Daily Journal staff report
The Kankakee Kultivators recently gained a broad knowledge of “The Gardens of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Bradley House,” thanks to Marilou Martin, spotlighted speaker for the club’s October meeting. Along with the Kultivators, numerous guests attended, some good-naturedly calling themselves “The Marilou Martin Fan Club.”
Martin — environmentalist, naturalist and passionate gardener with more than 40 years of experience — entertained and educated her enthusiastic audience as she shared her PowerPoint presentation of photographs, which illustrated the B. Harley Bradley House’s progression of gardens from 1900 to 2022.
Martin has done extensive research on Wright’s structural and landscape architecture. This hobby, now a passion, has grown out of her work with Max Michaels, Ray Eads and Kathi Dodds to maintain and develop the grounds of the B. Harley Bradley House, often known here in Kankakee as the Wright House.
Martin, Michaels, Eads and Dodds — all volunteers — have landscaped its outdoor areas for several years now. Almost year round, they have volunteered many hours every week to return this historic landscape to the original artistic principles and vision of its famous master architect, Frank Lloyd Wright.
In her presentation, Martin described the succession of Bradley House’s various owners and the gardens’ changes, some rather drastic, under each owner’s influence. The original B. Harley Bradley House had no garden beds along its foundation so as not to obscure the architectural design.
When it was owned by Joseph Dodson from 1915-51, however, he established many beds and planted them profusely to draw birds to the home; Dodson called it “The Bird Lodge.”
When the Yesteryear Restaurant owners had the property from 1953-85, they cemented the inner courtyard and featured fewer plantings. Under their ownership, Glenlloyd Associates contracted for the B. Harley Bradley residence a “Glenlloyd Historic Landscape Study” to be completed by Christopher D. Vernon, M.L.A., who confirmed Wright originally had wanted the grounds to appear as a park-like estate.
Then, when Sharon and Gaines Hall owned the Wright-designed house from 2005-10, they restored the home and grounds to their historic beginnings.
Since then Martin, Michaels, Eads and Dodds have developed and refined the Bradley House’s landscape, always in accordance with Wright’s principles and intentions, as the public can see when they visit. This gardening team has enlarged the bed south of the terrace with low-growing Jacob’s Ladder, Spikenards and many other ground covers which will not obscure the foundation’s horizontal trim.
The team also has created seating areas surrounded by hostas, or New Jersey Tea shrubs mixed with Black-eyed Susans and switch grass, from which sight-seers can enjoy views of the Bradley House and the Kankakee River.
At their November meeting, Kultivators and those who would like to participate will be creating holiday decorations for residents living in local senior facilities. This workshop, “Gifts of Holiday Greens,” will begin at 1 p.m. Thursday in the auditorium on the fourth floor of the Kankakee Public Library.
Some greens and accent objects will be provided, and the Kultivators hope all who take part also will bring some of their own greens and ornaments. Everyone who plans to create an arrangement should bring a container for it.