Last updated: February 24, 2021
Place
Augusta Kohrs Victorian Garden
NPS/Grant-Kohrs Ranch
Quick Facts
Location:
Deer Lodge, MT
Significance:
Historical Landscape
Designation:
National Historic Site
Amenities
10 listed
Accessible Sites, Automated External Defibrillator (AED), Cellular Signal, First Aid Kit Available, Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Information, Restroom, Scenic View/Photo Spot, Trash/Litter Receptacles, Water - Drinking/Potable
“Augusta Kohrs had a lovely garden…she loved flowers and she loved to work on them…she always had fresh flowers on the dining room table.” – Helen P. Dietrick, guest of the Kohrs family.
When Augusta Kohrs arrived at the ranch as a new bride in 1868, she brought with her the sense of a proper Victorian home. Feeling a need to impose a degree of order and elegance to separate her home and its surrounding landscape from the rugged Montana countryside, Augusta began making refinements to the landscape surrounding the main Ranch House. Victorian gardens were prominent at the turn of the 19th century in the eastern and Midwestern parts of the United States, but they were far less common in the West, and especially on a rugged cattle ranch in Montana.
Augusta had an affinity for arts and culture and her influences of formality and order are seen in the layout and design of the garden. The main features of the garden included large flower beds, cobble rock walls, stone terraces, and sand walkways that divide several raised flower beds. Above the garden a lilac hedge borders a small irrigation ditch and provides a beautiful backdrop for the garden when in bloom, while at the same time creates a divide between the large front lawn of the house and the smaller, more intimate space of the garden.
In the summer gardening became Augusta’s focus and daily activity. She planted a variety of brightly colored and strong-smelling annuals, perennials, bulbs, roses, and native species. They were placed in geometric shapes that not only provided decoration, but also created a sense of order. She added two 16-foot wooden trellises in the middle of the garden so her favorite sweet peas could climb and grow. In 1890, the State Nursery was established in Helena with Conrad Kohrs as a major stockholder. Augusta would seasonally purchase large amounts of native and non-native plants from the nursery and bring them to the ranch. Over time the garden would become an interesting blend of traditional Victorian styled colors, patterns and fragrances that were combined with hardy native plants that could thrive and survive Montana’s harsh climate.
Conrad Kohrs died in 1920, but Augusta would return to the ranch every Memorial Day to begin planting ornamentals for the upcoming summer. In 1934, her grandson, Conrad Warren made significant improvements that permitted Augusta to access her garden safely and conveniently. Warren constructed rustic style stone stairs and a wooden handrail that intersected the lilac hedge. Several juniper shrubs were planted to flank the steps which gave Augusta a more direct route down into her garden and reinforced the feeling of an entry point. Augusta would continue to visit the ranch during the summer months until her death in 1945. She remained active in the upkeep and planting of her garden well into her 80's.
Today, the legacy of Augusta’s garden continues to endure. In the summer it serves as critical habitat for an array of pollinator species, that include bats, beetles’ butterflies, birds, and bees. Recent restoration and rehabilitation efforts by park staff including the ranch’s gardener have created a unique opportunity to not only preserve and interpret the garden, but also display the bright and fragrant flowers that were favored by Augusta.
When Augusta Kohrs arrived at the ranch as a new bride in 1868, she brought with her the sense of a proper Victorian home. Feeling a need to impose a degree of order and elegance to separate her home and its surrounding landscape from the rugged Montana countryside, Augusta began making refinements to the landscape surrounding the main Ranch House. Victorian gardens were prominent at the turn of the 19th century in the eastern and Midwestern parts of the United States, but they were far less common in the West, and especially on a rugged cattle ranch in Montana.
Augusta had an affinity for arts and culture and her influences of formality and order are seen in the layout and design of the garden. The main features of the garden included large flower beds, cobble rock walls, stone terraces, and sand walkways that divide several raised flower beds. Above the garden a lilac hedge borders a small irrigation ditch and provides a beautiful backdrop for the garden when in bloom, while at the same time creates a divide between the large front lawn of the house and the smaller, more intimate space of the garden.
In the summer gardening became Augusta’s focus and daily activity. She planted a variety of brightly colored and strong-smelling annuals, perennials, bulbs, roses, and native species. They were placed in geometric shapes that not only provided decoration, but also created a sense of order. She added two 16-foot wooden trellises in the middle of the garden so her favorite sweet peas could climb and grow. In 1890, the State Nursery was established in Helena with Conrad Kohrs as a major stockholder. Augusta would seasonally purchase large amounts of native and non-native plants from the nursery and bring them to the ranch. Over time the garden would become an interesting blend of traditional Victorian styled colors, patterns and fragrances that were combined with hardy native plants that could thrive and survive Montana’s harsh climate.
Conrad Kohrs died in 1920, but Augusta would return to the ranch every Memorial Day to begin planting ornamentals for the upcoming summer. In 1934, her grandson, Conrad Warren made significant improvements that permitted Augusta to access her garden safely and conveniently. Warren constructed rustic style stone stairs and a wooden handrail that intersected the lilac hedge. Several juniper shrubs were planted to flank the steps which gave Augusta a more direct route down into her garden and reinforced the feeling of an entry point. Augusta would continue to visit the ranch during the summer months until her death in 1945. She remained active in the upkeep and planting of her garden well into her 80's.
Today, the legacy of Augusta’s garden continues to endure. In the summer it serves as critical habitat for an array of pollinator species, that include bats, beetles’ butterflies, birds, and bees. Recent restoration and rehabilitation efforts by park staff including the ranch’s gardener have created a unique opportunity to not only preserve and interpret the garden, but also display the bright and fragrant flowers that were favored by Augusta.