Past Perfect...

When it comes to old houses, it’s not often that you’ll find one with its original garden elements. Wood arbors and fences eventually succumb to decay. Styles change and homeowners may remove trellises, statuary and old cement urns. It was a pleasant surprise then to discover that the original Victorian fountain was still present outside the 1872 home that is now the Baert Baron Mansion Bed and Breakfast up in Zeeland, Michigan right outside of Holland.

The owners, Vic and Anna Karen VanDeventer, have lovingly restored the mansion and have painstakingly maintained the cast-iron fountain, which features frogs and other critters in the basin and on the pedestal. "It's a lot of work, but it's a piece of history and it's original to the house," Vic VanDeventer says. You can see more images at the B&B's web site: http://www.baertbaronmansion.com/ (We recently stayed there while visiting local nurseries and the Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids.)

This illustration below is from the 1884 Ford County (Illinois) atlas. The house is similar in style to the Baert Baron Mansion, but note what's out in front--a cast iron fountain. These water features graced many "luxury" homes owned by weathly Victorians from the 1870s on but many are long gone, the victim of changing fashions.

If you'd like to learn more about creating timeless cottage gardens and about Victorian plants, I'm teaching the class, Create Your Own Cottage Garden on Wed., July 11, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. at The Morton Arboretum in Lisle. Here’s the class description:

Exuberant gardens overflowing with old-fashioned flowers--that's the vision that comes to mind when we thing of sun-drenched cottage gardens. Shrub roses, foxgloves, poppies, pinks, forget-me-nots, hollyhocks, vegetables and herbs all have a place in this one-of-a-kind garden. Discover bed and border designs and plant combinations that can help you get the look inspired by the English cottage garden. (Cost is $21 for members. For more details or to register, go to mortonarb.org or call 630-719-2468.)

Happy Gardening!

-- Nina Koziol, www.thisgardencooks.com