Year Round Beauty

The Defries Calendar Garden is lovely to behold and very clever too. The garden and 19th century farmhouse were donated by our childhood physician, Dr. John Defries and his wife Elizabeth of New Paris, Indiana.




The calendar garden is laid out using a brick path that is 365 feet around, marked with every day of the year in a clockwise direction. There are two axes that cross the garden as paths representing the Spring and Fall Equinoxes going East-West and the Winter and Summer Solstices going North-South. This divides the garden into four quadrants representing the four seasons, each beginning on a Solstice or Equinox. In the middle is a pond and on the ends of the axes are buildings representing in their structure, the season that begins on that date. There is a green house for early Spring, an open structure with a second level deck for viewing the Summer garden from above, a Victorian garden house with doors that open toward the garden on nice Autumn days, and to be completed - an enclosed rooom with fireplace for observation of the Winter garden from a cozy vantage point.







The entry arbor.




Balls on pedestals are placed near the date of each month's full moon. A special blue orb is put in place in the event of a bluemoon.




The view across the pond from spring to autumn. Late autumn and winter to the right have evergreens and red twig dogwood for interest when snow is on the ground.




Spring and early summer in bloom.




Midsummer follows on the other side of the solstice aisle.







A hint of summer in full bloom.




The outer ring of the garden is primarily plants native to Indiana blooming by season from spring ephermals to shrubs and evergreens that provide an interesting display throughout the winter.


Here at flickr are many more beautiful photos of the calendar garden in all seasons.