Cedar Grove and Rock Garden
Creating a visual legacy with trees and stone
MAP 5
Watch for a cyclone fence gate latched but not locked to the left on the walk down from the “Big House.” Johnston’s “Cedar Grove” was planted with cedars of varying heights, producing a pleasing undulating effect when viewed from the riding rink (visible on the 1929 map) and the caretaker’s house to the east.
A majority of the cedars still stand more than 80 years after planting. The trees were placed as part of a walk from the “Big House” to the family’s swimming pool complex about a quarter-mile away.
At the end of the portion of the cedar grove walk accessible to the public is the terrazzo foundation of a long-gone gazebo. Its hexagonal shape suggests the locations of its six columns.
A few yards further down the drive is a path leading to Estelle Borhek Johnston’s rock garden. Photographs of the rock garden have yet to surface, so park visitors will need to use their own imagination to imagine the shaded coolness in the middle of the day, the moss-covered rocks, native ferns, and other plantings favored by Estelle Johnston.