Given the right amount of time, dedication and resources, a backyard garden can be transformed into a garden of dreams.
In May, I chatted with Rita Powell, of Munster, about her love of Eastern philosophy and culture paired with the ancient Japanese art of bonsai trees and gardening.
It might seem eclectic to find such fine-tuned and manicured Japanese landscaping in Northwest Indiana, but the elegant, green-thumbed enthusiasm of Powell, who brought snapshots to share with me, is mild compared to that of Woolworth five-and-dime store heiress Barbara Woolworth Hutton.
Hutton, who inherited a family trust worth nearly $1 billion in today’s figures, had hobbies that included collecting jewelry and art and a fondness for Japanese gardens. After she became bored with her 35-room mansion with its 12 acres of English gardens outside London, she and her fourth husband, Cary Grant, donated it in 1945 to the U.S. government to become the home of the U.S. ambassador.
Powell and I chatted about how Babs, as Hutton was tagged by the press, wasted no time to spend $2 million over six years to build a new estate in Cuernavaca, Mexico, that she called Sumiya, unveiled in 1959. She designed it to be a Japanese palace for herself and her seventh husband, Prince Pierre Doan. Hutton had it surrounded by perfectly sculpted bonsai trees. She also had her gardening staff and house servants dress in traditional Japanese garments.
Powell has become an expert on the pruning and care of bonsai. She is a member of the Munster Garden Club, and she estimates she has at least 40 of these garden treasures. One of her bonsai was shaped by Roy Nagatoshi, who owns Fuji Bonsai Nursery in California. Some of his bonsai creations were used in the 1989 film “The Karate Kid III.”
Powell’s garden at her Munster home will be included in the 12th annual Munster Garden Club Garden Walk, scheduled for June 22 and 23. Powell particularly is proud of the miniature gardens she has created for this year’s displays.
The Munster Garden Club was founded in 1954 with a mission “to stimulate knowledge and love of gardening, native trees, wild flowers and birds native to Northwest Indiana.”
In addition to Powell’s intricate landscapes, also among the nearly dozen homes for this year’s walk is the Kaske House on Ridge Road in Munster, which is a museum operated by the Munster Historical Society. Wilhelmina Kaske moved into the former inn with her husband and converted it into the family home before much of the original structure was destroyed by a fire in 1909.
The house was rebuilt, and the Kaskes’ daughter, Helen Bieker, and her husband, Lawrence, inherited the house and surrounding acreage. In 1986, Helen sold the property to the Munster park board with the stipulation she be allowed to remain in her home until her death. When she died in 1988, it became Heritage Park.
Carole Cornelison and the women of the Munster Historical Society have been busy buying flowers and plants at local nurseries to make certain the gardens and yards are ready for visitors.
“We have a beautiful gazebo, which is a favorite for photos, as well as an arbor and benches in the natural gardens that surround the wooded area behind the house,” Cornelison said.
Tickets for the Munster Garden Walk are $10 and available at Dixon’s Florist and Gus Bock’s Ace Hardware, both in Munster. The garden walk is from 4 to 8 p.m. June 22 and from noon to 4 p.m. June 23. Go to
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