JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — For almost 60 years, the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens has been the St. Johns River's close neighbor.
But almost two years ago, Hurricane Irma destroyed the museum’s three gardens.
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"They were in up to 4feet of brackish water on the lower tier of the gardens," said museum director of communications Joanna Blinn.
The gardens were underwater for days. Electric circuits were shot. Trees were uprooted.
But the Cummer Oak tree and several sculptures survived.
"It was quite an extensive project to bring all of these things back to life," Blinn said.
The museum used the $1.3 million dollars to make a lot of changes.
New plants are in place, sidewalks are clean and the gardens are back open but only when it’s not raining outside.
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April Moore and her son Blake visited the museum Friday afternoon.
"Nature has to take its course. It's beautiful. When we walked by, I said, 'I wish this was my backyard,'" said Moore.
"It looks nice from here," Blake said.
They're hoping the museum will find a way to prevent future flooding and keep its new look.
"Why don't they want to put a wall up? It'll save it," said Moore.
"The view from our gardens to the St. Johns River is part of what makes it so special," Blinn said.
The new plants will need about three years to grow to their full size.
Blinn said the museum's their goal is to maintain the gardens to make sure the plants have enough room to grow.
$1.3 Million: The @CummerMuseum has reopened its three gardens after nearly 2 years of reconstruction. The exhibit was destroyed by flood waters when #HurricaneIrma came passing through @ActionNewsJax @WOKVNews Hear about the upgrades made here at 5:30. #JAX pic.twitter.com/qoHwkLdmmj
— Jamarlo Phillips (@JamarloANjax) August 2, 2019
Cox Media Group
