Sunken Gardens: How a tropical paradise rose from a sinkhole

St. PETERSBURG, Florida -- To everyone else, it was just an ugly sinkhole. To George Turner, it was a tropical paradise.

He and his wife, Eula, saw something here nobody else did, and he had the unique skills to realize his vision.

Turner was a plumber and horticulturist who gardened for fun, Jennifer Tyson, Sunken Gardens education coordinator, explained to ABC Localish. He understood that by draining the small pond on the property, he would reach the mucky organic soil. From this sunken soil he knew could sprout a lush tropical paradise.

And so it did.

Sunken Gardens opened in 1911, and is just a mile north of downtown St. Petersburg, but its four and a half acres of beauty might as well be a world away.

"We do have so many tropical plants from all around the world. The founder ... loved to bring in plants that most people had never even seen before. That created this sort of Eden that people throughout the decades have associated with Florida," Tyson said.

"They come through Sunken Gardens, they see these amazing tropical plants and think this is real Florida and it is to a degree. We have native plants as well that are truly indigenous to Florida. And some of those are our most notable. They are our Royal Palms. We're happy to have those natives because they support our native and imperiled wildlife. And they add that sense of real Florida that we love so much,"

Sunken Garden is known not just for its flora, but its fauna as well, including flamingos, introduced in the 1950s.

"People loved seeing these tropical birds flourishing here. And we've kept them ever since. When people come to Sunken Gardens, one of the main things I want them to take away with them is how important it is to preserve these green spaces. Whether it's a botanical garden, a nature park, whatever is near you where you live, it could easily be gone."

It's hard to believe it, but existential threats have threatened Sunken Gardens over the years.

"Because of everyday citizens it was saved. And the same story could be true of so many places that we all hold dear. And if there's anything people could take away, it's exactly that. Take care of the things that you love, and they'll love you back," she said.