Colourful Enchanted Fairy Doors magically return to Leu Gardens
- Last updated: August 8, 2020 | 09:18
Visitors to Orlando’s Leu Gardens may feel a certain magical presence as they wander the 50-acre grounds, as the Enchanted Fairy Doors have returned to the urban botanical oasis. For the third year, fairies have taken up residence in the gardens, building 20 different doors representing their unique personalities and traits. There’s Cassian, the book fairy, who apparently has curly crimson hair, bright blue eyes and colourful wings.
Another resident is Shaylee, the fairy princess who keeps order and peace in the gardens. Or there’s Kaito, the pollinator fairy who assists bees and butterflies in pollinating plants.
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Visitors might not catch a glimpse of a real fairy, but the doors are colourful indicators of their presence. Just be sure not to touch any of their doors — they don’t open, at least for humans, anyway.
Robert Bowden, director of Leu Gardens, said news of Orlando’s lush grounds has spread among the fairy community. “Apparently word got out in the fairy business and they’re looking for a nice place to come where there’s lots of shade and beautiful flowers, and what better place than Leu Gardens,” he said. “The fairies have placed their doors in locations that are sometimes a little bit out of the way, but well worth the walk.”
Bowden is known to speak in whispered terms about the fairies, especially if young ears are around. But Tracy Micciche, marketing and special events coordinator at Leu Gardens, was able to speak more candidly about the fairies’ reemergence. “It wasn’t slated to happen this year, we wanted to give it kind of a rest. We have a lot of calls and when COVID came out, we figured maybe we should bring it back,” she added. “We know our visitors enjoy it, especially the community in Orlando.”
She first brought the idea for the doors to Leu Gardens three years ago with the help and handiwork of membership coordinator Colin Worley. Micciche writes backstories for the fairies, then Worley crafts the wooden doors before they’re sent to an artist to be painted and decorated. That’s the magical element for Leu’s staff — sending the doors away and seeing exactly what comes back.
“We see the pieces of wood that go out — the outline of the door — but we have no idea how the artist is going to paint it, how she’s going to bring that 3D image and really make it a true door,” Micciche said. Each year, in creating the Fairy Doors, Micciche’s daughter Emma has served as a creative force and a big help in crafting the fairies’ tales. ”My daughter Emma is my total inspiration. Her love of fairy doors when she was younger was phenomenal,” Micciche said.
“Every year, she still continues to help me with the stories ... We do a lot of research on names and really try to put a lot of different cultures in there.” In honoring her efforts, Emma always has a door named after her, and she becomes the gardens’ animal fairy. Ultimately, this imaginative exhibit helps to drive visitation during the hot summer months.
“We want to give kids something to do and something to look for. They’re getting exposed to why there’s a botanical garden in Orlando and the need for such a thing,” Micciche said. “It drives membership, it will drive admissions during the summer months. With COVID, this is a great opportunity for people to feel safe and come out and walk the gardens, even in the hot summer months.” In the future, there might be even more fairies making appearances in Orlando’s urban botanical gem.
“We do have plans one day to do winter fairies. We have a whole idea for that,” Micciche said. “We’ve even talked about good versus evil fairies in the gardens, there are all kinds of things you can do.” You can explore an amazing 50-acre botanical oasis minutes from downtown Orlando. At Harry P. Leu Gardens you can stroll through the lush gardens, smell the roses or just relax in the shade of a beautiful oak tree. Harry P. Leu Gardens is a 50 acre botanical oasis in north Orlando that has been a leading attraction in the city since 1961.
The estate had been owned by several earlier Orlando pioneers including the Mizell family who originally settled on the land in the late 1800s.
The next owner was a New Yorker named Duncan Clarkston Pell Jr., a member of a socially and politically prominent Rhode Island family. Mr. Pell bought the land and house in 1902, the same year he married silent movie star Helen Gardner. Miss Gardner was only 18 years at the time and went on to make 22 silent films, including “Cleopatra.”
The property was finally purchased in 1936 by Harry P. Leu and his wife, Mary Jane. Mr. Leu was a native of Orlando who built a successful industrial supply company. His business did very well during the several development booms in Central Florida. While Mr. and Mrs. Leu lived on the property, they developed it into a local showplace with gardens featuring roses, camellias and azaleas. Their home, now known as the Leu House Museum, is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Tribune News Service