A Detroit publisher built a treasure of the Arts and Crafts movement.

Nature I Love and Next to Nature Art.”

A stroll through Cranbrook’s extensive landscape with its vast array of art intermingled with perennials, annuals, shrubs and trees brings these words to life. This quote by the English poet, Walter Savage Landor, had been hand-carved into the wooden mantelpiece hanging above the massive fireplace in George and Ellen Booth’s estate built in the early 1900’s. Cranbrook House and Gardens are located on 40 of over 300 acres that contain the Cranbrook Educational Community in Bloomfield Hills, a Detroit suburb. Cranbrook was named after the English birthplace of George Booth’s father.

Landor’s quote captures the spirit of the Arts and Crafts movement. It started in England as a response to the increased industrialization and mass production that occurred during the Victorian Era (1837-1901). George Booth, who helped build The Detroit News into a publishing empire, founded the Detroit Arts and Crafts Society in 1906 and was a dedicated proponent. The Arts and Crafts movement, which had a large following in the U.S. from the 1890s to 1920s, embraced a philosophy that valued nature and craftsmanship.

In keeping with this philosophy, George and Ellen Booth commissioned scores of artisans to create tapestries, woodcarvings, metalwork, furniture, tile and glassware for their new home. The main section of the house was completed in 1908, and the two large wings by 1920.

“George Booth worked with landscape architects to lay out the extensive gardens around the house. One of his favorite spots to visit on a hot summer’s day was the Bocca dela Verita Fountain (located on a summit off the front courtyard). He’d say he was going “up the mountain to cool off!” comments Chickie Burchell, head of the Cranbrook House and Garden Auxiliary which has over 375 volunteers.

The Booths incorporated an impressive assortment of sculpture, statuary, urns, balustrades and fountains into their gardens. The garden terraces to the north were designed in 1909; the Sunken Garden in 1910, the West terrace in 1913, and Turtle Fountain was installed in 1924.

Cranbrook’s gardens reflect the Arts and Crafts movement with their eclectic mix of gardening styles, including a more formal structure close to the house, with Italian balustrades and fountains. The English Cottage Garden is reproduced in the borders of the Sunken Garden. The rustic bog, down a grassy slope from the Reflection Pool, captures a naturalized wetland. The Oriental Garden, originally built in 1931, reflects the Arts and Crafts movement’s interest in Japanese culture and crafts.

“The Booths were a lively bunch,” comments Burchell. “For years, George would sit on the north porch, looking at a blank wall and comment about the lack of a view. When he and Ellen were in Europe one year, their two boys got busy and tore down the wall, revealing a lovely view of Kingwood Lake. They didn’t say anything to their parents when they got home, but George loved the expansive view of the lake and immediately made plans for a stairway down the hill.”

The gardens’ most impressive vista is the one from the West Terrace that catches the setting sun. The eye is first drawn to the linear Reflecting Pool surrounded by perennials. Then it lingers on the Cherub Fountain at the pool’s west end. Beyond that, the eye is led off to the long axial view cutting through a grove of trees. Its final focus is on the distant opposite knoll where the Lion Dog Statue is located on the Cranbrook Art Museum grounds.

But, the spirit of the Arts and Crafts movement with its dedication to preserve nature lives today at Cranbrook in their Woodland Wildflower Rescue Garden.

“Construction crews know who to call when they come across native species such as ladyslippers, trillium, or Solomon seal. They know that our Garden Auxiliary members will come and dig them out…rain, sleet or snow,” says Burchell.

These plants are replanted in the wildflower garden located east of the Sunken Garden along what is known as Clara’s Walk. The path is named after George’s mother, who used to walk along this woodland area to reach her farmhouse. Plants that aren’t used in this area are stored in a root cellar or holding garden at Cranbrook until their annual spring plant sale.

Get a taste of the Arts and Crafts movement with a visit to Cranbrook House and Gardens. For visiting hours go to www.cranbrook.edu/housegardens.