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A spiritual journey of discovery in a created natural environment known as Schnormeier Gardens

Travel along on a spiritual journey of discovery as Schnormeier Gardens unfolds amid the tranquil rolling hills of central Ohio-from fallow fields and pasture to a world-class garden in little more than a decade. Drawing from symbolic and interpretive anthropology, the author presents themes of cultural diffusion from China and Japan to the American Midwest in describing the imaginative process behind creation of an Asian stroll garden in the heart of Ohio. Arthur Frommer’s Budget Travel magazine rates the 75-acre Schnormeier Gardens among the top 10 garden destinations in the world, as well as “a monument to the unexpected.” Ted and Ann Schnormeier built their Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired dream home and then began integrating architecture and landscaping with a Japanese teahouse, garden house, and Chinese pavilion among numerous built-in ponds, waterfalls and streams. The book outlines each of seven distinct areas within the gardens, such as the Woodland Garden, the Chinese Cup Garden, and the Meadow Garden. Threads of peace, harmony and serenity are reflected metaphorically in the display ponds along with the Schnormeier’s vision of the garden. In addition to a visual portrayal of the gardens through four seasons, the book chronicles the historical progression of Schnormeier Gardens including the most recent addition of a garden section known as “The Quarry” featuring lush hanging gardens. Perhaps the true garden aficionado would find the large variety of rare and exotic conifers as the opus magnum of Schnormeier Gardens. Many of these unique plants are described and/or pictorially represented in the book–as well as referenced in an annotated plant index–along with the glossary and bibliography.  Recently, the book “Schnormeier Gardens: Peace, Harmony & Serenity” gained recognition as being among the top two garden books in the nation for 2010, earning an Independent Publisher Silver Medal.

Hardcover: 207 pages

Publisher: Cottage House Publishing (2010)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0982405901

ISBN-13: 978-0982405901