A Sip of Paradise
A Sip Of Paradise Garden was founded in early 2020 by Keyatta Mincey Parker, an award-winning mixologist who envisioned a space where hospitality workers could rest, connect, and recharge. What began amidst the uncertainty of the pandemic quickly grew into a vital community hub, offering horticultural therapy, wellness programming, and career support for bartenders and the broader service industry.
Through enrichment programs like Mindful Mondays, yoga and meditation, Workshop Wednesdays, Thirsty Thursdays, the Garden fosters both healing and opportunity, connecting members to jobs, resources, and one another. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, the Garden also provides a bartender relief fund to support members in times of need. Alicia Henn is the Garden Director, managing and sharing the workload with other members and volunteers.
The Garden continues to grow alongside its community, with eight recently added raised beds, and an organic approach that includes companion planting, beneficial nematodes for pest management, pollinator friendly practices, and maximizing yields by growing vertically and horizontally.
At its core, A Sip of Paradise is about more than what’s cultivated in the soil, it's about what’s cultivated in community, where connection, stress relief, and the simple joys of “playing in the dirt” take root.
Four Seasons of Dooryard Enchantment
Beginning in 2000, Alex Levy, EACA’s own Parks and Greenspaces Co-Chair, and resident “Gnome-in-Chief”, set out to transform a crabgrass-choked lawn and one towering sweetgum into what is now celebrated as the Four Seasons of Dooryard Enchantment! First came granite slabs from a nearby Arabia Mountain. Over time, various small boulders from the neighborhood and across the state joined the composition, creating an eclectic and deeply personal landscape. Today, native plants mingle with exotic understory maples, shrubs, herbs, and flowering perennials, forming a layered tapestry.
Describing his approach, Alex explained: “A gnome's enchantment has remained the guiding principle for decades” shaping the Garden’s appeal from the curb, but especially when viewed from the front door. That intention is unmistakable. While the garden enchants from the street, it is truly designed to be experienced from within. At every step, thoughtfully curated moments invite visitors to slow down and take it all in.
In lieu of a traditional front porch, Alex created a central gathering space: “ a sand circle and firepit evolved as the garden's centerpiece,” arguably “the best spot to sit and take in every angle.”
When asked about the most impactful lesson Gardening has taught him, Alex reflects: “Sometimes the best way to nurture growth is by getting out of its way.” We couldn’t agree more and we are incredibly grateful and honored to include this space on the 2026 Garden Tour.
Flat Shoals Farm
Flat Shoals Farm sits on over 2.5 acres of land once owned by the Marbut Family, proprietors of the Marbut & Minor General Mercantile Store, which opened in EAV in 1887. The home and barn structure were built by later owners, who established pastureland and kept horses. Three sons of more recent owners used a dirt horse track to race their cars, all 3 of which remain as historic relics in the forested section of the property. Be sure to look for them on the Tour!
The Garden is home to a food forest of over 2 dozen fruit-tree, nut, berry, bamboo varieties, vegetable and pollinator friendly plantings. A growing diversity of native plants, artist studios, and a secret forest teahouse are highlights of the Garden!
Gardener Bill Gould undertook extensive renovations to the original home and carriage house, replaced the barn ruins with a new structure, and continues to establish new gardens, invasive species removal and restoration of native species to the remaining forest. The property adjoins the Ormewood Forest Nature Preserve, a new City of Atlanta Park asset, currently under restoration and development in partnership with the East Atlanta Community Association, and Friends of Ormewood Forest group.
When asked about his approach, Gardener Bill Gould shared: “We are, at our best, stewards of Nature, not rulers over it. I aspire more than anything to be a restorer, steward and guardian of the land, but get much joy from landscape & hardscape design that seeks a harmonious balance with nature. The property is maintained as a National Wildlife Federation - Certified Wildlife Habitat, and more recently received Tree's Atlanta's City Forest Certification.”
Secret Garden House
Passersby to 795 Flat Shoals (coined The Secret Garden House) immediately sense something extraordinary lies beyond the gates! A low rock wall, and tree-lined raised planters guide guests to an enchanted entryway via a gated arbor-tunnel, adorned by regal lions! Stepping through this portal onto the hand-laid brick paths you will find yourself in an enchanted wonderland of fountain sculpture and Japanese inspired undulating curation. At every turn there is something more magical - a Cyprus tree growing from the moat-esque front door ingress complete with small bridge, a tiny outcropping of wood sorrel, perfectly “niwaki-ed” Japanese acers, and if you are especially lucky - the elusive turkey or peacock sighting! As your journey progresses you find yourself in a magical 3-acre landscape only accessible by invitation. A truly secret magical Garden oasis in the heart of East Atlanta!
Crested Boulder Arboretum
“Ten years ago my wife and I moved into our new home situated on a completely barren piece of property with nothing growing on it, not even a single tree. We determined we would change that, and did. Big time. What used to be a sterile and lifeless "lawn" has been transformed into nothing short of an East Atlanta Eden. The front is curated, clipped and manicured (i.e., as with a mullet, "business in the front," yet possessing a quirky sort of weirdness) while the back is a return to nature, where the wild things are, packed with trees and wild-growing grasses and other volunteer plants (i.e., "party in the back.") Visited by deer, bunnies, millions of birds, just as many rodents, random coyotes and maybe even the occasional chupacabra, Crested Boulder Arboretum is an everyday episode of National Geographic reduced to a third of an acre. Bees, butterflies and well-behaved humans are always welcome!”
Nature Conservancy on Bouldercrest
Tucked into the residential landscape is the Nature Conservancy on Bouldercrest! Part food forest, part farm, part school, and part cultivated garden, this 7-acre pocket of intention is more than a place to grow food, it is a living example of what happens when a community chooses stewardship over development.
The land itself tells the first chapter of the story. When faced with the possibility of being sold and developed, local advocates came together to conserve it, quickly forming a land trust dedicated to protecting its ecological and cultural richness. From that shared vision, the future goals for the Garden emerged, not as an imposition on the land, but as an extension of it, shaped by the same values that have preserved this land for the last near century. Two main themes emerged: reverence for the land and the healing benefits of land stewardship and gardening.
At the heart of this effort is Sarah Gormley, who approaches her work from the role of Steward. Her philosophy is grounded in community partnerships and land attunement. There is an understanding that the land carries a rich, layered history of collaborative guardianship. Sarah describes gardening as relationship: listening closely to the land, responding to its needs, and allowing its character to guide each decision. This reverence informs every aspect of her work and shapes the collaborative spirit shared among the many partners who help manage the space.
The garden itself reflects these values, prioritizing native plants, sustainability, and a deeply intentional approach to seasonal vegetables, herbs, and habitat restoration efforts. When asked what she hopes visitors take away, Sarah’s answer is simple: “Plant native!” Working with native plants it’s easy to see “how beautiful and rich a native ecosystem can be!”
Equally meaningful to her is the collaborative nature of the work. What she loves most is not a single plant or feature, but the collective effort, the many hands working in tandem, all grounded in a shared respect for the land. In this way, the Nature Conservancy stands as more than a cultivated space. It is a model of stewardship, a site of learning, and a testament to what can grow when communities choose to listen to the land, to one another, and to the deeper rhythms that sustain both.
