Botanic, secret, shade - see them all at Barrington garden and antique fair

Posted June 11, 2010 11:00 pm

By Deborah Donovan

Seeing John Gigerich's many gardens - the area he calls the botanic garden because it boasts so many varieties of plants, the walled secret garden visible only from the master bath, and multiple shade areas under spruce and pine tree - it's easy to believe he purchased the house because of the land.

But that house is pretty spectacular, too, and coincidentally shares an architect with the other house whose garden is part of the Barrington Country Garden & Antique Faire, Friday, June 18, and Saturday, June 19.

For the 10th annual fair, three Barrington Hills estates will open their gardens. While the sales and food concessions take place at the same headquarters each year, two additional properties cater to gardening aficionados as well as people who appreciate wandering through beautiful outdoor surroundings.

"It's relaxing," says Gigerich, a frustrated farmer. "I didn't want formality. I wanted a cottage garden."

He calls the rear yard his botanic garden because, "I plant as many different kinds of things as I can with spring, summer and fall blooms."

A shortlist includes hydrangea, sedum, allium, pulmonaria, Japanese lilac trees and native grasses. Back here visitors will see the herb garden surrounded by a small hedge of perennial thyme, the rebuilt guest cottage, a swimming pool, and of course the secret garden with its fountain trickling from a boulder.

The retired executive at Union Carbide put well over half the plants in the ground himself.

But the land did not look like this when Gigerich and his late wife bought it in 1999. It was overgrown with buckthorn, an invasive tree. The first eradication step was to cut the weeds down, which resulted in six dump trucks of chips, followed by years of fighting the pest.

Now guests will see shade plants such as 200 varieties of hostas, impatiens, astilbe, columbine, heuchera and ferns. The many other plants on the estate include dogwood, roses, azaleas, lilies, day lilies, blue and white salvias, honeysuckle, crabapples, hawthorns and a large buckeye.

Early bounty from the vegetable garden this spring showed spinach, lettuce, broccoli, rhubarb and asparagus.

Since it was built, Gigerich's home designed by Robert E. Seyfarth has had at least five additions. Gigerich added a screened porch with a stone fireplace and an exercise room. Both houses, which will show their grounds but will not be open for the event, still have a Seyfarth trademark, a hallway with a barrel ceiling that runs along the front of the house.

The owners of the second estate purchased it five years ago, again because of the trees, featuring more than 70 oaks, some of them 150 years old.

The gardens visitors will see were developed by the current owners.

One path goes up a hill dotted with trees and benches and crowned with a gazebo. Due to the height of the property, this area provides a panoramic view of the countryside - in seasons when the greenery is not so lush.

Behind the house of Indiana limestone, wonders include the swimming pool and a two-story guesthouse. The fish pond is deep enough that the koi can winter here and also dive away from hungry herons.

Throughout the landscape, metal sculptures, such as a vine-inspired fence and bases that allow old tractor seats to surround one of two fire pits, were designed and created by German artist Frank Mussmacher. The artist, whose signature is a simple cutout "metal man," is a friend of the homeowners and will be on hand to talk about his work.

Don't miss the antique lanterns around the property, including some from Holland topped with golden metal leaves.

The lady of the house gives much of the credit for designing the plantings to her husband and Michelle D'Arcy of Horticultural Associates, Inc. of Gurnee, but says she loves the hydrangeas and has planted different varieties around the property.

The list of plantings throughout the estate is long and includes Russian sage, false indigo, hardy geranium, tree lilacs, an impressive smoke tree, weeping varieties of beech, elm and pussy willow.

Also: oleanders, tree peonies, ginkgo trees, wisteria, red horse chestnut trees, clematis and roses.

Here are gardening tips from John Gigerich.

•Golden green Japanese maples grow in shade, but the popular red ones do not.

•You can grow plants under thirsty pine and spruce trees, but you need plenty of water and plants that like acidic soil such as rhododendron. Gigerich added an irrigation system.

•The challenge of perennials is they spread. "That bed of hostas has to be thinned out. Then I have to give them away or throw them away."

•Plant things that choke out weeds; evenso, "there's still a lot of weeding."

The pool area is part of what John Gigerich calls his botanic garden. Bill Zars | Staff Photographer

If you go

What: 10 annual Barrington Country Garden and Antique Faire

When: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, June 18, and Saturday, June 19

Where: Barrington Hills

Tickets: $40 through today, June 13; $50 after today. Tickets allow return visits both days

Early bird tickets: $75, for entry to antiques and boutiques 8:30 to 10 a.m. Friday, June 18

Shuttle buses: From Barrington High School, 616 W. Main St., on Friday and 800 Hart Road both days

Etc.: Vignettes scattered among estates. The main estate features classes and cooking demonstrations, musical entertainment, lunch for purchase and shopping including antiques and an upscale flea market.

Benefits: Barrington's Hands of Hope, which helps women and children in Africa

Call: (847) 622-5201 or visit<a href="http:// handsofhopeonline.org" target="new"> handsofhopeonline.org</a>

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