THE BONNEWITZ GARDENS, VAN WERT, OHIO 
peony, but I kept my feet on the ground and hastened with the cut 
flowers to show them first to my sister and her husband, and then 
to the Wassenbergs, so that others may know of the existence of 
this long sought-for color. 
How I would like to be able now to say to the Doctor: ‘‘That 
peony of yours is worth a hundred dollars,” and then, from the sale 
of its divisions, during the coming years, divide several times that 
amount with him. He is gone. But his widow—yes, he would want 
her to have and enjoy his share. So let us see what this new peony 
will do for Mrs. Neeley. 
Commercial Peony Growers 
in Van Wert 
Miss Anderson and Mr. Germann, the two original Jubilee enthusiasts of Van 
Wert have both passed on, and Miss Anderson’s garden has ceased to exist. 
Mrs. L. J. Germann is continuing her husband’s garden at its original location 
on South Washington Street. Since Miss Anderson’s death, this is now the 
oldest peony garden in town. 
Mr. C. F. Wassenberg, a director of the American Peony Society, has, I be¬ 
lieve, either the largest, or at least the second largest, combined peony and Iris 
farm in the United States. It is located on the Lincoln highway five miles 
east of Van Wert. You can see more fine Iris and fine peonies in this garden 
than in any other garden in Ohio. His beautiful home garden on South Wash¬ 
ington Street is visited by thousands of flower lovers during the blooming 
season. 
Mr. H. T. Beckman, a man of wealth and good taste, purchased a few years 
ago, a farm with the ideal location for a most beautiful peony garden. This farm 
is located three miles east of Van Wert on the Lincoln highway, and in a clear¬ 
ing in the original forest, Mr. Beckman has established his exhibition gardens 
just as Mr. E. C. Shaw of North Portage Path in Akron did a few years ago. 
This beautiful garden is equipped with an attractive garden gate and gate 
keeper’s lodge; an artistic garden house, and best of all, a large, convenient, 
well arranged and splendidly kept parking space for visitors. Mr. Beckman’s 
garden will during his life, keep Van Wert as the outstanding peony center of 
the United States, for he undoubtedly established it as a matter of civic pride 
and loyalty. The citizens of Van Wert are proud to have the opportunity of 
showing it to visitors. 
Doctor A. B. Himes has a garden of three or four acres at his home on South 
Washington Street, in which he is carrying out his own ideas as to garden dec¬ 
oration. His outdoor work and his enthusiasm have given him health and happi¬ 
ness, and it is a pleasure to visit him in his garden. The number of his garden 
visitors is exceeded only by those to the Beckman and Wassenberg gardens. 
D. R. Carey on Allingham Street in the northwest part of town has a 
penoy and gladiolus garden which is not so large as the others, but if I am 
not mistaken, it brings to him a better return on his investment, than the 
rest of us enjoy. 
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