ROCKING THE LANDSCAPE

Artist and gardener work to renovate historic rock garden

By Geri Laufer

e greatest gi of a garden is the renewal of the ve senses, and a historic Atlanta rock garden is once again providing just that.

e 1920s rock garden – complete with stone bench, waterfall and moated pond – is located on the historic Druid Hills estate originally owned by Equifax founder Cator Woolford at 1875 S. Ponce de Leon Ave.

e rock garden was originally designed by Philadelphia landscape architect Robert B. Cridland, but a er more than 50 years of neglect it was covered with indiscriminate rubble and leaf litter, overgrown with wisteria, poison ivy, mulberry and privet, while the stepping stone path had sunken and was unusable, and the water features no longer worked.

Cooper Sanchez, a multifaceted Atlanta artist and illustrator that apprenticed under well-known local landscape architects Brooks Garcia and Alex Smith, was appointed to return the rock garden to its original state with a grant from e Sarah Giles Moore Foundation.

e change is dramatic.

Sanchez did a bang up job of clearing away more than 50 years of neglect and growth, resetting the huge rock garden stepping stones, restoring the waterfall, recirculating stream and moated fountain, and replanting the garden with shade garden plants, all set within a cathedral-like forest.

Sanchez drew on his hybrid background of art and horticulture. He noted, “My planting goal for the rock garden was a vibrant garden lled with shade appropriate, traditional Southern plants, including many native species. Although the rock garden is man-made, I wanted the plantings to be as sympathetic as possible and make the rocks feel and look natural.” e current occupants of the property, the Atlanta Hospital Hospitality House, provides a “home away from home” to outpatients and relatives of patients hospitalized in 21 Atlantaarea hospitals in the former Woolford mansion. Lodging, meals and a supportive sta are on hand for guests during a crisis period.

Plantings will come into full bloom next spring and increase in beauty in subsequent years.

“We serve about 200 people a year and the restored rock garden is right outside the door,” said AHHH executive director Melissa Connor. “Its waterfall and stepping stone path provide additional solace and a serene, contemplative nature spot for families in health crisis.” e grounds of the Atlanta Hospital Hospitality House and the Frazer Center next door, including walking trails, picnicking and the restored rock garden, are free and open daily from dawn to dusk for both guests of the AHHH and to the public.