Friends of Mackay Gardens and Lakeside Preserve

09/08/2026

On August 21, Polk County Master Gardeners joined thousands of volunteers across the Southeast for the Great Southeast Pollinator Census.

Lori Moffett spent 15 minutes observing a 2x2 section of blooming firebush in the Florida‑Friendly™ Demonstration Garden at MGLP , and counted 26 pollinator visits. Chris Lucasavige tallied 82 visits on the dune sunflowers!

This citizen‑science project, launched in 2017 by University of Georgia Extension, helps track pollinator activity, boost habitat awareness, and grow entomology knowledge among everyday observers.

07/30/2026

It’s that time again — Ask a Master Gardener!
Join us Monday, August 3rd and bring all your gardening questions. Whether you’re battling bugs, planning fall veggies, or curious about native plants, we’re here to help.
See you there!

07/01/2026

Have a gardening question you’ve been meaning to ask? A Master Gardener will be on hand Monday, July 6th at MGLP to help with plant care, landscape ideas, and Florida‑friendly tips. Visit the Ask a Master Gardener booth, located near the Florida‑Friendly Demonstration Garden.
See the flyer for more information and join us for this monthly learning opportunity.

06/27/2026

This photograph, from the Alexander Mackay Collection at the State Archives of Florida, shows a McCormick tractor cultivating one of Alexander Mackay’s local citrus groves. The large wheel shields were designed to help the tractor move through the grove without damaging low-hanging branches or fruit.

The man operating the tractor is believed to be Jack Morley, son of property manager John Morley. Mechanization like this helped transform Florida's citrus industry during the early twentieth century, allowing growers to cultivate larger acreages more efficiently.

Photo courtesy of the State Archives of Florida, Alexander Mackay Collection.

06/25/2026

It’s always fascinating when a piece of Mackay history surfaces far from Lake Alfred.

This 1890 clipping from the Halifax Herald captures the marriage of Alexander Mackay of Dundee, Scotland, and Edith Burns of Halifax, Nova Scotia — a full 25 years before the couple purchased the Lake Alfred property that would one day become part of Mackay Gardens & Lakeside Preserve.

The article describes a beautifully decorated church, a fashionable Halifax audience, and a ceremony filled with music, flowers, and the kind of elegance you’d expect from a family whose story would eventually stretch across continents. It’s a reminder that long before the Mackays shaped the landscape around Lake Rochelle, their lives were already woven into a much larger international story.

06/20/2026

In the late 1920s, the Mackay family played a quiet but meaningful role in supporting community life here in Lake Alfred. Edith Mackay, wife of Alexander Mackay, and Grace Mackay, his daughter‑in‑law, were active members of the Lake Alfred Woman’s Club, which met in the clubhouse pictured in this photo.

During this time, the club launched a beautification project to improve the lawn and grounds around their building. To help them get started, Alexander Mackay donated $50, a generous contribution for the era, to establish their new beautification fund. He also provided plantings from his own Lake Alfred property, giving the club both the resources and the inspiration to begin transforming the space.

It’s a small chapter in the larger Mackay story, but one that shows how deeply the family was woven into the early civic and social life of Lake Alfred.

06/18/2026

In the 1980s, Susanah Mackay‑James captured these photos of the Cathedral of Trees on the Mackay property in Lake Alfred, a space designed decades earlier by her mother, Rosemary Mackay‑James, granddaughter of Alexander Mackay. Rosemary created this Florida version as a tribute to the original Cathedral of Trees on the Mackay estate in Scotland, designed by her grandfather. A member of the Royal Scottish Horticultural Society, Rosemary shared his deep love of nature and carried his horticultural vision into a new generation. After Rosemary’s passing, the Cathedral of Trees slowly declined. But thanks to the dedication of MGLP volunteers, the space has been restored and cared for.

The Cathedral of Trees at Mackay Gardens & Lakeside Preserve is a living connection between Lake Alfred and the Mackay family’s roots in Scotland.

06/12/2026

One of the most intriguing spaces inside the historic Mackay house is the upstairs room long known as the “billiards room.” Despite the name, no billiards table ever sat here. Instead, this room — part of the home’s original floor plan — became a flexible space the Mackay family used whenever the house was full of visiting relatives and friends.

At times it served as an extra bedroom, at others a quiet retreat tucked above the main floor. One of its most distinctive features is the exterior door that opens onto an upstairs porch overlooking Lake Rochelle, offering a private view of the water.

06/04/2026

06/03/2026

If you’ve spotted a splash of color along the MGLP trails, you’re seeing the work of our own local artists: Bill Bissett, John Dame Jr., and Margaret Wheaton.
They’ve transformed several benches into vibrant, trail‑side artworks that make every rest stop a little more special.
Be sure to look for them on your next visit.