John and Marie Aull believed that nature should be shared with others. Even in the early days of Aullwood, they invited the public to walk through their private gardens and enjoy nature. Their idea was to share a peaceful place, a refuge for the tired and weary to wander through. This front lawn was the only portion of the private estate open for public visitation, because the Aulls wanted to protect the fragile native plants on the woodland floor.
"I put some of our native plants in this border because we don't let people into the forest, and so they have a chance to see them here," Marie once said of the front lawn beds.
The stone walls that line Wiles Creek were riprapped as part of a rerouting following the 1913 flood, which nearly destroyed the valley, then later enhanced with stone work in the 1930's. The gardens flanking the lawn were planned by Marie, with the stream serving as the focal point and the forest shade determining the selections of plants. The front lawn is one of the largest and sunniest "rooms" of the garden. with beautiful tulip poplars, maples and magnolias framing this area.
Today, along the lawn's northern edge, stream-side beds are punctuated by heirloom variety plants and long sweeping border of small hosta. Notice that you don’t see a lot of flowers. The intent of the landscaping was to blend in as much as possible with the natural setting and to follow the guidelines of arts and crafts landscape design—no walls, ability to see large parts of the property from any one place, flowing water, native plants, wandering pathways, blending with nature.
The labor-intensive dry laid stonework has been restored by MetroParks staff. Dry laid last longer than mortared walls and keeps the banks from eroding. This recent restoration will help preserve the garden beds from stream erosion for many years to come.
