Cranbrook House and Gardens
Formal English Elegance in Suburban Detroit
Cranbrook House and Gardens, located in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, combines formal gardens, Arts & Crafts architecture, and serene surroundings.
Cranbrook House and Gardens is the dreamchild of Booth Newspaper founder George Booth and his wife, Ellen. The Booths are the founders of the distinguished Cranbrook Educational Community in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. The House and Gardens inhabit approximately 40 acres of the 325 acre educational complex, and the gardens have been designated as an arboretum. There are over 300 species of exotic and native trees and shrubs throughout the gardens, which are open from May through October.
Within the gardens are several small, specialty gardens which will delight gardeners and plant lovers with their diversity. One of these is the formal Herbal Garden, which is symmetrical, and designed with rectangular and triangular beds overflowing with herbs. The brick walkways and clipped boxwood hedge that encloses the garden emphasize its formality. Also not to be missed is the Bog Garden, Oriental Garden, and Wildflower Garden. A special treat is “Ellen's Garden,” named for founder Ellen Booth and designed with plants that bloom in her favorite colors, pink and purple. If a late spring visit is possible, the Peony Garden is a real treat, and if you happen to visit in fall, the trees in all their autumnal glory is a sight you won't soon forget.
The topography of the site, which includes two lakes as well as rolling hills and sunken gardens, was completely designed by the Booths and landscape architect O.C. Simonds, who was a follower of Jens Jensen. The gardens are designed specifically to highlight Cranbrook House, which is the oldest manor house in southeast Michigan. The home was designed by architect Albert Kahn in the Arts and Crafts style. Visitors to the gardens can also tour the home, which contains many Arts and Crafts era antiques.
While not nearly as full of sculpture as Frederick Meijer Gardens, this Michigan garden does contain several wonderful works of art. Most notably, Cranbrook owns the world's second-largest collection of sculptures by Swedish artist Carl Milles, who taught at the Cranbrook art school from 1931 to 1951.
Admission to Cranbrook Gardens costs $6 for adults ($5 for seniors) or $15 per family. Hours for the gardens are Monday thorugh Saturday, 10:00 to 5:00 and Sunday from 11:00 to 5:00. Both guided and self-guided tours are available. Some areas of the garden are not paved, so the site is not entirely wheelchair accessible. Tours of Cranbrook House are held on Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays, and cost $10, which includes access to the Gardens.
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