Fort Myers in Lee County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)

Clara Ford’s Michigan Rose Garden

Photographed By Sandra Hughes, October 10, 2015

1. Clara Ford’s Michigan Rose Garden Marker

Inscription. Clara Bryant Ford had a passion for roses and grew over 350 varieties and 10,000 plants at the family’s estate, Fair Lane, in Dearborn, Michigan. Mrs. Ford’s favorites were tea roses in shades of yellow and white.

Did you know Clara Ford hired one of the first female landscape architects in America, Ellen Biddle Shipman, to redesign her small formal garden? Mrs. Shipman would later go on to design the Moonlight Garden here at the Edisons' winter estate following a recommendation by Mrs. Ford.

Funding for Clara Ford’s rose Garden in Fort Myers was provided by Peggy Campbell, great niece of Mrs. Ford and features heirlooms roses of the 1920’s area adapted to the southwest Florida climate.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Notable Places.

Location. 26° 38.067′ N, 81° 52.804′ W. Marker is in Fort Myers, Florida, in Lee County. Marker can be reached from McGregor Boulevard south of Larchmont Avenue, on the right when traveling south. The marker is inside the Edison Estate. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 2350 McGregor Blvd, Fort Myers FL 33901, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Edison Estate Restoration and Rebirth (here, next to this marker); Orchid Lane and Friendship Walk (here, next to this marker);

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Edison’s “Florida Paradise” (here, next to this marker); Inside the Ford Home (here, next to this marker); Henry Ford (here, next to this marker); Henry Ford's Florida Estate (here, next to this marker); Edison Caretaker’s House (here, next to this marker); Edison Caretaker's Yard (here, next to this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Fort Myers.

Also see . . . Edison & Ford Winter Estates. (Submitted on October 26, 2015.)

Clara Ford’s Michigan Rose Garden image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Sandra Hughes, October 10, 2015

2. Clara Ford’s Michigan Rose Garden

The large meadow rose garden at the Ford's estate in Michigan spanned several acres and was designed in part by landscape architect Jens Jensen

Photographed By Sandra Hughes, October 10, 2015

3. Clara Ford’s Michigan Rose Garden

Modern view of the small rose garden at Fair Lane redesigned by Ellen Biddle Shipman in the late 1920s.

Credits. This page was last revised on August 24, 2017. It was originally submitted on October 23, 2015, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA. This page has been viewed 489 times since then and 21 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on October 23, 2015, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.