Garden book author to hold signing at Tribeca

By Teresa Stowell of the Daily Times staff
Monday, May 5, 2008 12:33 PM CDT

After touring over 400 gardens throughout the state last summer Mary Lou Santovec had a good idea of the ones worth seeing and included descriptions and photographs of these gardens in her latest book called “A Trails Books Guide: Wisconsin Gardens and Landscapes.”

She will be holding a book signing at Tribeca Gallery Cafe and Books on Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon.

Santovec, of Jefferson, is a writer and editor and has published books and articles on everything from collectibles to construction equipment. Her husband, Rick Santovec, accompanied her last summer on her quest to tour the most unique and interesting gardens in the state. He took many of the photographs displayed throughout the book.

“I did a lot of research before and after we went out and toured the gardens,” Mary Lou Santovec said. “I used the criteria of what defines a public garden. The book includes gardens at zoos, health care facilities, schools, landscapes and nature preserves.”

A total of 122 gardens selected from the 400 gardens the Santovecs visited throughout the state are featured with details of where they are located and the best time to visit. She said the first 10 gardens selected for the book were easy to choose, including Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison and other well known gardens, but after that it took many hours to decide which gardens would make the cut.

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One local garden Mary Lou Santovec said was an easy decision to feature in the book is the Watertown High School International Peace Garden.

“This is the only high school garden in the book and the only garden from Dodge and Jefferson counties,” Mary Lou Santovec said. “It's unique because of the sculptures, the hardscapes, the amphitheater and the intent. When I learned about the history behind its creation I knew right away it would be in the book.”

Mary Lou Santovec describes the peace garden and talks about the late Steve Jacobson, a former social studies teacher, who came up with the original idea for the garden.

“All gardens by their very nature are peaceful. However, the two-acre International Peace Garden enjoyed by staff and students at Watertown High School takes the peace aspect a bit more literally,” she wrote.

Although Mary Lou Santovec was not a garden expert when she began working on the book two years ago, she contacted garden clubs, master gardeners and UW-Extension offices from throughout the state to find information on some of the most unique and interesting gardens in the state.

Although she enjoyed touring all of the gardens and has a difficult time saying which one is her favorite, she said visiting the Foxfire Botanical Gardens in Marshfield was a pleasant surprise. The Foxfire is owned by Stephen and Linda Schulte who turned the 15 acre reforestation effort into an Asian influenced botanical garden known for its more than 1,000 varieties of hostas.

After creating the book Mary Lou Santovec said she has a whole new outlook on gardening and landscapes.

“You can tell a lot about a community's priorities by these gardens,” she said. “Some of the communities that were heavily industrial at one point have some of the nicest gardens.”

Mary Lou Santovec said she also came across two hospitals near each other in the state that both had very impressive health therapeutic gardens.

“It was as if these hospitals were not only competing for patients but they were also competing to have the best garden,” she said. “They were both wonderful gardens and a great gift to the community.”