- February 7, 2025
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Master Gardener Janett Taylor clears the debris at the Ormond Beach Memorial Art Museum and Gardens. Photo by Jacque Estes
Tall bamboo took a beatiing from Hurricane Irma. Photo by Jacque Estes
A bit of normalcy as a butterfly flits among the flowers that survived. Photo by Jacque Estes
Turtles enjoy the sun in their pond. Photo by Jacque Estes
Two turtles enjoy sunning on a rock, as a third pokes its head up to see what's going on. Photo by Jacque Estes
Susan Richmond looks at a concrete light pole that snapped, and fell across Halifax Drive. Photo by Jacque Estes
Janett Taylor wouldn't mind some volunteer help to clear the Ormond Beach Memorial Art Museum gardens. Photo by Jacque Estes
The Ormond Beach Post Office, diagonally across from the museum,also suffered damage, but they are open. Photo by Jacque Estes
When Ormond Beach Memorial Art Museum and Gardens Director Susan Richmond saw the snapped concrete light pole stretching across Halifax Drive, she knew one thing for certain – there was no power in the museum.
Richmond wondered if a micro burst had touched down in the intersection. Some of the museum’s casement windows had been pelted with mulch, while the next section of windows weren’t affected. A small hole was patched with colorful, leftover duct tape from an art project.
“At least I didn’t have to search in the dark for the duct tape,” Richmond laughed.
Across the street the Ormond Beach Post Office window is covered with plywood. Written in large blue letters – OPEN.
Inside the museum everything is as it should be; except for the dragonfly soaring through the open door and into the gallery. Employees were taking down a display in preparation for the next exhibit. Outside, Master Gardener and Garden Artisan, Janett Taylor, was trying to clear the debris.
Richmond said the gardens are in better shape after Hurricane Irma than they were after Hurricane Matthew last October, thanks to volunteers, including The Garden Club of the Halifax Country, who helped to prune and remove dead debris.
“The city is sending a chain saw crew, so I can’t use chain saw volunteers, but I sure could use other volunteers,” Taylor said.
As Taylor added debris to her cart, she stopped to watch the butterflies flitting on the flowers by the sidewalk.
“I am so glad for the butterflies that the flowers survived,” Taylor said.
The museum will be closed to visitors until the power is restored, but that isn’t stopping an upcoming water color class.
“The Emmons Cottage is on a different line, and has power, so we are moving the water color class there,” Richmond said.
