Trial Gardens
The Trial Gardens are located on the lakeside of the Grosse Pointe War Memorial, 32 Lake Shore Road, Grosse Pointe Farms. They are open to the public Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
The Trial Gardens celebrated their 70th Anniversary in 2022! Commissioned in 1952, the wheel-shaped design of the Trial Gardens was originally created by landscape architect Eleanor Roche as test gardens for annuals and bulbs. Nine perimeter and four inner plots emanate from an 18th-century granite millstone from the former Windmill Pointe gristmill, donated by George Lauhoff and family.
Today eight perimeter plots are planted and maintained by local garden clubs in an annual competition. The largest plot is managed by the Garden Center as a test garden. The four inner plots are dedicated as herb gardens representing culinary, fragrance, medicinal, and wedding themes. They are designed, planted, and maintained by the Herb Society of America, Grosse Pointe Unit.
Trial Gardens Competition: Each year the Garden Center invites eight local garden clubs to take part in their annual judged competition. Participating clubs must create and maintain their designs according to an annual theme selected by the previous year’s first-place winner. Our 2025 theme chosen by Grand Marais Garden Club is A Cottage Garden.
Competition Judges: Our judges chosen to evaluate the gardens for 2025 are: Helen Bai, Grosse Pointe Shores Beautification Commission, Paul Graebert, former manager of Eastpointe English Gardens, and Sandra Richards, former head of MSU Macomb County Extension Master Gardener program.
Annual Awards Tea: Wednesday, September 17, 2025. Members and non-members gather together to enjoy this popular end-of-summer event. Attendees enjoyed a sumptuous tea followed by the announcement of the judges’ top three designs and an engaging speaker on an interesting gardening topic.
Trial Gardens 2024 Award Winners
First Place, Grand Marais Garden Club (Anne Marten), Second Place, Grosse Pointe Farm & Garden (Anita Sandercott), and Third Place, Windmill Pointe Garden Club (Mary Ann Dodge)
Cottage gardens have been in existence for hundreds of years. They were originally designed for practical purposes, essentially a kitchen garden. Today, however, they provide a visual delight with abundant colorful common perennials, annuals, bushes, herbs, and even edibles. Cottage garden design favors curves over straight lines, and asymmetry. The layout appears to be casual but be mindful of spacing, height, color, size, fragrance, and texture of leaves and flowers. Most importantly, a cottage is a charming place to relax and enjoy and so should your garden.
Designs should include:
Judging weeks: June 23 – 27, July 28 – August 1, August 25 – 29, 2025.
Herb Gardens
