WELCOME TO DEFRIES GARDENS
Home of the Calendar Garden
Below is a search box, not for the internet but for this site only. So if you have a flower in mind or plant that you want to look up type it in below and it is should come up as long as I have it on the site that is. I hope this makes it easier for those who want to see certain things.
Welcome to my personal take on DeFries Gardens. My name is Pam Peterson and I have worked at the Calendar Garden for Jon Cutrell, the designer, since the spring of 2009 and I have loved every minute of it. This website is my personal one on the garden and I am not great with punctuation, grammar and I make many mistakes but I hope you will overlook that and enjoy the photos I have taken, thank you !!
We have this wonderful garden thanks to Beth Defries' generous donations that
to this day still continue even though Beth passed away December 16, 2011.
And thanks to Jon Cutrell for creating it, and maintaining it as well.
* Address for the garden is: 17477 Cr.46 and its 1.25 miles east of New Paris, Ind. Hours for the garden Jan., February, November, December 9am-6pm
March, October are: 9am-7pm
April- September are: 9am-8pm
May through August are: 9am-9pm
* If you are interested in having a Wedding or some special event please contact the
Elkhart County parks dept. at (574) 535-6458 if you contact me by email I will just have to refer you to the Ekhart County Parks Department.
I have just included a page for other parks in the Elkhart county parks so please check that out too if you have time.
* The construction of the winter building has started as of August 13, 2014. When it is completed all four buildings will be done. But the garden will never actually be done it will be an on going process. I am going to include a link below for you to click on to keep up with the progress through my photos or you can use the drop down menu at the top of the page and get there that way. So please check out the photos which include Day 1 and beyond.
* It might be a good idea before coming to the garden on the weekend if you check the Upcoming Events page as we do have weddings throughout the summer and the garden will be reserved for those during the weddings or events. So check that out if you want and do come to visit !
If you would like to check out a page soley about the Winter building progress click on the button below and it will take you to that page. Its worth the look to see the progress !!
Where is the Garden ?
Above is a map of where the garden is located. I hope this helps you find it.
Something new as of 2015 by the Kiosk is a an Iron ranger for donations to help the garden grow. If you care to donate please feel free to drop in some money. Thank you !
'Before' photo of the Garden to be
This is a photo that Jon Cutrell took when the site for the garden had just been cleared and the ground worked up by Steve Bell from Bell's Nursery in Wakarusa. It was taken June 27, 2003. Here is a link to Jon's flickr page with more information about the picture and the beginning of the Calendar Garden:
After photo of the garden
Here is a photo to show you what it looked like in 2008 and below is a link to Jon's flickr page that gives more information. Thank you !
Photos of Beth DeFries and Jon Cutrell
This is who we can thank for the beautiful garden; Jon Cutrell on the left and
Beth Defries on the right sitting outside the fall equinox building. Thanks
to Beth's donations and Jon's hard work we have this slice of heaven to enjoy for many
many years to come. Beth passed away Dec. 16th of 2011 and she will be missed !
Beth Defries on the right sitting outside the fall equinox building. Thanks
to Beth's donations and Jon's hard work we have this slice of heaven to enjoy for many
many years to come. Beth passed away Dec. 16th of 2011 and she will be missed !
Beth DeFries and Jon Cutrell, the people responsible for the wonderful garden we all love and cherish. Picture taken shortly before Beth passed away in 2011.
This is Beth Defries in 2010. She is standing outside the fence by the Onondaga
Viburnum. I always liked this photo. The pot she is holding is a little plant of some sort she had
wanted so I potted it up for her.
Viburnum. I always liked this photo. The pot she is holding is a little plant of some sort she had
wanted so I potted it up for her.
This is a photo of Jon and I in the May section which is not blooming because it's October!
This was taken by a very nice garden visitor and I can't remember her name at this
moment. If you see this, please email me your name once again.
We were in the process of moving a few ajuga 'chocolate chip' from the November section.
This was taken by a very nice garden visitor and I can't remember her name at this
moment. If you see this, please email me your name once again.
We were in the process of moving a few ajuga 'chocolate chip' from the November section.
THE CALENDAR GARDEN
The Calendar Garden has been constructed on a 13 acre parcel of land on the Elkhart River, east of New Paris, Indiana. The property was the home of local physician, Dr. John DeFries and his wife, Elisabeth, for fifty years.
When her husband passed away, Mrs. DeFries donated the property to the Elkhart County Parks. The Calendar Garden is funded by Mrs. DeFries and was installed by landscape designer, Jon Cutrell, who is responsible for the concept and design of the garden. The garden and property are available for special events such as weddings.
If you are interested in having your wedding in the garden or on the property please call the Elkhart County Parks Dept. at (574) 535-6458. They can give you the pricing and information you need. Thanks !
When her husband passed away, Mrs. DeFries donated the property to the Elkhart County Parks. The Calendar Garden is funded by Mrs. DeFries and was installed by landscape designer, Jon Cutrell, who is responsible for the concept and design of the garden. The garden and property are available for special events such as weddings.
If you are interested in having your wedding in the garden or on the property please call the Elkhart County Parks Dept. at (574) 535-6458. They can give you the pricing and information you need. Thanks !
The Defries Homestead
This is an old photo of the Defries house taken in the 1940s. It has been added on to since this photo, a garage and also the porch is larger. Behind it is the old summer kitchen that they moved a short distance away and is now used as a shop/office/garage by the park. John and Beth lived in this house over 50 years The yard is open to the public and you can walk around and see many things, including large trees that Beth Defries planted long ago.
CALENDAR GARDEN LAYOUT
Above is the garden layout which shows you the design of the garden.
I am going to add a button with a link that will take you to Jon Cutrell's
page on Flickr called Diagrams, Drawings & Articles which is where I got
this diagram. Please check it out it has wonderful information.
I am going to add a button with a link that will take you to Jon Cutrell's
page on Flickr called Diagrams, Drawings & Articles which is where I got
this diagram. Please check it out it has wonderful information.
Below is a button to click on that will take you to Defries Gardens on Facebook please check it out.
It was created by Jon Cutrell, the designer of the garden.
It was created by Jon Cutrell, the designer of the garden.
Below I am also including a button that is a link to Jon Cutrell's Calendar Garden on Flickr. It is very informative and educational and has some great photos as well.
To those of you who have questions on the photography policy at Defries Gardens I will add a button with a link to the Elkhart County Parks policy on this subject matter.
Below is some of our garden etiquette. Please read it.
Please go to the top of the Home page and check out the many pages on this site. I have all the months, January through December, with many photos of the garden during those months. I have other pages with photos that garden visitors took and sent to me to have posted as well as photos of garden visitors.
I have included a gardening tips page, as well as the plant list for the garden on a page as well. So please check out the many pages of photos. I hope you enjoy this site ! Their is the Calendar garden also on Facebook and its Jon Cutrell's the Creator and designer of the Calendar garden. I will post a blue button with a link to take you there below. Thank you for looking, Pam Peterson
I have included a gardening tips page, as well as the plant list for the garden on a page as well. So please check out the many pages of photos. I hope you enjoy this site ! Their is the Calendar garden also on Facebook and its Jon Cutrell's the Creator and designer of the Calendar garden. I will post a blue button with a link to take you there below. Thank you for looking, Pam Peterson
Construction on the Winter building is under way and I have a page dedicated solely to the progress of that. I thought I would give you a shortcut here so just click on the button below and it will take you to that page so you can see how its going. In my opinion it will be really something very special to see.
Comment section
If you would like to leave a comment about this website feel free to do so below. This is new so we will see how well it works. I am new to this so bare with me. Thank you for looking !
