Theme Garden Design - Nostalgia Garden

Wiese Acres Nostalgia Garden

The older I get, the more nostalgic I become.  A stroll through the Nostalgia Garden brings memories of many happy times and has at least one thing to remind me of something I didn't like so much - just in case I ever become so nostalgic that I think I might like to relive that part of my early years.

Wiese Acres Nostalgia Garden

A nostalgia garden should be filled with things that evoke memories of simpler, happy times in life.  Most of the things in the Wiese Acres Nostalgia Garden are remnants of our childhoods.  There is the cast iron pumpjack like I used to wrestle with at the windmill, the galvanized tub that served as my husband's bath tub until they moved to a house that had a fully equipped bathroom, and the log bench formed from the remains of the ancient, massive cottonwood tree my brothers and I played around as children.  An old cream can stands sentinel in the garden and reminds me of trips to town to the Arrow Creamery, where there was always sure to be a dish of ice cream out front for me after the week's cream production was delivered to the back.

Wiese Acres Nostalgia Garden

Most of the memorabilia in the Wiese Acres Nostalgia Garden are readily identifiable to anyone who sees them and for many, it evokes similar memories.  The meaning of other things, such as the stepping stone path, are known only to a few, giving it a special touch for those who recognize it.  (My mother was the ultimate "make do" person and created much beauty from whatever was available to her.  Thus, the pathway through the Nostalgia Garden is a "make-do" pathway, created from an assortment of other projects' leftovers.)

The trees and plants are also reminders of simple, happy times.  The Golden Willow tree is surrounded by lilies of the valley, reminding me of visits to an elderly friend's garden as a child.  In the spring, when those lilies are blooming, I can close my eyes, take a deep breath of their wonderful fragrance and almost hear Mom and Mrs. Hannan visiting about the gardens and what their plans for the day would be.  The quaking aspens offer their rustling sound in the slightest breeze, reminding me of times spent camping with my sister and her family in the Colorado mountains. 

You'll find descendants of iris and peonies that were brought to North Dakota from Missouri by my grandmother in the early 1900's.  There are daylilies divided from Mom's garden and a duplicate of the Hansa rose she grew just outside the dining room window of the old farmhouse.  You'll see an occasional wood violet tucked in among the other plants, a reminder of Dad's love of walking along the river on the farm and enjoying their perky little violet colored flowers.

North Dakota native sunflowers and native tall grasses form a "wall" across the north side of the garden, creating a cozy "room" for the seating area.   Those sunflowers and grasses waving in the breeze serve to remind me of the pastures and hayfields where I spent many wonderful hours playing and working as a kid.

And the reminder of the things I didn't like so much?  A poultry waterer and feeding trough - just to remind me how much I disliked the chores of caring for chickens.

There are no right or wrong things to incorporate into a nostalgia garden.  Whatever creates a sense of happy nostalgia for the gardener is the right thing for that garden.  Of course, with plant materials, you need to be mindful of their light, water, and soil needs, but otherwise, the sky's the limit.