In 2017, we hosted a lovely group of thirty donors from the Chicago Botanic Garden President’s Circle for a late afternoon tour of the gardens followed by dinner in the greenhouse. The event launched the group’s several day tour of the area’s finest gardens. It was an immeasurable delight to share Waterperry with enthusiasts and experts from the CBG community and to note the pleasure they took in the experience, especially given their immersion in one of America’s premier public gardens. It was a thrill for us, and we treasure the thank-you letter shown below from Fred Spicer, the Executive Vice President and Director of the Garden.
Katherine & Olin,
Thank you sincerely for our recent tour & dinner of your marvelous farm & garden. Rarely is a singular garden vision so well-expressed, not to mention loved (which was obvious)!
Your articulation of spaces, and passage, was memorable and surely the result of careful study, and an intimacy with the land. I was captivated by the restrained repetition of circular forms amidst so much rectilinearity– it was most welcome to my eye, and never gratuitous. I wish I had had more daylight (and less hunger!) in which to examine your plant diversity more carefully. It was impressive!
Please visit us in Chicago if you can, & don’t hesitate to contact me for a tour.
Cheers!
Fred Spicer