Horace Ashenfelter, once breaking a world steeplechase record, walks from Glen Ridge Street every few weeks during the growing season to unlock Freeman Gardens and then spends an hour or so tending its rose beds – one of only a small group of volunteers maintaining this remarkable garden designed by Ethelbert Furlong in 1935 at the tail end of English estate gardening era.
Freeman’s garden, comprising approximately two residential lots, was created to complement his elegant suburban house. Its main east-west axis is formed by an elaborate rose garden – drawing attention back towards an elevated terrace wall where dolphin-shaped fountainhead is poised to fill a basin – while also being flanked by Japanese plum trees, beds of lilyturf, hollyhocks and sweet williams.
Today’s garden features approximately 60 roses as well as lilacs, peonies and camellias, along with some lilacs, peonies and camellias. A shady area behind the rose beds features old-fashioned white-flowered hostas and iris; in spring a tulip tree blooms first before May brings with it an explosion of blooms for roses; then in October and November comes another display from our collection of heirloom and hybrid narcissi plants!
Freeman Gardens features a shaded area with a waterfall and pond, as well as an arbor adorned with trellises – ideal for sitting or reading under its cool shades. Freeman Gardens provides a peaceful getaway from city noise and hustle!
Sherry hopes visitors come not only to enjoy the flowers and plants in her garden but also gain knowledge on their care. With benches and bins full of compost and various seeds available for visitors to use, books and magazines available as well, Sherry wants people to come experience both the pleasure of enjoying them as well as learn something about how they grow and are taken care of.
Sherry has dedicated the last 30 years of her life to cultivating her garden as well as being a nurse, and believes it should bring people peace and beauty in an otherwise stressful life. “This garden provides a haven of relaxation from everyday stresses.”
About the Author
Greg Freeman is an author, editor and publisher of Southern Edition – an online publication dedicated to America’s South. His nonfiction writing has appeared in various magazines and encyclopedias, such as Classic Films, Classic Gardens (an examination of gardens seen in movies like Suddenly Last Summer and The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone); Jenks Farmer Publishing Crinum; Chriss Rainey Honored with Newly Named Daffodil (an introduction to a new book on Crinum); Chriss Rainey Honored With Newly Registered Tazetta Hybrid Named After Her)). He is an amateur visual and recording artist as well as lifelong horse lover. Additionally, he breeds and races Belgian draft horses, owning one named Authentic who won three races (Haskell Stakes, Kentucky Derby and Breeders’ Cup Classic before retiring to Spendthrift Farm as stud).
