A leisurely stroll through the magnificent gardens will take on average around one and a half hours, but for those with a little more time on their hands there is so much more to do and see. In the Garden House you can sit a while over a coffee or browse through a plethora of informative gardening books in the custom-built library section. However, the purpose of this article is to look at the early history of Leu Gardens and, in particular, the part Harry P Leu played in its development.

At the heart of the the gardens in The Leu House Museum which is on the National Register of Historic Places. Guided tours, illustrating turn of the 20th century living, are available to visitors and last around twenty minutes.

Originally The Leu House was simple farm-house with five rooms built in 1888 by the first landowners, the Mizell family. Subsequent owners made further additions to the property and Joseph Woodward completed the house as it is seen today.

After Woodward’s wife died in 1928 the estate went into trust and was rented out until it was bought by Harry P Leu in 1936 for the pricely sum of $40,000.

Harry P Leu was born in Orlando in 1884 and became an extremely astute and well-respected businessman. After graduating from college he worked locally for a boiler repair company called Cain & O’Berry. Leu worked his way up through the ranks before taking time out in New York to develop his business acumen even further.

On returning to Orlando, Leu eventually gained control of Cain & O’Berry and changed its name to Harry P Leu Inc, which then became an industrial supply company with offices in Miami and Tampa.

He bought Leu House in 1936 and set about major renovation work, which included the installation of central electricity and plumbing.

Away from the house Harry Leu had a great interest in plants and flowers. With his wife they embarked on several trips around the world bringing back many of the exotic plant varieties seen in the gardens today.

In 1961, the house and their beautiful gardens were given to the city of Orlando. This was Leu’s way of giving something back to the community where he had made his fortune.    The deed stipulated that the estate would always remain a botanical garden, for enjoyment and education of the people.  

The Leus hoped the house and gardens would attract people from all over the world. If they had been around today they would have seen that dream become reality.