Courtesy the Landmark Society of Western New York

threat

The gardens, including the Pear Trees, continue to be threatened by a general lack of community awareness. Because the land surrounding the garden is not open to the public, there is a strong perception of inaccessibility to the property. In recent years, and prior to current ownership, this had become even more significant in that the declining condition of the main and carriage houses had a negative effect on the garden's visitors. Much of the land adjacent to the house and carriage house had become engulfed in vines and weed trees, offering safe haven for deer, woodchucks, rabbits, and vagrants. Foraging animals became a nuisance, despite management efforts to keep them out of the garden. The isolation of the house and the cover provided by the overgrowth has invited vandals and resultant damage to both horticultural and architectural garden features. There is hope that with new ownership of the house and carriage house, many of these problems may be ameliorated.

The small bequest for the maintenance of the garden left by Helen Ellwanger has been exhausted, and owing to a lack of endowment to support maintenance, the garden is open for special events and by appointment only. While the garden benefits from dedicated volunteers, expert research remains necessary to continue documentation of plant materials and design configurations to support full restoration. Without sufficient funding to employ professional full-time staff, the garden risks losing even more of the surviving historic cultivars, further weakening the ability of The Landmark Society to replace plants and design elements that have been lost.