Welcome to the 2021 Medina County Historical Society Garden Tour
​July 10, 2021    10am-4pm

We hope you enjoy our self-guided tour of 11 outstanding Medina gardens, from large and lush landscapes to pretty pocket gardens, and everything in between. Proceeds from the tour benefit the Medina County Historical Society, and the ongoing restoration of our two historic properties, the John Smart House, and the McDowell-Phillips Home, as well as benefiting our archival collections of the history of Medina County.
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Ticket Information
$12 in advance (children 12 and under are free, and must be accompanied by an adult)
  • available online here
  • Tickets are also available at Miss Molly's Tea Room (140 W. Washington), and the Medina County Visitors Bureau (32 Public Square)
$15 day of, in-person only, at the John Smart House, 206 N. Elmwood
​tickets are non-refundable
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The guide map of the gardens and map of available adjacent parking will be distributed the day of the tour, at the John Smart House.

CLICK HERE for a public parking map​
Tour Details
  • This is a self-guided tour. Please feel free to visit the gardens in any order. Numbered signs will mark tour properties. The tour will take place rain or shine.
  • Attendees will pick up guide map and ticket at the John Smart House, 206 N. Elmwood Street the day of the tour, beginning at 9:45am
  • Wear comfortable shoes! The tour is largely a walking tour, and the entire route is roughly 2 miles.
  • Free on-street parking is available throughout the City, as well as in public parking lots around the Medina Square. On-street parking at each garden is limited.
  • Restrooms will not be provided on the tour route. There are public restrooms at Bicentennial Commons, on the NE corner of Court and Liberty Street. 
  • Please be respectful of homeowners property and stay on paths or walk ways.
  • Please do not pinch starts or samples of plants.
  • The Medina County Historical Society and homeowners on the tour accept no responsibility for any accidents that may happen on the tour. Tour attendees do so at their own risk
Refreshments and Rest Stops
  • Refreshments will be available at the McDowell-Phillips House, 205 S. Prospect Street. (the house will not be open for tours)
  • Public restrooms are available in Bicentennial Commons, (by 122 Public Square), across from the Northwest corner of Medina Public Square

Garden Descriptions

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Garden 2: A little spot of nature found in Medina's Historic Water Tower Neighborhood.  This small garden surrounding the historic home built around 1918 provides an abundance and a variety of flowers to entice nature to stop in for a visit.  Grab a seat in one of the rockers on the side patio or sit for a spell in an Adirondack chair in the back or up on one of the porches to take in the views of the wonders of this small garden. (KIR)
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​Garden 3: Stroll along the sidewalk in front of our historic corporate offices adorned with various cone flowers, lime thyme, beebalm, and many other pollinator favorites. As you wander along, take in the beauty of the pinks, yellows, and purples. Make your way around the side of the building and walk to the rear of the parking lot, where nature's haven beckons you from the distance. Standing tall, separating the garden from the hustle and bustle of everyday traffic, an apple tree beckons you to enter the several-acre Meadow, 5 years in the making!
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The idea started with the installation of honey bee hives on the front lawn of the A.I. Root homestead. Situated in front of our Production Facility, honey bees dance among the flowers that decorate the historic 19th century home. The newer hives are a nod to the 100 acre apiary that once covered the grounds. Since honey bees need food to make food, we added pollen rich plants to feed our hard working girls. (ROO)

Garden 4: The Munson House was built in 1877 for Judge Albert Munson,  and was originally located one block from the Medina Square on East Washington.  Cora Munson lived by herself in the home until her death in 1955  and graciously willed the home to the Medina Historical Society for the purpose of becoming their museum.  In 1980, the Munson House was placed on the National Registry of Historic Places by the National Park District, and in  1985 the Community Design Committee  raised funds to  save this historic home from being razed.  The home was  then moved to the current location on South Prospect and remained the offices of the CDC and the Land Conservancy until 2014 when it was sold to the current owners who  recently completed an extensive indoor and outdoor renovation to turn the office complex back into a home.   The parking lot that existed was removed and an inviting outdoor gathering  space was created featuring year-round  color including roses, azaleas, rhododendron, hydrangea, and a variety of other blooms.  The handicap ramp was removed and replaced with a vegetable and herb  garden.  The Munson House is an example of the “Home Again” movement where older homes are adapted to a modern lifestyle. The “Home Again” movement advances efforts to maintain the integrity and value of our historic neighborhoods and landmark buildings.  (RAM)

​Garden 7: An inviting space where individuals, families, and groups may grow produce for themselves and for community food banks, The Medina Community Garden and Education Center offers educational programs in partnership with OSU Master Gardeners, Browns Bees, and Medina County Herb Society to raise awareness on sustainability & healthy living through home gardening. Currently the garden hosts 18 individual plot holder beds that community members rent for their own use. 

The community garden provides spaces for three local charities: HOPE Recovery, Medina County District Library, and Catholic Charities. Local donors provide resources needed to fund the charitable plots.  HOPE Recovery incorporates the produce from their plot for their weekly Saturday night dinners. Medina County District Library uses their plot to provide healthy snacks to children that attend their after school programming. Catholic Charities places their produce in their food pantry to provide fresh foods to those in need.

This year OSU Master Gardeners are busy in plots 10 and 12. Plot 10 is a demonstration of edible landscaping and plot 12 is a home recipe salsa garden.

The garden is also home to Brown’s Bees. Sean Brown is the gardens beekeeper and offers weekly classes on beekeeping. A “Bees Bed” is located in plot 20 that provides bee loving flowers and herbs.

Last but not least, the gardens central bed overflowing with herbs is maintained by Medina County Herb Society. Their mission is to preserve the love of cultivating herbs and sharing their knowledge of the herbs ancient ancestries. (COM)
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Garden 8: This 3 year old garden was created after the current owners of this historic 1917 home removed over 15, 40+ year old yew bushes that surrounded the home. The front garden is an impressionists delight, featuring an English-inspired border garden that is filled with colorful annuals and perennials, ranging from full sun to full shade plantings. The back yard oasis with a brick terrace showcases different small water features, a fernery, numerous hosta, and focuses on color and texture. The lower rear garden is a work in progress. (WIE)
Garden 9: Spring Grove Cottage is a quaint single family guest house and home of Medina's premier Air BnB!  The home was overhauled from the ground up in 2019 and was custom designed and appointed with guest comfort and relaxation in mind. This retreat was originally landscaped by Grace Brothers Nursery and has recently been updated by Brandon Boltz of Zuk Landscaping.  Spring Grove Cottage features colorful container gardens for extra ambiance during the summer months. Guests can enjoy the clean, bright transitional decor inside the home and full use of the lovely patio, yard and firepit. (GOW)

​Garden 10: Cobblestone Cottage, built in 1910, is nestled in the middle of a 1/2 acre corner lot which has been entirely re-landscaped, on all four sides, over the past 2 1/2 years.  Pachysandra beds were created under both front trees, on either side of the driveway. These feature various Viburnums, Ligularia, and Field stone accents. In other beds, Russian Sage, Black Eyed Susan‘s, ornamental grasses, Dwarf Lilacs, Boxwood, and Taxus are featured. Last December, a Blue Stone terrace was added, with curving edge lines, to echo the graceful curves of the flower beds. Sixteen Western Arborvitae, a Japanese Maple, Norway Spruce, Japanese White Pines, and Cyprus Hinoki are other new additions to the property.  (ILL)

Garden 11: This charming 1942 home had a tiny front lawn.  An evolution of over 20 years has transformed it into a jewel box of a garden. Step up and come inside to view a special world of perennials, annuals and a new raised bed. You will be amazed at how such a small garden envelops you. (BAU)

Garden 12:   The layered front gardens were done by the talented previous homeowner but all of the perimeter gardens, front, back and side have been added. 30+ varieties of hosta, many daylilies, annuals and perennials make this garden colorful all summer long.  Keeping the deer at bay is a daily battle. (WOO)

Garden 13: Our home was built in 1834 on Public Square by one of Medina’s founders, and moved to its present location in 1937. Finding a cast iron widows’ walk at Brothers Antiques began our garden adventure. The widows’ walk was taken down from a residence in Cleveland that was torn down. We moved here in 2016 and completed the garden in 2018. My husband had to painstakingly build a deck to accommodate the fencing for it has to sit level to be put together. I wanted a center bed to place spring bulbs, Lillie of the valley, peonies, and periwinkle. The bed around the outside is ever evolving perennials because our old maple tree has lost a number of limbs over the years which keeps changing the amount of light. I find myself transplanting often and many of the plants were transplants from our former home. I like having ground covers where I can, so I have the periwinkle along with wild strawberries. (BAR)
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Garden 14: We moved into our home in December of 2017, since then we are constantly working on projects to continue to improve the inside and the outside.  When we arrived, the grounds were overrun with English Ivy covering much of the property, it was 2 feet deep and about 40 years old (our next-door neighbor grew up in our home, his mother planted had the ivy), numerous trees had died and needed to be removed, the shrubs and bushes were massively overgrown.  Little by little we worked our way around the property creating many gardens, replacing trees, and planting bushes. 

Many of the gardens are seen from the road by those passing by; however, we have a few special gardens in the backyard that bring a smile to our face.  The vast majority of the plants were shared by friends and family, transferred from my Mother’s garden, acquired during girl’s road trips to different garden centers, or were easily winter sown in containers.  
The garden behind our deck contains a water fountain with a walking path wrapping around the deck, the stones used for the walking path were found around our property, and most of these plants were from my Mother’s garden.   

The garden that wraps around the barn within the white picket fence area and the garden along the South side of the house has been a work in progress.  Many of these plants were given to us by friends and family, a lovely reminder of those that are special to us. 

We all have the same challenges with bunnies, chipmunks, and deer; we are no exception, you may see a few plants that were nibbled on. (KEL)