Wilmore -- Marfez

Marfez, an acronym for Mary Alves Redman and Frank Edward Zorniger, was for over thirty years their joint creation. The original three-room tenant house was built when Harrodsburg was only a fort. It became Greek Revival in style in 1799 when it was enlarged and re-oriented to the east. Later, the Zornigers converted a side porch to a matching, but larger, colonnaded veranda. Together with her son, Mrs. Zorniger planned the estate to be an ordered and serene parkland surrounded by a forest. The two main gardens lie along one north-south axis. The north panel consists of a long rectangular expanse of grass with matching borders. Fat cushions of taxus mark these borders at regular intervals. West of the north panel, an allee of white pines leads one's eyes to tobacco fields beyond. The south panel is also a rectangular lawn, this time bordered by rounded boxwood bushes.The shape of the circular reflecting pool is reinforced by four crescents of boxwood.

Additional gardens include knot gardens, a kitchen garden, and orchard. In 1979, the property was listed on the Survey of Historic Sites in Kentucky. The home and gardens now belong to the Asbury Theological Seminary.

Persons associated with the garden include: Mr. and Mrs. Frank Zorniger (former owners, 1941-1989); and Asbury Theological Seminary (present owners, 1989-present).