The Flowers house is truly a historic treasure. Originally owned by the Bakers of downtown Mt Dora's Baker Street. It was built in 1910 and has changed ownership only few times in the last 100 years. The William Capps family owned the house for 60 years. There is bench dedicated to him near the lighthouse. Mr. Capps died in 2012. His last remaining relative sold the home to Toby Turner, a local contractor, who had been doing work on 2 other homes on N Tremain St. The covid pandemic came along and upon finishing the 2 homes on N Tremain St., Toby took a break and graciously allowed the Flowers to finish the home.
Toby's crews had completed extensive demolition work on the home. They had removed all the debris, old plaster and lath from the walls, the old electrical wiring and plumbing. They had removed all the doors and the casements on the windows and doors. There was a very thin layer of old pink rubber padding all over every piece of beautiful wooden flooring. Pam and Andrew Flowers purchased the home in September of 2020 and finished renovating the home in September 2021. In December of 2020, Sebastian Flowers came home from college due to the pandemic and helped completely renovate the home. Pam, Andrew and Sebastian lived in the tiny cottage together until the work was finished. Then Sebastian and Jaime began living in the cottage. They began to care for the Flowers House by cleaning and renting the home out as a vacation rental. Sebastian and Jaime met their freshman year of high school in Key West and have been dating exclusively ever since. In August of 2023, Jaime's family suffered a tremendous loss. Her father passed suddenly from a heart related illness. Since then Sebastian and Jaime have been helping Jaime's mother and living with her leaving most of the care of The Flowers House to Pam and Andrew Flowers. Thank you for helping us maintain this historic beauty. We hope you enjoy your stay.
The Flowers House is a two story, five bedroom home - 4 out of 5 bedrooms has its own dedicated bathroom. The Flowers House also boasts shared front and back porches, a backyard area with a fire pit, a kitchen, dining area, breakfast nook, laundry room and living room. It is a large luxury stay, fit for all your friends and family. The house is large enough for gatherings and other activities, and it is only a few steps from downtown Mount Dora, a lively place that always has something going on. Mt Dora has amazing restaurants, shopping and nature.
Mt Dora truly has a worldly array of restaurant's. We have many different cultural cuisines within a few blocks of The Flowers House. There's Asian, Indian, Cuban, Mexican, German, Italian, Jamaican and English. As for fine dining, 1921 is truly a stunning restaurant featuring revolving art from the Modernism Museum. The restaurant embraces sustainable practices when sourcing ingredients working closely with local farms and purveyors within Mount Dora and the surrounding area, maintaining an allegiance to the local growers, producers and food artisans of Florida. Just make a reservation early and remember they are closed most of July and August for revamping menus, cleaning and much needed rest. Fine dining AND a sunset view can be found at Pisces Rising. They also have an amazing outdoor bar with live music on the weekends. I would also recommend The Goblin Market. It is a treat to celebrate any holiday there as they decorate with an artistic eye. It has been charming locals and tourists alike since 1996. The restaurant features three intimate, book-lined dining rooms, as well as, a beautiful bar and lounge. You will often find Mt Dora Locals having a craft cocktail in the cozy lounge upstairs. Speaking of secret upstairs fun, Maggie's Attic has wine tastings every other Saturday night. You will often find the locals here as well. And if you are into Craft Brewing check out the local Breweries. Wolf Branch Brewery is located in many of the surrounding towns, as well as, Mt Dora just 1 1/2 blocks from The Flowers House. There is also a new brewery in town called The Eden Abbey Brewing Community. I haven't been there yet. It is still very close at just less than a mile away, so you can walk if you are game, but, I would recommend the 3 minute commute. Drink responsibly of course!
I personally love the nature that surrounds us here. We have flowers and birds at The Flowers House. The Magnolia tree is new this year and already has 9 buds on it! We have a wild red rose garden at the very back of the yard. And I love the cardinals that frequent the bird feeders and sing every morning. The many accents of red throughout the house were inspired by these outdoor colors. Also outside, there are cool breezes almost all year long off the lake making having a fire in the fire pit a warming activity. Fire wood is always available at no charge for your enjoyment.
Lake Dora is a beautiful place to watch sunsets. It's an easy walk down 4th Ave to the Mt Dora Docks. You may even wow your friends by keeping the filters off during stunning sunset photo ops. Seriously, get down to the lake while you are here. There are fabulous sunset tours on the Rusty Anchor Tour boats. Also, the Mt Dora Canal on a boat is a must see during the day. https://blog.visitlakefl.com/5-ways-to-explore-the-dora-canal/
OR you could rent a cool new boat at Catboat Rentals. Drive your own 2-person powered catamaran on a guided tour across beautiful Lake Dora, through the world-famous Dora Canal and into Lake Eustis or explore Lake Dora, Lake Carlton and the Apopka-Beauclair Canal. You will learn some of the very interesting history of this area on this 2-hour narrated tour.
I love walking to the nature walk at Palm Island Park and I can't wait to rent a kayak at the new vendor down by Lake Dora. It has a kayak vending machine!!!There are many other parks within walking distance including Gilbert, Elizabeth and Donnelly. Get up and personal with anhinga, turkey vultures, alligators, turtles, frogs, lizards, cardinals, hawks and moorhens.
The Mount Dora Trails are fabulous mountain bike trails, the likes of which are very unique to Florida. We are located close to Adrenaline Bike Works on Highland where they will rent you a bicycle and sell you a beer from a local brewery. Don't miss what is being called "an epic adventure on wheels at the 50th Mount Dora Cycling Festival" this year. Hurry and get your reservation for October 11th to 13th, 2024.
We also hope you enjoy antiques and uniques! At the Flowers House you are just 5 miles from Renninger's Flea Market & Antique Center. Book early for May 12th Guitars and Cars and May 18-19 Antique and Vintage Fair. Explore the link for Renninger's total schedule of events in Mt Dora.
https://renningers.net/event-category/dora-events/
*Mount Dora Annual Christmas Walk- Friday December 6, 2024
**Note: Mt Dora starts putting up the town lights on November 1 every year and takes them down towards the end of January making it an enjoyable place to have your "alternative family Christmas gathering", if you know what I mean! We do set up an indoor Christmas tree every year with red cardinals on most branches.
*Join us on February 1 & 2, 2025 for the 50th annual Mount Dora Arts Festival
*Mount Dora Yacht Club's 72nd Annual Regatta will be March of 2025
A weekend of competition and camaraderie awaits. The Regatta welcomes many classes from Opti, and Lasers, Sunfish, Hobie Waves, Flying Scots, San Juan21, RS Aero, as well as an Open Portsmouth course.
*AND Every Sunday we have the most glorious GREEN MARKET!!! So close you can almost see it from our house. It is located on 4th Street at the permanently blocked off walking area in front of Sunset Park. We like to get fresh vegetables and Vietnamese dumplings on Sundays. And Andrew always enjoys the ENORMOUS PRETZELS from the European Bakery. Even though they are now $7 apiece, he still has been known to partake, seeing as it is his primary source of food on Sundays. Usually you can find fresh flowers sold from the back of a turquoise VW truck, suncatchers made of sliced and polished wood, pot pies, fresh Italian sausage, coffee, fudge, pottery, soaps and dog items for sale.
*Plus, DON'T forget the Blueberry Festival every April and many, many, more!!!!
We affectionately call Mt Dora the City of Festivals.
During the summer, our family loves going to all of Florida's springs. Cold, clear water bubbles up from artesian wells in many parks nearby. The closest one to The Flowers House is Rock Springs. Personally, it is my favorite being only $3 a car! Rock Springs Park is about a 15-20 minute drive from the Flowers House. Bring your own pre-purchased inner tube or call 407-553-4383 for more information. You must plan to get up early as the parks with springs fill up early. This is a delightfully cool way to spend a hot summer day in Lake county. https://www.floridastateparks.org/parks-and-trails/rock-springs-run-state-reserve
A true hidden piece of Florida is found right here is artsy Mt Dora. There is an amazing house painted like Van Gough's Starry, Starry Night. Read about it here. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/07/20/van-gogh-starry-night-house-dispute-settled/805711002/
Check it out during your visit.
*Although, I do not frequent theme parks of Orlando very often, I would be remiss in not letting you in on one little secret about Mt Dora. Disney World, Universal and Sea World are all just an easy 35 minute drive away from The Flowers House, proving without a doubt this home is located in one of the very best places to enjoy all the delightful fun central Florida has to offer.
https://cityofmtdorapipeband.com/
https://www.icehousetheatre.com/
https://www.stnicksholidayshoppe.com/
https://www.serendipitybrews.com/
https://youtu.be/lq5Krc8Va-0?si=sgtKxTmP9HaQHqkS
Mt Dora truly is Someplace Special!