Harbor Springs Garden Club to celebrate 50th anniversary with new Zorn garden
The Petoskey News-Review – May 7, 2025
Karly Graham
HARBOR SPRINGS
- Harbor Springs City Council approved a donated flower garden around the flagpole in Zorn Park.
- ·The Harbor Springs Garden Club will fund and maintain the garden, which will serve as a veterans memorial garden.
- · Some residents expressed concerns about the loss of green space.
A bit more color will be coming to Zorn Park this spring, with the Harbor Springs City Council approving a donated flower garden during their meeting on Monday.
The council unanimously approved putting a circular garden around the flagpole at Zorn Park, which is intended to be used as a veterans memorial garden.
According to city code, the Department of Public Works would be responsible for the design and construction of the park garden, though it would be funded and maintained by the Harbor Springs Garden Club.
Members of the Harbor Springs Garden Club attended the May 5 council meeting to explain the project and their hopes for it.
Annie Patterson, vice president of the club, said the garden would be their 15th in the city. It would also help the club celebrate their 50th anniversary.
Patterson added that they are interested in bringing the garden to Zorn Park because it will serve as an opportunity to expand their footprint and have another garden available on the west side of the city. They are also hoping the garden will be an opportunity to honor local veterans, creating a formal gathering space around the flagpole at the park.
The goal is to offer a 15-foot radial design, including a 4-foot-wide walkway with a 2-foot-wide circumference around the flagpole. There would be evergreen plats along with annual flowers, allowing for consistent color from spring to fall. Additionally, Patterson said the plants will all be low-growing ones so as to not obstruct the view of the water.
There will be pavers around the garden flat to the ground.
Prior to council’s approval, multiple members of the community shared concerns about losing green space at Zorn Park.
Dana Mulder, chair of the parks board, said the board considers flowers to be green space and said they are in support of bringing more flowers to the park.
The Parks and Recreation Department is in the process of creating a master plan for each park in the city, and Zorn Park’s master plan has not yet been finished. Some residents asked that the garden wait until the master plan is complete before deciding whether or not to move forward with the project.
During public comment, Karen Offield said she wanted the city to remember the park was originally donated to be used as a children’s space.
According to a document on the City of Harbor Springs website, part of the land for lower Zorn Park was donated to the city by the Meier family, who spent summers on Harbor Point. An adjacent property was purchased by the city in 1933, totaling 233 feet of water frontage.
The idea for a new park started in 1909, bringing upper Zorn Park to life. After World War I, a new park memorial was dedicated honoring local men who died in the war.
DPW director Lucas VanderZee said there previously was a raised flower garden around the flagpole, which was originally donated in 2001. He said he doesn’t know when the flower garden went away, but that the wood holding the flower bed slowly deteriorated, and with it so did the small garden.
During public comment, Patrick Kenney said he’s a fan of flowers, but would like to see the space at the park preserved.
“I don’t understand why we couldn’t certainly look for another spot in the park,” he said. “I’m not opposed to having flowers in Zorn Park — I’m opposed to having flowers in Zorn Park where it takes away from the recreation of those that use the park. It seems counterintuitive to me that the garden club would want to encroach in any way upon the recreation area and the open space of the park. … To put it into the center area, the open space of the precious, small square footage of Lower Zorn where the mass amount of people recreate is counterintuitive. We’re taking away from a park, we’re not adding to it.”
Council member Wendy Reeves asked if the flagpole could be moved to provide a compromise.
Parks director Rachel Roon said they have discussed moving the flagpole, but it is not something the city would be able to do themselves and would require bringing in special equipment, which is why they did not explore the option further.
Mulder said the board may consider the option of moving the flagpole once the master plan is complete for the park. She added that the garden club was very open to moving the garden in the future if that seems to be a better option down the road.