In June 2022, I attended the Garden Club of Evanston’s Garden Walk. I toured several beautiful gardens and learned a bit about their histories, but one I still think about today is the historic sunken garden at the Bichl and Schager houses in nearby Wilmette, Illinois.
The story goes back to 1923, when sisters Helen Bichl and Dorothy Schager had neighboring homes built on their family’s property. Their father, Wendelin Seng, had established a successful furniture-hardware manufacturing business, and architects George W. Maher and his son Philip were commissioned to design the two Italianate-style homes. The houses were built with nearly identical, reversed floor plans and a shared garden connecting them. The original estate also included tennis courts, a swimming pool, and even an underground tunnel between the houses! You can read more about the fascinating history of these homes here.
This is one of the two historic homes. Many of the same plants repeat throughout this side of the garden, including Russian sage (Salvia yangii, Zones 5–9) on the slope near the stairs, clipped boxwood hedges (Buxus cvs., Zones 4–9) lining the gravel paths, and roses (Rosa cvs., Zones 4–9) planted throughout the beds.
Here’s the second house. Both homes have beautiful stone terraces overlooking the garden. What a dream! This side has a greater mix of perennials and shrubs, but still repeats the formal boxwood hedges, roses, and gravel paths connecting the two homes.
A closer look at one of the planters next to the house. I thought the concrete urn really complemented the stonework.
Another view of the sunken garden. Photo 1 shows a staircase similar to the one in this photo, and both lead to the upper garden.
Woodland sage (Salvia nemorosa, Zones 4–8) and lady’s mantle (Alchemilla mollis, Zones 3–8) were a repeated combination throughout the gardens.
Looking back across the garden from near one of the staircases, you can see how densely planted the slopes are. Roses and flowering perennials fill the beds, and the clipped hedges maintain the garden’s formal structure. A work of art!
The upper garden. This angle faces the house in photo 1.
A shady spot to take a break from the June heat! I love how the astilbe (Astilbe cvs., Zones 4–8) foliage creeps beneath the bench here.
A gorgeous stone wall covered in creeping sedum (Sedum cvs., Zones 3–9) and a weathered birdbath. This is on the right side of the staircase in photo 4.
Another surprise in the upper garden was this waterfall tucked beneath the evergreens.
If you’re ever in the Evanston area, I highly recommend attending one of the Garden Club of Evanston’s garden walks. It’s a wonderful opportunity to explore beautiful private gardens and learn a little about their history. I’m certainly glad I had the chance to visit this one!
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