Lake Placid -- Church Garden on the Hart Property

Located on the original site (1899-1927) of "St. Eustace-by-the-Lakes" church, this nearly half-acre garden site was originally landscaped sometime after 1927. By 1972, however, when the area and an adjoining property were acquired by the present owners, there was no evidence of a garden. Slowly, original flagstone surfaces were unearthed, stone walls restored, gardens dug, and flowers planted, re-creating a sunken garden within the stone walled perimeter. Open to the public, the garden is designed in a cruciform shape and is surrounded by natural woodlands. A curving stone stairway leads from the house above to a shady lawn, while 18 inches below, the old flagstone terrace is framed by ostrich and maidenhair ferns, rhododendrons, and hosta, and enlivened by tuberous begonias. The garden also includes a flagstoned "bell tower" section and a curious "center stone" that may have been a support for the original church floor. Episcopal Church services are held once each summer, transforming this church garden into a garden church.

Persons associated with the property include: Dr. and Mrs. Maximillian Wasserberger (former owners, before 1972) and W. L. Coulter (architect, 1890s).