GOTHA

If you're not a horticulturist, perhaps you've never heard of Gotha, a tiny rural enclave tucked inconspicuously north of upscale Windermere.

But if plants are your passion, you may know Gotha as the one-time caladium capital of the world and home of Henry Nehrling, a horticulturist who specialized in growing tropical and subtropical plants.

Nehrling, who moved to Gotha in 1884, established one of the most renowned botanical gardens in the world, as well as an experimental agriculture station for the study of exotic strains of bamboo, amaryllis, bromeliad, orchid, ficus and, of course, the caladium, which Nehrling was the first in Florida to grow and sell.

The famed botanist once described Gotha as "a dreamland, with almost untouched evergreen woodlands and hundreds of lakes glittering like mirrors." And that "dreamland" remains charming, although upscale homes are sprouting like, well, caladiums.

But the tree-shaded, one-block commercial district features the wood vernacular, circa-1920 New Life at Zion Lutheran Church. And across the street is Yellow Dog Eats, a funky restaurant that occupies a circa-1879 structure that had previously been a private home and a general store.

The post office still has a community chalkboard out front, where notices are posted about civic meetings and potluck suppers.

As for Nehrling's ramshackle homestead, dubbed Nehrling Gardens, it was almost torn down last year after the nonprofit Nehrling Society fell short in its bid to buy the home and the six acres surrounding it for a botanical park.

But a Winter Park woman who grew up in a foliage-raising family stepped forward late last year and snapped it up, then entered into a lease-purchase agreement with the society.