The Secret
Garden Story
A PLACE OF
BEAUTY,
LEARNING, AND
INSPIRATION
- this is our story
As a nonprofit 501(c)(3) the GARDEN IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC, offering hands-on opportunities for volunteers and horticulturists, and a place of beauty, learning, and inspiration for Door County residents and visitors alike. Read on to learn more about the garden and our story or jump in and be a part of it with your gifts of time or treasure!
Conceived in 2020 during the global pandemic, the garden began as a personal project of Colin Welford, a newly transplanted Ephraim resident. At that time, Door County seemed a world removed from his former career as an opera, ballet and Broadway musician and conductor, but his new hobby - gardening - quickly took root after a chance meeting with another Door County resident, Tom Wolfe, former Head Gardener of the Chicago Art Institute.
Gradually drawing in the help of an ever-evolving community of local artisans and friends, and under the tutelage of other gardening experts, including award-winning perennials grower Roy Diblik, Colin began planning, planting, watering and weeding, as his ever-expanding garden design came to life over the following five years. Through his passionate tending, Colin’s seed of an idea has bloomed into a rich and lush living tapestry of color and motion.
The Secret Garden is planted in the style of the ‘New Perennials Movement’ led by internationally acclaimed designer Piet Oudolf. The nature-inspired garden is planted within an extended series of raised planting beds, bordered with retaining walls of stacked local stone.
Conifers and a wide variety of deciduous trees and shrubs at the perimeter create a lush backdrop for naturalistic sweeps of colorful perennials, seen through drifts of grasses. In addition to the soft and impressionistic color palette, there are many other notable features, including the incorporation of ‘plant families’ (plants deliberately selected to cohabitate harmoniously with their neighbors), the architectural aspect of plants and of their seed-heads (many of which will be left in place after flowering), and plant materials selected to create three-season interest. The garden also provides a rich source of food for butterflies, bees and birds, being well-stocked with pollinator plants and fruit-bearing shrubs and trees. For those who visit the garden on foot instead, it is laid out in a whimsical serpentine design that invites exploration and offers moments of surprise and delight.
In 2025, The Secret Garden of Door County received a special honor when it was acceded to the Smithsonian Institute’s Archive of American Gardens, which documents historic and contemporary gardens across the United States through photographs, plant lists, and site histories to support research, preservation and public education. The Secret Garden is also listed on the Monarch Watch.
As the design and building phase neared its natural conclusion, Colin was struck with the realization that the garden had greatly outgrown its original purpose and scale as merely a private space, and that other people should be able to freely enjoy it too. Consequently, The Secret Garden of Door County has now been re-purposed as an independent Wisconsin-registered non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, and the need for ongoing upkeep and dedicated care will create rewarding hands-on gardening and educational opportunities for volunteers and local horticulturists of all ages.
The ever-evolving Secret Garden now belongs to the whole community. It is self-governing and self-financing, and with careful stewardship and professional guidance will become a place of beauty, learning, and inspiration for Door County residents and visitors alike, both now, and for future generations.
Our Mission
“To tend and protect an outstanding nature-inspired public garden that fosters ecological stewardship, creativity, and community connection in Door County.”
HELP US FULFILL OUR MISSION THROUGH YOUR GIFTS OF TIME OR TREASURE. LEARN MORE HERE.
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