The Garden Conservancy is dedicated to “preserving exceptional private gardens” and hosts a yearly tour of nearly 400 outstanding gardens across the country to benefit national and local preservation work. This year Heynssens + Grassman has again been honored with a garden in The Garden Conservancy’s 11th annual Open Days Program for the Midwest region.
The garden is like a gem that glistens as you turn and explore its many faceted sides. Set around a 1926 Lannon Stone Tudor house positioned back on the lot, the garden incorporates the concept of outdoor rooms. Each room, from the water garden to the outdoor fireplace, is planned to both draw you in and entertain you with a dazzling display of a variety of plant materials, while providing garden vistas from most rooms of the house. The plantings are arranged to provide privacy, create space, and to display a variety of the owners' favorite plants. The collection of plants is diverse considering the size of the grounds. The garden style could be called "planned informality." Special attention was given to combining different textures and exaggerating the existing changes in the topography, incorporating many elements of stone, varying elevations, and a koi pond. The placement of the pond is unique in that it is adjacent to the main entry of the house. The sound of water is a directional element used to draw you through the garden path from the main gate to the front door, which is hidden as you enter the garden. A boxwood-hedged herb garden adjacent to the three-season sunroom is the one formal element used in the garden design. It acts more as an architectural space, helping to draw the house into the landscape. The garden is truly a Midwestern masterpiece inspired by elements of the classic English garden.
The Garden Conservancy is dedicated to “preserving exceptional private gardens” and hosts a yearly tour of nearly 400 outstanding gardens across the country to benefit national and local preservation work.This year Heynssens + Grassman has been honored with a garden in The Garden Conservancy’s 10th annual Open Days Program for the Midwest region.
This year’s Open Days garden tour on Saturday, July 16th features the garden of Dora and John Aalbregtse, in Winnetka, Illinois, and is pictured on the cover of the Open Days directory. The garden, designed, installed and maintained by Heynssens + Grassman, Inc. was also honored earlier this year with a Gold Award from the Illinois Landscape Contractor Association.A large Koi pond, herb garden, and casual perennial borders embrace the Tudor-style stone house built in 1926. and recently renovated. This is the first year that the garden will be featured on the walk.
