Photo by Hadley Fruits The pool area at the Miller House and Garden.
The prestigious Miller House and Garden on Highland Way in Columbus has just completed three key landscape restoration projects that will allow visitors to experience the grounds in new ways.
Designed by Eero Saarinen and Alexander Girard in 1957 and with landscape by Dan Kiley, the former home of Xenia and J. Irwin Miller is among Columbus’s most visited tourist destinations.
It is widely considered to be one of the most important Modernist homes in the United States. These three projects, which include the landscape around the pool, the north apple orchard and the south apple orchard, bring the property back to its full glory, according to organizers.
In partnership with Landmark Columbus Foundation, the pool landscape was restored with 126 arbor vitae trees that were from the 2019 Exhibition of Exhibit Columbus, an installation designed by SO—IL. Their J. Irwin and Xenia S. Miller Prize installation, “Between the Hedges,” was on view at the Bartholomew County Courthouse and was specifically created to have the trees reused at the Miller House and Garden.
In the summer of 2021, the 42 trees in the north apple orchard, which were originally planted in the late 1950s, were replanted in the original quincunx pattern. This work was supported by a gift from the Chris and Dominee Burton Family Fund, and then in the fall of 2021 funding was secured from the Johnson, Miller, and Schumaker families to replant the 34 trees in the south apple orchard.
“Naturally, the house gets a lot of attention for its amazing design features, but the landscape is also spectacular,” said Ben Wever, the Miller House and Garden site administrator. “I hope these restorations give new visitors an extra reason to see the property, while also inspiring those that have seen it before to do it all over again.”
Tours for the Miller House and Garden are offered in partnership with the Columbus Area Visitors Center and through the spring are available on Thursday through Saturday. Each spring more than 5,000 tulips bloom across the central part of the landscape which will be enhanced by the blooms from the newly planted orchards.
“Visiting the Miller House and Garden is such a special experience,” said Erin Hawkins, director of marketing for the Columbus Area Visitors Center. “People come from all over the world to visit Columbus and we are so happy to have these restorations completed that will enhance everyone’s visit.”
The Columbus Area Visitors Center offers three special tours of the property: curators tours, landscape tours, and photography tours and each of which can be booked on their website at columbus.in.us/miller-house-and-garden-tour.
Later this year, Newfields will release a first-ever Conservation Management Plan, which was produced with funding from the Getty Foundation through its Keeping it Modern Program.
