Descriptions for the 2020 Tour will be posted the day of the Tour, June 6th, 2020. Reading the descriptions below will give you an idea of the types and characteristics of gardens we had on the Tour in 2019.
The 25th Garden Tour was held on June 1st and 2nd, 2019. The Descriptions below detail the features of those gardens. Welcome to the 25th Year of Garden Tours in Hermann. We are happy you have decided to join us. The money we raise from our tours supports beautification in Hermann and scholarships in horticulture for Hermann students.
Please do not rely on GPS to find gardens. GPS is unreliable in both the town and country portions of the Tour. Use the maps provided. Also note that many gardens have uneven areas and historic or steep walkways and steps. While we are thrilled that you have decided to come on our tour, the Garden Club and garden owners assume no liability for those who choose to enter the gardens. The tour goes on rain or shine. Visits may be spread over Saturday and Sunday. We hope you enjoy the tour and will return next year; our tours are always the first weekend in June.
Welcome to our gardens!!
1. Garden Tour Ticket Sales at Hermann Welcome Center Hermann Welcome Center is located at the corner of East Second Street and Market Street (Market Street Plaza). Tickets will be sold here from 10 until 4 on Saturday and 10 until 3 on Sunday.
2. Hermannplatz. (Located behind the Hermann Welcome Center). After you purchase your ticket and pick up your map, look at the large landscape design of Hermannplatz. To reach Hermannplatz, walk out the front door of the Welcome Center and follow the sidewalk around the side of the building to the garden with the bronze statue of the German hero Hermann in its center. The Hermann entrance garden was funded by the Garden Club and other community organizations. This beautiful garden has year-round color. Plantings include Boxwood, Hydrangea, columnar Norway Spruce, Holly, Weeping Redbud, Itea, Fothergilla, Sedum, Grasses, and various perennials.
3. Demonstration Area at Deutschheim State Historic Site Pommer-Gentner House Garden Pass through the beautiful old iron gate and step back in time, greeted by gardeners in period attire. A traditional German four-square gemusegarten is planted with heirloom vegetable varieties, as it would have been in the 19th century. A small 1880s half-timber barn with historic tools and farm equipment will be open to explore. Watching the bee skep maker on Saturday will add to this garden’s unique appeal. Be sure and sample pink lemonade and Springerle cookies. Free heirloom gardening handouts will also be available. Guided tours of the 1840s Pommer-Gentner House and Strehly House Winery/Print Shop are available at 10:00, 12:30 and 2:30, for an admission fee.
4. Strehly House - Winery Garden Enter the passageway between the 1842 house and the ca. 1857 winery building. Pass through and down a flight of stairs (Watch your Head!) and emerge in the backyard, where you may walk beneath a shady arbor covered with grapevines planted over one hundred years ago. Admire the terraced garden, with its wealth of strawberries, rhubarb and asparagus. Lovely perennial beds front the picket fence surrounding the lawn. Look uphill for a stunning view of St George Catholic Church, and admire the vista of neighboring gardens across the back alleyway.
5. Hermann Hill Vineyard Inn & Spa. Limited parking adjacent to gardens on both sides of the Inn. Looking down from this vine-clad slope, one can envision 19th century Hermann, with its patchwork of vineyards, and tidy backyard kitchen gardens, among the brick homes and businesses of its German settlers. Observe the imposing rock cliff and its tumbling waterfall. Beds of carefully tended roses and perennials and the terraced Norton grapevines make this an especially harmonious hillside setting. Walk down the curving sidewalk on the north side of the Inn to view the Dorothy Shrader three-season garden and "Forest of Gongs." Enjoy looking at the rows of Norton grasses. Notes: Brochure in the holder by the Rose Garden at the top of the drive.Parking at the Inn is limited.
6. The Arches & Under the Linden Gardens. Street parking is available. Plein Air Artist Catherine Mahoney painting in garden; Copper Faeries by Alice Calhoun (Visitors may choose not to walk on the 19thcentury brick walkways and gravel paths as they are uneven. Those of limited mobility can see much of both gardens by going down the paved sidewalk to the west of 116 East First between the two houses. If you enter the gardens, please use caution as this garden was designed for wildlife. Birds, bees, squirrels, moles, and Rocky Racoon have been spotted here. A handout detailing plantings is available.) Enter through large squared arch next to the house and walk down the gravel path. To your left on the edge of the garden is a series of arches on which bloom Canadian roses such as William Baffin, John Cabot and John Davis and a large red Rose called Robin Hood. Walk around the patio and down the STRAIGHT brick walkway. The back gardens are, of necessity, shade gardens due to the large old trees. Beneath the trees shade-tolerant roses such as Magnifica and Bonica are grown. Other plantings in the interior gardens are astilbe, Jacob’s Ladder, columbine, pulmonaria, phlox, celandine poppy, lunaria, ajuga, and joe pye weed. You may walk to the upper “hidden/wild” garden if you wish and then return to the lower garden, walk around the cottage and go down the steps into the garden under the hundred+-year-old Linden tree. Areas of more sunlight in this garden can support roses such as Dublin Bay and Country Dancer. Walk out by going down the small sidewalk to the west of the house. The front garden and along the sidewalk has more sun-loving plants such purple coneflower, rudbeckia, irises, lavender, and roses.
7. H&R Block Courtyard.Street parking is available. Suitable for all visitors. Permanent perennials of orchids and Day Lilly, as well as annuals and ornamental grasses produce a charming colorful display in this X-shaped pocket garden. Flower boxes at the business windows and hanging baskets in each quadrant are a pleasing new addition this year. Following the paved paths across the garden allows for easy pedestrian access by both gardener and visitor.
8. Hermann Hill Wedding Chapel and River Bluff Cottages. Accessible parking can accommodate both small buses and vans. Breathtaking views of the Missouri River, a water feature and winding paths bordering well-tended plantings are hallmarks of this magical garden. The owners oversaw the planting of more than 2,000 River Birch trees. Little wonder that the gazebo and indoor chapel are popular wedding sites. Walk to the outdoor ceremony site and then through the gate onto the outcropping of rock where the bridal couples say their vows. Also, visit the nearby "Celebration Point" where pre-rehearsal gatherings occur. Read the Lewis and Clark historical signs adjacent to the parking area. Savor the unique ambiance here; this is what has made Hermann a special destination for 170 years.
Notes: Brochure in a holder in front of the Chapel. Parking available for all size vehicles
9. Bethany Springs Farm. Parking can accommodate both small buses and vans.
Visit with Plein Air Artist Theresa Long and view her Botanical Art
135 acres of this lovingly-tended farm is dedicated to providing native habitats for prairie, woodland, savanna, glade, and wetland native species. Relish the sights that 24 years of conservation practice can bring to land management. Row cropping has been replaced with prairie and wetland habitat. Woodland and glade restorations are gradually replacing hillsides formerly dominated by invasive species. Restored wetlands produce ephemeral pools replicating what existed prior to cultivation in the 1800s.
Note: The road leading to the next garden - the Tree House - may not be suitable for low-rise cars. If you are in such a vehicle, you may need to skip the Tree House, return to Hwy Z and then reach Garden # 11 by way of Lyon School Road by turning right off Hwy Z. It is just east of Horstman Road.
10. Tree House at the Hermitage.Parking along Bethany Springs Rd. Sorry, not wheelchair or disabled friendly. The theme of this natural landscape site expresses The Divine and utilizes a spiral and the seven chakras of Hinduism. The unique tree house is positioned as the second of the seven chakras found in a one and one half mile spiral spiritual meditation walk. This second chakra is associated with the element of water and the sacrum in anatomy. Co-creation is its foundation and visitors will find inspirational graffiti inscribed on the primitive tree house walls and door.
11. Lyon School Studio & Gallery Gardens. Grass and gravel parking. Sorry, not wheelchair or disabled friendly.
Visit with Plein Air Artist Julie Wiegand and view her paintings. Situated on 12 acres of prairie with delightful cut walking paths created by the owners; the visitor enjoys a serene sense of blended old world and new. The front garden complements a circa 1861 historic one room schoolhouse. Landscaping is a mixture of native and non-native annuals, prairie grasses along with edible plants and flowers.
All images and text copyright Hermann Garden Club, Hermann, Missouri, 2010-2020
