanks” that are greeting you and making their way around the yard are Donatello and Michelangelo, two desert tortoises that were hatched by a dear friend/neighbor living on North Flower Street. The boys hatched on September 25, 1985. They are very tame and friendly!
- The Fuyu persimmon tree was a gift from my husband after I tasted this “crispy” version of a persimmon. He gave it as a Valentine’s gift in 2013.
