By SUSAN BLOWER
Indiana Correspondent

GAMBIER, Ohio — With a trickling stream in the background, visions of conifers, green-leafed hostas, the red shades of sandstone and graceful lily-pads on a blue lake dot the property.

The powerful calming effect of such scenes can be felt in the major estate garden founded in central Ohio by Ted and Ann Schnormeier.
Scot Long has attempted to capture the essence of the 75-acre serenity garden with hundreds of full-color pictures and detailed descriptions in his award-winning book, Schnormeier Gardens: Peace, Harmony and Serenity. Long is a former editor of Farm World, then called Farmweek.

The Schnormeiers tapped their own creative energy and designs as they incorporated Asian themes and architecture that they had discovered in their travels. The grounds feature waterfalls, streams, a Japanese teahouse, a Chinese pavilion, woods and various sculptures specially commissioned for the garden.

A former windows salesman, Ted convinced a Massachusetts architectural firm to use his plans for the Chinese pavilion, even though the firm didn’t think the plans were feasible.

“In the end they agreed to build using his design. And he sold them windows,” Long said, laughing.

The property was purchased gradually from smaller family farms that were mostly abandoned. Originally, Ted planted fields of alfalfa and stabled an Arabian horse for their daughter. At this time, the Schnormeiers had no inkling of an Asian garden. However, since the alfalfa was only mildly successful, Ted began to look at other ideas.

After building their sprawling house inspired by a Frank Lloyd-Wright design, the couple decided that converting a hay field into a classic style of landscaping would require some professional assistance.

They hired a landscape architect, Bob Stovicek, to plan an Asian stroll garden that would reflect their favorite elements from Chinese and Japanese gardens and landscape. A copper dragon graces their rolling garden, along with many other touches from the Far East.

Long, who documented their achievement with 312 photos in his 207-page book, said that he finds it hard to describe the garden adequately, but has settled on the phrase “stroll garden.”

“In a stroll garden, you walk around at a leisurely pace. A stroll garden relates to Old European gardens …

This Asian stroll garden is influenced by the Japanese and Chinese, a good mix of both,” said Long, who has a doctorate in anthropology and is a research associate with Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center.
The gardens are divided by theme and content into nine sections, including seven large garden areas, Long said, such as the woodland, Chinese Cup and meadow gardens.

“In visiting Asian gardens, the Schnormeiers felt the peaceful, calming effect. These places contain a lot of water. One of the purposes of their garden is water in motion in every part,” Long said.

Moving water through 75 acres was an engineering feat, with conversion or construction of five ponds, a couple of waterfalls and a stream garden, accented in red hues from sandstone and other rocks.

“Every garden in Japan has moving water. It adds serenity, a calming effect with positive ions,” Long said.

So many massive boulders imported from a quarry were strewn about the property early in the landscaping process that Ann began to refer to the gardens as “Schnorhenge,” a reference to Stonehenge, a prehistoric construction in England, Long wrote in his book.

The grounds are also noted for hundreds of rare and exotic conifers and other trees, many of which were planted by the Schnormeiers as 15-foot transplants, Long said.

Frommer’s Budget Travel magazine has rated Schnormeiers Gardens as one of the top 10 garden destinations on the planet, as well as “a monument to the unexpected.”

Schnormeier Gardens is open to the public during an open house in June and to groups, such as gardening clubs, by appointment. The last open house drew 5,000 people from across the United States and some from outside its borders.
For his efforts in capturing such a vast and lush place, Long has recently received the Independent Publishers Silver Medal award for his 2010 publication.

To ensure creative freedom of the project, Long and his wife, Cynthia, had founded their own publishing house, Cottage House Publishing in Mt. Vernon, Ohio.

Ten photographers contributed their photos of the gardens to the book, whose cover and lay-out was designed by graphic artist, Ian Moss. The hardcover also includes a bibliography and an index of 126 plant species found in the gardens.

Long is currently working on two books on water quality management and Amish culture and agriculture.

For more details on the book or gardens, contact Long at scotosu8@hotmail.com or by phone at 740-504-9662.