Mar 28, 2025 - News

St. Pete Beach's Secret Garden reborn after Hurricane Helene's devastation

Kathryn Varn

A group of people planting and raking in a sandy garden with a beach and cerulean water in the background. — From left, Joe Borgia, Laurie Swiger, Fred Turtle and Connie Hornung work in the Secret Garden on a recent morning. Photo: Kathryn Varn/Axios

Residents of Envoy Point Condominiums in St. Pete Beach returned home after Hurricane Helene to utter chaos: sand everywhere, a washed-up mattress blocking the entrance, flooded cars in the parking lot.

And then there was the sliver of beach behind the complex, a lush, tropical paradise known as the Secret Garden.

Helene's monstrous storm surge had wiped it out, flattening the site of weddings, engagements and quiet moments with loved ones into a sandy, debris-laden mess.

Why it matters: Six months later, the sliver of Upham Beach is teeming with life again, thanks to the hard work of the Envoy residents who are putting it back together.

"It's a labor of love," said Laurie Swiger, whose late father, J. Luther Cook, started the garden in the 1990s.

The big picture: It may be called the Secret Garden, but the secret has long been out. It's accessible from the beach, nestled on the northern tip of Upham, where a jetty marks the mouth of Blind Pass.

Locals know it as a perfect setting for photos, hangouts and dates. Snowbirds and tourists seek it out during their stays. It even has a moniker on Google Maps.

A photo of a sunset over water. In the foreground is a lush garden on the beach. — The Secret Garden before Hurricane Helene. Photo: Courtesy of Laurie Swiger

State of play: Taking in the devastation was brutal, residents said. Statues, trellises and mementos added over the years for loved ones who had frequented the garden were either washed away or buried in four to five feet of sand.

"We lost everything, even our tools," Swiger told Axios. She cried for a week, she said.

Then she got to work, creating a GoFundMe to collect donations and a Facebook group to share updates. Money and memories poured in — more than Swiger ever expected.

Out at the garden, she and a core group of Envoy residents who had helped maintain it over the years began the long process of digging out what was left of the pots, plants and memories.

Zoom out: About 80 miles away in Winter Haven, Jillian Manns was fretting over what had become of the mosaic bench she'd made in honor of her son, Timmy. In 2022, the 29-year-old was murdered in Illinois.

Flashback: He'd discovered the Secret Garden while living in St. Petersburg, and it was one of his favorite spots to relax, his mom said.

She put her hobby of making mosaic garden and pool accessories to use for her son, creating a bench depicting the Gulf at sunset, Timmy's favorite time of day.
She drove it to the Secret Garden, where it sat among the greenery — until Helene. Manns heard from a volunteer that it had vanished in the storm.

A bench with a mosaic of red, orange, yellow and blue tiles made to look like a sunset. — Timmy's bench. The writing says, "Timmy, forever at the beach." Photo: Kathryn Varn/Axios

Yes, but: Soon, she got another call: They'd found the bench. Manns headed to the beach to help dig it out of the sand and was amazed to discover it had virtually no damage.

"Timmy wrapped his wings around it," she said.

The latest: These days, the garden is growing tall with new palm trees, bordered by new storage sheds and trellises built by one of the volunteers, and dotted with color from bromeliads, hibiscus plants and, of course, Timmy's bench.

Stories like Manns' are "why we do this," said volunteer Joe Borgia.
"It's still beautiful. It's still the Secret Garden," he said. "It's just different."

Two photos merged together. On the left, a stretch of beach covered in debris. On the right, the same stretch is cleaned up and beginning to look like a landscaped garden. — On the left, the garden after Helene. On the right, an early photo of the group's work to rebuild it. Photos: Courtesy of Laurie Swiger

👋 Kathryn here. I asked members of Swiger's Secret Garden Facebook group to share their favorite memories.

Here's what they said:

Eileen Frank, whose husband is Swiger's nephew: "We were blessed enough to get married in the garden. It was a breathtaking backdrop for a wedding."

A man and a woman wearing white and posing in a lush garden. — Photo: Courtesy of Eileen Frank

Oanh Loi-Powell: "Our family's favorite morning hangout space … 25 years [vacationing] here."

A group of people sitting at a table and smiling at the camera. In the background are lush plants, a sandy beach and a thin strip of blue water. — Photo: Courtesy of Oanh Loi-Powell

Michelle Levy Ferretti: "My hubby and I watching the sunset waiting to light my yahrzeit memorial candle to honor my mother."

A man in a long-sleeve Peen State shirt sitting on an Adirondack chair painted to look like the American flag. In the background is a lush garden. — Photo: Courtesy of Michelle Levy Ferretti

Ashley Ketner, Swiger's niece: "My husband and I got married in the garden in 2020."

A woman in a wedding dress holding hands with a man in a white button-down and khakis. An officiant in black stands behind them. In the background is a lush garden, sandy beach and water. — Photo: Courtesy of Ashley Ketner

Judy Cook Frank, Swiger's sister: Swiger "has poured her heart and determination into bringing back the garden to what it once was …. Our Dad would be so proud of her. I know I am!"

A woman standing in a garden next to a plaque that reads "J. Luther Cook Beach Garden." — Laurie Swiger stands with a plaque honoring her father, the founder of the Secret Garden. Photo: Kathryn Varn/Axios

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St. Pete Beach's Secret Garden reborn after Hurricane Helene's devastation

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