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Catalog Data

Former owner:
Harris, Dwight Dr.  Search this
Harris, Dwight Mrs  Search this
Gugger, Paul H.  Search this
Gugger, Paul H. Mrs.  Search this
Ayers, R. T.  Search this
Ayers, R. T., Mrs.  Search this
Architect:
Griffin, Harry  Search this
Landscape architect:
Knight, Joe  Search this
Provenance:
Garden Club of Halifax County  Search this
Collection Creator:
Garden Club of America  Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Place:
Toronito (Daytona Beach, Florida)
United States of America -- Florida -- Volusia -- Daytona Beach
Scope and Contents:
The folder includes worksheets and historical information.
General:
The red brick house was built in the 1950s and modeled after the governor's palace in Williamsburg, Virginia, which inspired the current owners in 1994 to install gardens with both southern and tropical plants and features on the four acre property Toronito. There are 200 year old Live Oak trees dripping with Spanish moss shading much of the property so the plant selection had to succeed in filtered shade, with some sunny locations including a rose garden. From the brick terrace with a round leaded glass window set into the wall supporting the gate there are views of the formal serpentine border planted with jasmine, sago palms, tea roses and conifers, and other formal beds contain caladium and agapanthus. The area known as the shade garden contains holly fern, iris and sago palm. A small orchard has pecan, fig and Meyer lemon trees. Throughout the property there are brick walkways that co-ordinate with the formal style of the planted beds and containers on the brick patio. The Halifax River runs alongside the property and is reached by walkways that divide around a sculpture of Poseidon, himself surrounded by a clipped circular hedge. In addition to the main house there is a guest house, garage, pool and garden shed where container plants are wintered over.
Toronito is a Seminole name meaning sunshine and goodwill, and Toronito's crest has been placed over the English colonial style front door of this house. There is a local legend about Princess Toronito who avenged the death of her French father at the hands of the Spanish settlers by siding with and helping the British explorer Sir Francis Drake defeat the Spanish in the 16th century.
Persons associated witht he garden include: Dr. and Mrs. Dwight Harris (former owners, 1950-1966); Mr. And Mrs. Paul H. Gugger (former owners, 1966-1986); Mr. and Mrs. R.T. Ayers (former owners, 1986-1991); Harry Griffin (architect, 1953-1954); Joe Knight, ASLA (landscape architect, 1994).
Related Materials:
Toronito related holdings consist of 1 folder (19 digital images)
Collection Restrictions:
Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Collection Rights:
Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Topic:
Gardens -- Florida -- Daytona Beach  Search this
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, The Garden Club of America collection.
Identifier:
AAG.GCA, File FL256
See more items in:
The Garden Club of America collection
The Garden Club of America collection / Series 1: United States Garden Images / Florida
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Gardens
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kb62f9d236a-dd7f-4cb3-820b-7da65109e476
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-aag-gca-ref11952