Treasure trove of Iowa gardens now in a stunning book

     

This lovely book (a great read during the Iowa winter)
 is available online: https://iowagardens.com

    

This is the front of our home last August. 
It's one of the most visible gardens on our 1-acre property.

    Garden treasures, they are a'plenty, in a gorgeous book published in 2020 by Beth Cody.

    "Iowa Gardens of the Past" covers hundreds of gardens planted over the course of 130 years. Through exhaustive research, Cody put together gardens, and photos, from all over the state and throughout history.

    It is recommended reading during Iowa's long winter months.

    Indeed, as Cody explains at the end of the book, truly wonderful, fantastic gardens must be documented for the ages in a book, newspaper or magazine. Most often, once the original gardener passes away, subsequent owners of the land do not share the same vision or passion. Hard evidence of a beautiful space is most often forever lost.

    Some of the oldest garden photos that Cody discovered were from the estate of Charles C. and Mary Louisa (Duncan) Putnam, of Davenport. The Putnam's land was located in the 900 block of North Division Street, south of where the Putnam Museum now exists.

    In 1863, the Putnam family moved to a country home called "Woodlawn," located on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River and about two miles from the center of the town, Cody writes. The 18-acre site was designed by an Englishman in the style of his homeland, a lawn planted with trees and shrubs. Mrs. Duncan also had a conservatory which contained flowers.

    There also is a fascinating section in the book of the Joseph Bettendorf gardens, which spanned 17 acres with expansive views of the Mississippi River. The 28-room grand mansion (now the private Rivermont Collegiate school) was centered on the vast property. It also featured a greenhouse, 150 feet long and 40 feet wide, a swimming pool and pool house, a rose trellis said to be about 120 feet long, ornamental ponds and fountains. 

    This must have been a fantastic site, indeed. Eventually, Joseph Bettendorf died in 1933, and his wife, Elizabeth, lived in the home until her death in 1941. Parts of the estate were sold for housing developments which exist today.

    One of the few gardens in Cody's book which can be seen with some original plantings is the Musser Japanese Garden in Muscatine, Iowa. Laura Musser was the daughter of Peter Musser, who made his fortune in lumber and in banking. She married Edwin McColm, a department store owner, and the couple moved to 1314 Mulberry Ave.

    Cody writes that American gardeners grew fascinated with Japanese gardens, and Oriental styles, from the 1890s to 1920s. With some hired help, the McColms planted a Japanese garden surrounded by yew plants and including a Torii gate. This design is typically found at the entrances to Shinto shrines in Japan. There were ornamental ponds, rock gardens and stone steps tying all the parts together. It originally included bronzed cranes, a small shrine with a Buddha, and stone lanterns in the Japanese style.

    Japanese gardens fell out of style, obviously, in World War II. 

    This property was donated to the City of Muscatine in 1965 and is now the Musser Art Museum.

    Nonetheless, Laura Musser McColm's garden basically exists as designed, with some changes for safety. Today, Cody writes, "the yew trees have attained a gnarled ancientness and the perennial borders are lovely."

    The book is more than 300 glossy pages that explain the evolution of gardening in the state, including the growth of companies like the Earl Ferris Nursery of Hampton, Iowa; the Earl May Seed & Nursery Co. and Henry Field Co., both of Shenandoah, Iowa and Inter-State Nurseries of Hamburg, Iowa.

    I loved this book. Cody's research includes surprising news that a house I have driven past, for now 29 years, was included in what was called the Iowa State Extension Rural Landscaping project.

    This home is at the corner of 220th Street and Utica Ridge Road. Owned by Charles and Emma (Petersen) Kreiter, it was one of hundreds aided by the Extension service's landscapers and landscaping students. The program started in 1915 and continued through World War II. 

    "Although these are landscapes rather than ornamental gardens, they show an important effort to bring horticultural beauty to Iowa farms," Cody writes.

    This book arrived as a gift to me from my daughter (a young gardener in Ankeny, Iowa) and it included a matching book-mark.

    For more information, check the website: Iowagardens.com