Shakespeare garden celebrates milestone year marked by change

What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. - “Romeo and Juliet”

CEDAR RAPIDS - Changes under way at Ellis Park's Shakespeare Garden are hoped to make the tradition-steeped site as sweet as the original.

Members of the Wednesday Shakespeare Club next week will mark the 85th anniversary of the garden, situated along Ellis Boulevard in northwest Cedar Rapids, facing the Cedar River.

Four years ago, floodwaters from the raging river precipitated some of those changes.

“There have been accommodations made,” says Pat Martin, 70, known as Mrs. Frank Martin in her role as chairwoman of the club's garden committee. “I am very willing to negotiate and be just fine with what's going in.”

The themed gardens, located on college campuses and parks in various countries, historically use only plants mentioned in the works of William Shakespeare or Elizabethan-era flowers.

Formal beds at the Ellis garden were not replanted after the 2008 flood and some of the new flowers won't be true to that era.

Lori Farmer, greenhouse worker for the city, says the large, formal beds required high maintenance, with edging, trim-mowing between beds and hedges to trim.

The flood uprooted bushes and washed away flower bulbs.

“Hardly anything was left,” Farmer said, citing peony bushes among the sole survivors.

Most of the new plantings, such as daisies, daffodils, larkspur, coneflower and hyacinth, are acceptable for traditionalists, while other flowers will be added for color throughout the season. Post-flood donations from the New Jersey Garden Club and Iowa Pond Association totaling $3,500 helped in the purchases.

“We keep it in mind that it is for a Shakespeare Garden,” Farmer says. “But there is a difference.”

Rose of Sharon, burning bushes and hosta, for example, are not mentioned by Shakespeare, but are being added for aesthetics and ease in maintenance.

Martin doesn't think the changes will detract from the garden.

She and 20 or so other members of the club, founded in 1895, will gather from 2-4 p.m. June 10, to mark the garden's anniversary and flood recovery.

No formal activities are planned, but members can point out the garden's features - such as a weeping mulberry and a stream they call the “Little Avon” - to anyone who stops by.

Ground was broken on the 1.4-acre garden in 1927. Professor Philip Elwood of Iowa State University submitted plans similar to Shakespeare's original garden in Stratford, England, according to the club's history.

The original entrance, designed by artists Grant Wood, Marvin Cone and Edward Rowan, was a rustic shelter with a thatched roof, reminiscent of Anne Hathaway's cottage.

In 1950, members decided on stone pillars and a wall, designed by Mrs. Charles Hickok, when the shelter needed to be replaced.

The original bronze bust of the Bard was purchased in 1931 for $425 and presented as a gift to the city - the first piece of public statuary in Cedar Rapids.

At times, the bust and pedestal have been vandalized, prompting this quote from the club: “God gave them wisdom that have it; and those that are fools, let them use their talents.”

The original bust, since replaced by a polished, cast-concrete one, resides in Theatre Cedar Rapids.

Club member Sylvia Popelka, 65, of Cedar Rapids, often visits to water plants and tend the garden.

“I'm pretty sure that Will would've been under water,” she says of floodwaters reaching the bust in 2008. “This was completely submerged.”

In 1993, floodwaters damaged the site's sundial base. Martin says the sundial itself was removed, but where it is remains a mystery.

Yarrow, pink dianthus, iris and purple and yellow violas now bloom along the stone wall, where maintenance is easier than in the previous central garden.

On a recent day, Martin, a retired language arts teacher who cites “Merchant of Venice” as her favorite Shakespeare play, pointed out gauze ribbons around the stone entrance, indicating a wedding or graduation celebration had been held in the garden.

“Look how beautiful this is,” she says. “People should know about this place and use it.”