Fort Myers Residents Opening Gardens for Private "Beyond the Garden Gates" Tour and Reception at Edison and Ford Winter Estates following the Tour

March 5, 2026

Fort Myers Residents Opening Gardens for Private “Beyond the Garden Gates” Tour and Reception at Edison and Ford Winter Estates following the Tour

FORT MYERS, Fla. (March 5, 2026) — On Saturday, March 28, several local residents are partnering with the Edison and Ford Winter Estates to offer a private tour of their gardens. The “Beyond the Garden Gates” private tour will feature seven beautifully designed gardens. Following the tour, participants are invited to attend a reception in the Moonlight Garden at the Estates, where refreshments will be served. The tours will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and the reception will take place from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.

Local private gardens will be open to tour participants.

Proceeds from the tour will go to restoration efforts to re-create the Arts & Crafts-styled garden trellis and pergola that surrounded the original 1929 Moonlight Garden. Most of the gardens are in the immediate downtown area, with one or two just a few miles outside of city limits. Carpooling to the private gardens is recommended.

“Mina and Thomas Edison cherished their private garden retreat known as the 1929 Moonlight Garden during their winter sojourns to Fort Myers, said Karen Maxwell, Interim Horticulture Director at the Estates. “Over the years, the hurricanes have destroyed the Arts & Crafts era trellis that supported many of the historic plantings and we wish to restore the vision once designed by Nathanial Walker. To do this, we have begun our fundraising and awareness campaign with our first event, ‘Beyond the Garden Gates.’ This is a rare opportunity to visit seven private gardens featuring fabulous palms, bromeliads, tropical flowering plants and shrubs — all within an urban setting where every inch of ground is put to work.”

Registration to attend the garden tour is required at EdisonFord.org. The cost is $150 for non-members or $120 for Edison Ford members and includes the tour and reception with refreshments. Packets with garden locations will be distributed at the Banyan Café in the Estates’ parking lot at 9 a.m. on March 28.