The River Lodge gardens have been created for the enjoyment of the community and its visitors. The gardens also represent a research and horticultural study site for the advancement of education about the plant group commonly called heather. The vast collection represented here is of international significance.

 

Plants

The City of Fortuna staff and members of the Heather Enthusiasts of the Redwood Empire ('HERE') with the assistance of the Fortuna Garden Club started the plants for this huge project as early as 1995. Over 400 different varieties of heather cuttings were prepared for propagating and nurturing.

The facility was completed three years later and the landscaping was started at that time. A computer-controlled irrigation system was installed and nearly a thousand yards of high-quality topsoil, organic matter, peat moss, perlite and vermiculite was mixed and placed into the beds.

The last weekend in October 1998 saw a large number of volunteers complete almost four thousand heather and conifer plantings. The landscaping on the south and west side of the facility is currently being installed.

The Heather Society, one of the finest heath and heather sites on the web.

 

Design

Landscaping surrounds the facility, with plants everywhere. Some of the gardens are used to delineate parking areas or space to support the lighting systems and are thus found in the parking lot. The Overlook Garden was planted before water was available to the area and is therefore composed of drought tolerant plants. An artificial cliff behind the lodge supports a hanging garden of Rosemary.