Lakewold Gardens is one of the great gardens of the Northwest,
marrying classical European garden design with modernist scale and
perspective, and a distinctly Northwest appreciation of majestic native
trees and woodland beauty. Lakewold's pleasures are many, from its
pronounced seasonality to its harmony of formal and informal gardens to
its astounding number of rare plants. It is a gardener's garden, with
lessons and surprises for new and experienced gardeners alike.
Lakewold was the private garden of Eulalie Wagner. She began
developing the 10-acre garden in 1938. Wagner was very much an
in-the-dirt gardener and her vision and hard work touches every grass,
plant, tree, and lichen. Along the way, she received invaluable guidance
from famed landscape architect and lifelong friend Thomas Church, whose
influence can also be seen throughout the garden. The beautiful and
creative designs that they formed remain intact and well maintained
today, as do many original plantings and collections.
Lakewold was opened to the public in 1989. Its mission is to conserve
the gardens for the future while educating the public. This tribute to
the garden and its creators is richly illustrated with beautiful garden
pictures from each season, and from before Eulalie Wagner, through the
decades of her tenure, and up to the present.
