Hidden Landscape Gems The Wanda Franklin Entry Garden

Hidden Gems Worth Visiting

The Wanda Franklin Entry Garden

by Heather Prince

Fernwood Botanical Garden 13988 Range Line Road, Niles, MI Fernwoodbotanical.org

Tucked along the St. Joseph River in Niles Michigan, Fernwood Botanical Garden is a sanctuary of 105 acres of gardens and natural areas. Welcoming visitors to the many garden spaces, forests, streams, prairie restoration, as well as indoor art galleries, fern conservatory, and education center is The Wanda Franklin Entry Garden. Fernwood began as the country home of Kay and Walter Boydston and became a public entity in 1964. The Visitor Center was opened in 1989. In 2013, it was time to revisit the plantings and revitalize the space and 2014 saw the installation of the new design.

The Fernwood team chose to work with Roy Diblik to refresh the space and create plantings in the New American style to showcase a Midwestern aesthetic that was also sustainable and low maintenance. “The entrance was in need of replanting. We added 10 more Whitespire birch while most other existing shrubs and perennials were removed,” reported Steve Bornell, Manager of Facilities and Grounds. “An existing gravel path and stone slab steps were reconfigured. Master plantsman, Roy Diblik of Northwind Perennials Farm came and staged groupings of native and non-native perennials in a meadow matrix pattern for which he is known. Volunteers assisted the Fernwood horticulture staff with planting.” The grove of Whitespire birch provides light shade, links the plantings together, and creates dynamic verticality with their elegant white trunks. Nestled among the trees is a kinetic sculpture by Fritz Olsen. “Diblik’s stylized meadow design features groupings of perennials that seasonally play off of each other like Salvia nemerosa ‘Carodonna’ and Achillea ‘Moonshine’ and later in the season Solidago facelata ‘Golden Fleece’ and Symphyotrichum oblongifolium ‘October Skies.’ Sesleria autumnalis and various sedge species fill in the blanks while random Fritillaria in orange and yellow poke their heads up early in the season,” said Bornell. Since the new plantings were installed in a previously landscaped area, few challenges were encountered. The biggest hurdle was keeping the plants weed-free while they established and maintaining the balance of species and cultivars.

Bornell finds “The garden is actually fairly low maintenance now that it’s established. Aggressive sedges such as

Carex glauca and the Sesleria autumnalis can overrun adjacent perennials and have to be occasionally thinned. Roy returns annually to monitor the plantings with the horticulture staff recommending what to edit out and what to introduce if needed.” In addition, Carol Line, Executive Director, was delighted to report “Fernwood was honored to be one of 21 gardens showcased as part of an exhibit in 2019, Celebrating New American Gardens, on the Mall at the U.S. Botanic Garden in Washington D.C. A panel featuring Fernwood’s Wanda Franklin Entry Garden was part of the exhibit. Visit www.USBG. gov/NewAmericanGardens. New gardens or existing gardens with a new feature were among those considered and selected.” When you visit, make sure to pause and enjoy the evershifting textures and flowers that welcome you to this extraordinary gem in southwest Michigan.