I agree, if you ever get over to the Daytona Beach/Port Orange area you should try to stop in at Sugar Mill Gardens. There is no admission fee, it's open from @ 7:00 a.m. until dusk every day. It's a really nice place for a morning or afternoon stroll in spring and fall but can be quite hot and humid during the summer months, even with all the shade from the huge oak trees!
Sugar Mill Gardens isn't a very large place, only @ 12 acres total; around 10 acres of maintained gardens (including the sugar mill ruins) and @ 2 acres of trails through a hammock area. The property was a tourist attraction back in the 1950's called Bongo Land or something like that. They still have the cement Dinosaur statues around the property, which children (and even some adults) get a kick out of.
I volunteered at Sugar Mill Gardens for a couple of years; there are no paid employees ... maintenance and upkeep is all done by volunteers on Wednesday and Saturday mornings. They have separate little garden areas for specific plants; Cacti/Succulent garden, Fern Grotto, Butterfly Garden, Herb Garden, Children's Garden, etc. These are a few photos I took at the gardens about 4 years ago:
The Sugar Mill area:
The property was originally called Dunlawton Plantation back in the 1800's and of course there were wars with the natives.
Misc. view and a pond with a Giant Ground Sloth in the background
A few of the Dinoasaur statues
