Historic gardens Archives - Lasting Landscapes by Carol

My Lifeline

February 3, 2026

by Carol Verhake with 14 Comments Historic gardens

Last year I spent weeks scanning old slides and photographs, most of them from my paternal grandparents. My grandfather, Martin Verhake, was an avid photographer and a passionate gardener. My grandmother, Josephine—whom I called Nanajo—was a meticulous scrapbooker and record keeper. Together, they documented their life with remarkable care, leaving behind a detailed record of their home and, especially, the gardens they created over the years.

split black and white photo record keeper and photographer — Nanajo recorded the story in words, Martin captured it in photographs. Today, I continue the tradition—documenting life and garden moments in my monthly blog.

As I scanned the images that revealed my family history, I realized how deeply the Michigan garden they created in retirement shaped my own story.

I first recognized that connection during my initial landscape design course at the Morris Arboretum in Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania. By then, I had worked in healthcare IT for decades, but felt energized by my newly discovered passion. For our first assignment, the instructor asked us to draw a garden that had made a lasting emotional impact. Without hesitation, I drew my grandparents’ garden in Freeport, Michigan.

When I shared the drawing with my parents—who knew the farm intimately—they told me I had captured it perfectly. What surprised me most was realizing that I had been only seven years old when my grandparents sold the farm and moved to Florida. Just seven, yet the image of that garden remained crystal clear, and my memories of exploring it felt just as vivid.

My grandfather planted the “circle garden” with annuals every season: pansies in spring, petunias in summer, and mums in fall. I eagerly awaited each visit to see the new patterns he designed. I raced down the gravel paths to the frog pond, my favorite destination, and almost always caught a frog. Years later, when I returned to the farm and met its new owners, I felt a surge of joy watching the owner’s daughter kick off her shoes, jump into the same frog pond—still there after all those years—and catch a frog herself.

cirlce garden with pink petunias surrounded by white ones — The circle garden evolved through the seasons, bursting with petunias each summer.

young boy with net catching frogs and frog in net in insert — My dad catching frogs in 1935 and one caught in 2022 by the current owner’s daughter. Nearly a century apart, the joy of interacting with nature endures.

I also loved the cut-flower gardens. Delphiniums and peonies stand out in my memory, along with a dedicated rose garden near the outdoor grill where countless family gatherings took place. Today, in my Berwyn, Pennsylvania garden, I grow divisions from those very peonies. They remind me of my family’s legacy and the passion for gardening that runs in my blood—passed from great-grandparents to grandparents, from grandparents to parents, and finally to me.

purple and white delphinium in a garden bed — Spikes of vibrant purple delphiniums brought color and height to the cut-flower garden.

Verhake Family portrait early 1960s with young carol holding pink peony — With a peony in hand, I stand before the gardeners who inspired me most—my parents and grandparents, deeply loved and deeply missed.

split photo young blond girl in pink in rose garden with red roses — Standing in the rose garden at my grandparents’ farm and photographing flowers on a trip—just as my grandfather did before me.

Split photo on left muddy landscaper with blue jacket and right old black and white photo of young man in work clothes — An uncanny resemblance—my father in his work clothes, and me in mine.

elderly man in gray suite standing in garden with a pond in front — Though I never knew him, my great-grandfather—shown here—nurtured a love of gardening that blossomed through my grandparents and parents.

This journey down memory lane has been both a privilege and a joy. It left me deeply grateful for the photographs, the memories, and the inherited passion to create and photograph inspiring garden spaces—like the garden that has held a place in my heart since I was a young girl.

Beauty is Therapy

August 20, 2023

by Carol Verhake with No Comment Healing Gardens Historic gardens

I believe nature can heal. Apparently, I’m not the first person to think this. The Friends Asylum in Philadelphia opened in 1813. Founder Thomas Scattergood provided patients with private rooms adorned with windows, liberty to walk the institution’s grounds, and work in the farm and kitchen gardens. The Northern Michigan Asylum located in Traverse City, Michigan, which is now a lovely Botanic Garden, was built with this same philosophy, many decades before the discovery of psychiatric drugs. It’s founding Medical Superintendent, Dr. James Decker Munson, wanted patients to be treated differently. Instead of using physical restraints or confining patients to dark quarters, Munson placed vases of fresh flowers throughout the facility and made sure each person’s sleeping quarters offered lots of natural light and views to the outside grounds.

In his 1912 essay John Burroughs said, “I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in tune once more.” If you’ve ever declared that you need to take a walk outside to clear your head, you can relate to this statement. During the seemingly never ending COVID lockdowns, many people felt isolated. Yet for others like me, access to nature gave us a respite. We were reminded of the critical role that gardens play in our survival.

A Garden Conservancy News article from September of 2022 featured an article on Healing Gardens. I learned of several healthcare facilities that include both indoor and outdoor gardens designed to heal visitors both physically and mentally. For example, The Crown Sky Garden at Chicago’s Lurie Children’s Hospital includes an indoor garden on the 11^th floor with pathways, piped in forest sounds, LED lights that create images of moving water and a breeze maintained by large ceiling fans.

I’m glad to see a conscious effort to include gardens as part of a building plan, especially since it’s hard to measure the value of a garden on a spreadsheet. We all know that gardens are expensive to implement and require constant maintenance to look their best. Yet in my opinion, we must give every person that connection to the natural world. When I see someone speeding down the road unnecessarily, or being unkind, I think to myself, “That person needs some garden therapy.” And I mean it.

Please join me in doing your part. Open your garden to visitors and expose them to the healing that beauty can provide. Gather a bouquet of flowers and present it to a friend. Or just post of lovely picture of your garden on social media. Do what you can to help heal mankind and make our world a happier, healthier place. Beauty is therapy and we all need more of it.

Preserving the Past

May 26, 2023

by Carol Verhake with 8 Comments Historic gardens

I recently learned about an amazing cherry tree located in West Chester, PA just minutes from my home. When people think of flowering cherry trees, they often think of the tidal basin in Washington DC and the corresponding cherry blossom festival each spring. Even I was unaware that some of the saplings gifted to the US in 1912 as a symbol of friendship made it to my local area. But that is the case.

Thomas Butler, a member of the House of Representatives at the time, received two saplings and planted them at his house on Miner Street. The most spectacular specimen of the two greets those walking down the sidewalk or driving by. The current owners of the Butler House care for the property and the historic trees planted there. Despite their best efforts, the tree is in decline.

With a lot of help from Andy Schenck, nursery owner and local plantsman extraordinaire, I set out to propagate the tree for future generations. Andy and I took cuttings from the tree after it flowered, placing them in a storage bag with damp paper towels so they wouldn’t dry out. From there we cut off some of the foliage to reserve the plant’s strength and dipped the stems in two different kinds of rooting hormone.

Cuttings were placed in a rooting chamber that receives a misting every twenty seconds or so. Now we wait. If all goes well, in several weeks, the cuttings will begin to produce roots and we’ll have new saplings to share. If we are successful, our first recipients will be the owners of the Butler House who have been such great stewards of this amazing tree and its historic roots.

Behind the Scenes

July 31, 2022

by Carol Verhake with No Comment Historic gardens Public Gardens

Every time I visit a public garden, I’m impressed. The displays are usually spectacular, nearly weed free, and looking as fresh as they day they were planted. Did you ever wonder how this gardening miracle was achieved?

I never really thought about it until recent visits to the Chicago Botanic Garden and the Biltmore Estate where my group received ‘behind the scenes’ tours. At the Chicago Botanic Garden, we saw the quarter mile long area where plants are grown and cared for in as ideal conditions as possible. Plants that like morning sun are placed on the East side, while plants preferring strong sun are on the West. Some plants grow in houses that maintain humidity at a certain level while others live in arid conditions. A number of plants are grown outside once the weather is warm enough, while others remain indoors in tightly controlled environments.

Special mum displays for fall are started months earlier and trained along forms. Seasonal back-up plants are ready and waiting to replace any like specimens that aren’t performing up to snuff. I would love to have the ability to swap out plants in my garden like that. Wouldn’t it be great to replace that crispy Astilbe that suffered through a drought with a perfectly fresh replacement? Of course, most homeowners don’t have the time or the budget to do the kind of work performed by hard-working public garden staff members. Knowing how much effort and money went into creating such special places, made me appreciate them even more.

I was also inspired by the plant trial gardens and breeding programs. Often public gardens have plant curators who seek out unusual plant material from around the world. They breed plants that can be used successfully in home gardens. Chicagoland Boxwood is an example of this; the Chicago Botanic Garden introduced this cultivar as a cold hardy boxwood that maintains its green color in the frigid Illinois winters.

At the Biltmore Estate we learned how the staff is honoring this historic garden. When plants need to be replaced, such as a diseased Eastern Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) hedge, the staff references the original design created by Frederick Law Olmsted. Since Olmsted’s design recommended American Holly (Ilex opaca), that is the plant the staff will use as a new, native and disease resistant hedge. I think most public gardens do their best to honor the spaces we visit and make them welcoming to all.

I respect and admire the work our public garden staffs do and hope you’ll think about the talented gardeners that keep them looking so good for our visits. And don’t hesitate to use some public garden strategies in your own landscape. Replace plants that aren’t performing well with fresh specimens that will grow better in the space. Consider how visitors see your garden and do your best to make it welcoming to all. Most of all, enjoy your garden and all those public (and private) spaces you visit.

A garden in ruin

November 8, 2020

by Carol Verhake with 2 Comments America's Garden Capital garden ornaments Historic gardens

I have fond memories of touring ancient Roman gardens in Italy and Greece and recall imagining how spectacular these structures must have been in their glory. I also marveled at how magnificent they were in ruin. Imagine how I felt during a recent, private tour of Louise duPont Crowninshield’s ruin garden at Hagley, which immediately transported me to those amazing places in Europe.

Hagley is situated along the Brandywine River in Delaware on the site of the former Eleutherian Mills gunpowder factory founded by E. I. du Pont in 1802 and considered the birthplace of the du Pont company. After the mill was shut down in 1917 due to a catastrophic explosion, Louise, great granddaughter of E. I. du Pont and the last du Pont to live on the estate, created a garden on the 20-acre steep slope that descended 90 feet from the house to the river. It’s hard to say exactly what inspired her to build a ruin garden on the site, but it was clear she wanted to create a space for entertainment and amusement. Strong willed, she rejected the architect’s idea of leveling the space and putting in pastures for sheep. Thank goodness for us as the garden is unique in many aspects.

Louise was not at all concerned that her garden did not conform to the current style or tradition. She ignored the common practice of situating formal gardens near the house and informal gardens distanced from the main residence. She utilized surviving components from the mill such as evaporation cauldrons and structural walls as integral parts of her design and then added statuary, mosaics, columns and pools. Supposedly Louise’s husband requested that the worst masons be assigned to the job so the walls would be crooked and appear distressed. Chains and chisels further weathered the materials and gave them an authentic ruin look.

I feel honored to have witnessed this marvelous space with a rich history that teaches us many lessons. The significance of honoring a space’s history. The importance of making a garden your own – something that pleases its creator first and foremost. And the parallels we find in gardens that mimic life and death or in this case life and ruin.

Rediscovering America’s First Botanic Garden

February 26, 2020

by Carol Verhake with No Comment gardening books Historic gardens

“We are still in Eden. The wall that shuts us out of the garden is our own ignorance and folly.”

Thomas Cole

More than half a million people flock to New York City’s Rockefeller Center each year to admire the Christmas tree and watch ice skaters glide along the famous rink. Others prefer to get into the holiday spirit by watching The Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall. I suspect that most of these visitors (and perhaps even you) have no clue that beneath their feet once stood America’s first medicinal botanic garden.

Lasting Landscapes Rockefeller Center Ice Rink — The popular Ice Rink at Rockefeller Center

I became aware of David Hosack and his Elgin Botanic Garden when I heard Victoria Johnson speak at a Hardy Plant Society event last year. She talked about her book American Eden, a biography of Dr. Hosack, who was the personal physician present at the duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr in 1804.

Lasting Landscapes David Hosack — A portrait of David Hosack

By reading American Eden I learned how Dr. Hosack treated patients in the early 1800’s through innovative plant combinations. He used juice from his orange trees to ward off scurvy and determined that figs were not only delicious, but also could be made into a poultice to soothe infected skin. He realized that Peruvian bark along with heat would cure an infection, a more effective alternative to the bleeding technique that was so popular at the time.

Hosack established his 20-acre Botanical Garden in 1801 and named it Elgin after the town in Scotland where he grew up. He cultivated unusual plants from around the world and utilized his garden as a living classroom where he taught the next generation of botanists and doctors as a professor at Columbia University. He even built a large conservatory where tropical and tender perennials were sheltered from adverse weather conditions.

A rendering of the Elgin Garden Conservatory

Hosack poured personal funds into the growth of the garden until at its prime, the garden featured over 2000 plant species. Realizing he could not afford to sustain it, Hosack sold it to New York State in 1811 with hopes it would be maintained and further developed. Unfortunately, the garden fell into neglect and was eventually consumed by New York’s urban expansion.

Although the Elgin Botanic Garden no longer exists, I hope you’ll pause to remember it during your next visit to Rockefeller Center. Take time to dine at The Elgin, a casual eatery situated on what would have been the southwest corner of Hosack’s Botanic Garden, which honors the garden and its founder. The Elgin brings the garden to life again with numerous plaques and botanical prints of plants that would have been growing on the site in Hosack’s day. Then seek out the small sign in the channel garden on Rockefeller Center’s concourse and pay your personal respects to an important man who devoted his life to New York, people’s health, his nation and nature.

Botanical prints line a wall at The Elgin

A swanky interior invites you to eat, drink and be merry.

The channel garden at Rockefeller Center

Hosack plaque NYC — The hard to find plaque that pays tribute to David Hosack

Note that in August of 2021 a reader learned that the hard to find plaque has been temporarily moved for some garden renovation work. An identical plaque is located outside the Elgin restaurant. Hopefully, the original plaque will be replaced soon. In the meantime, visit the channel gardens and The Elgin to pay homage to an amazing man and an integral part of our history.