Meadow Brook’s historic Rose Garden is in full bloom! This oval-shaped, unique garden was a favorite of Matilda Dodge Wilson, and one of the many planned gardens Meadow Brook originally designed.
In 1925 while the inside of the historic mansion was being built, Matilda and Landscape Architect Arthur Davidson were designing multiple gardens that would complement the estate’s architecture. The original garden plan included a lake with two private islands, a bowling green, and a vast variety of gardens in every shape and style.
Meadow Brook was finished in 1929, right before the stock market crashed and the garden design was never fully realized. In the 1940s and 1950s, Matilda and Alfred Wilson worked to actualize some of the gardens from the original plan into the estate, including the unique Rose Garden.
Matilda and her head gardener, Herman Siewert, worked together to grow a variety of roses in the garden. Siewert would even plant flowers that would match the color schemes of events Matilda planned to host at the estate.
After Matilda’s death, the gardens of the estate went years without being cared for, until Siewert contacted a chapter of Romans National Farm and Garden to rebuild the Rose Garden and many of the other gardens around Meadow Brook.
Now the Rose Garden and its siblings are managed by volunteers from the Meadow Brook Garden Club. The Rose Garden is a favorite place for First Look wedding photoshoots and our Winter Wonder Lights Holiday light show that transforms the garden into a spectacular sight—ending with the Pegasus Fountain coming to life in a dramatic and inspiring finale.
Whether you’re here for a tour, the holidays, or an event, visit our Rose Garden in bloom or decorated for the winter. And stay connected with our Estate Stories, which offer a special look at the Estate and the people who make Meadow Brook so remarkable.
Watch below to see Meadow Brook Curator Madelyn Chrapla tell the stories of the historic rose garden.
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