The recent passing of astronaut John Glenn takes me back to the 1960s — the dawn of the Space Age. This period in our history had a profound impact on garden making. The Sunken Garden at West of the Lake Gardens in Manitowoc provides a great example of a Space Age garden — easy to care for mono-culture beds, geometry, modernist inspired furniture and an Asian influence.

"I love being in my garden. There is movement and pause. Then another plant beckons and moves my eye further along, until it comes to rest on a shrub or tree. These ribbons of plants flow along the paths, taking their turn in the process."

A few years ago, Catherine Davis decided to take on the task of restoring her historic Neenah garden. Her work has resulted in a series of outdoor rooms inspired by New Jersey childhood memories that are lush with rhododendrons and dogwoods.

Catherine's work combines formality and historic techniques with elements that are uniquely her own, like the Arts and Crafts philosophy of the early 1900s. This garden has become a shared passion for Catherine and her 94-year-old mother, Connie Young.

Great houses deserve great gardens. Wisconsin examples include The Paine Art Center & Gardens and Taliesin.

A garden can be a destination by itself. It can also invite people to stay longer, offering a place to get one’s bearings before and after visiting the house. The garden examples above complement their houses and set them in context.

Under a blanket of snow, Tom and Sue Brinkman’s yard blends in with the neighborhood. But in summer, their garden explodes into a unique tropical paradise.

The only hint this time of year that their garden might be different is a greenhouse in back that is bursting with hundreds of exotic plants.

Old trees, with their solid trunks and graceful branches, have a majestic quality.  We admire their strength; we appreciate their shelter; we wonder about all the things they have witnessed over their long lives.

“We all love trees. Old trees have meaning. So what if you could grow a tree in the palm of your hand? How amazing is that? That is what bonsai is about,” said LeRoy Frahm, a founding member of the Fox Valley Bonsai Society.

Winter is a good time to dig into garden books to sharpen ideas for next season. This year, however, I'm finding it fun to put those books down and get inspiration by visiting with local gardeners. Without all of the garden chores and blooms to distract me, I can focus on how gardens make us feel, what plants are doing well, and garden memories that shape our designs.

Shakespeare's fans have taken advantage of the author’s many plant references to create gardens inspired by the Bard himself — Shakespeare Gardens!

We have one right here at Björklunden vid Sjön, Lawrence University’s northern campus outside of Baileys Harbor. This garden, managed by Door Shakespeare, is nestled within a stunning 450-acre campus on over a mile of Lake Michigan shoreline.

Harvest festivals, like our Thanksgiving, are a tradition shared across cultures worldwide. Visiting Jacqui Wright’s property is a reminder that gardens, even smaller ones in town, give us reason to give thanks for their ability to nourish the body and support our community.

In just a few years she has created an ornamental urban homestead — from fresh vegetables in season to maple syrup, canned vegetables, dried herbs, and jams that can be enjoyed year round. There is even room for a cutting garden. The design is formal; geometric beds work with the architecture of her historic 1923 home.

Tudor England, a period that spanned 1485 to 1603, gave us William Shakespeare and English conquests in the New World. Rulers like Henry VIII and Elizabeth I made England a European power.

The Tudor period also brought us the knot garden. Inspired by the geometry and repetition of Italian landscapes, designers placed these gardens in relation to the house so that they could be seen from above.

Nate and Roberta Selle both fell in love with gardening when they were young. While their first gardens consisted mostly of vegetables, their current Neenah home has a welcoming garden packed with flowers, color and fragrance.

"The passion is in the flowers, in working with the beauty," explains Nate. Roberta adds, "I love the fragrance. The garden brings a simile to my face every time I am in it."