“With the Maze, everyone has a different relationship and because the maze relates to everyone, people can experience the same thing in their own way.” Peggy Pelkanen

On Thursday Oct. 18th, a blustery fall day at the Maze Garden, I spent a couple of hours with Peggy Pelkanen, Chief Landscape Architect of the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, IL.  She shared some of her experiences about the growth of the Muse Garden she was instrumental in developing at the Arboretum.

In observing people in the maze, children will often dive right in, rushing to get through then thrilling in getting lost. Next thing they know they are allowing parents, friends or siblings to call out directions to them from the12 foot high observation deck guiding them out of the maze.  Older adults, grandparents will enter more slowly, immediately immersed in the details of the space.  The plants’ textures wave in the wind to people who enter. Well designed placards inform participants about the history of certain plants like Panicum virgatum ‘Northwind’ - Northwind switch grass, a cultivar of the native switchgrasses that Native Americans used in dried form to insulate their moccasins against winter’s cold. 

No matter what time of the year you enter the Maze - yet another strength of this wonderful locale offering four seasons of interest - you can have an enjoyable experience with nature’s plant world.  All year round, the soft needles of Pinus strobus - Eastern white pine are there for the stroking.  The other evergreen shrubs and trees which make up a core of the maze’s structure are the Thuja ‘Smaragd’ - Emerald arborvitae and the Taxus ‘Hicksii’ - Hick’s yew providing a permanent sense of refuge and enclosure.  Cornus mas - Cornelian Dogwood and Acer campestre - Hedge maple, are two deciduous hedged shrub/trees also enlisted to create the mazes hedging.  Basic signage is always present, so even if the plant is in a dormant part of its life cycle, the facts of the plant’s relationship to human beings past and present remain ever present. 

Each aspect of this amazing maze leads down the path to yet another encounter with nature, albeit in the way we civilized beings care to encounter it, under the illusion of control.  But even this illusion of control is often intruded upon by nature’s interlopers.  One time a skunk tried to take up residence in the maze.  Fortunately, some highly trained border collies aided in herding him out of the Maze and he has not tried to return. 

When first conceived, the Maze Garden held a unique challenge for Landscape architect Pelkanen.  On the site chosen for the maze stood a massive, 50’ tall, Platanus occidentalis - Sycamore tree (native to most areas east of the Mississippi) of unknown origin but obviously “an elder statesman” of the trees that existed at the arboretum.  Because this variety of tree was so resilient, the challenge of building the maze around it seemed plausible and so it remained on site and today is over 60’ tall and thriving.  Challenge number two came when Ms. Pelkanan, after thorough research, chose to make this unique, diversely planted maze - unlike the usual monoculture sorts found more typically at different sites around the world. Notably, horticulturalist John Sosnowski - who has had some 20 years plus experience in growing hedges of all sorts at the arboretum - worked with Ms. Pelkanen to select the best plants for the job. The third major decision to affect the Arboretum was the decision to wait one year after planting the maze before opening it up to the public.  This decision to allow the plants to mature from a smaller stature insured a stronger hedge that is holding up well to the heavy traffic.  About 750,000 people visit the Arboretum each year and though there are no exact numbers for visitors to the maze, that would leave the potential for a lot of traffic.  This precaution of waiting paid off for the maze’s success.  In the end, only one plant seemed to have had some problems in the hedge and that was the cultivar of lilac originally chosen which did not thrive as expected and had to be replaced with more vigorous “insta hedge” sized Syringa meyeri ‘Palibin’- which happily has adapted well to the conditions. 

The multiple varieties of trees, shrubs, vines and grasses were used in addition to arbor structures and feature plantings within the seven featured “Rooms”.  These “Rooms” feature plants that are relevant to the region’s Plant Hardiness Zone.  The hedgerow is also reinforced by a fence to discourage cutting through the hedges, yet another adaptation made to the ever evolving maze as it interacts with the people who come to enjoy it.

The style of this maze, known as an “island maze”, can only be solved by going through each island “room” which leads you to the next.  There is no formula as with the traditional “right hand” mazes that lead you through by keeping your right hand always on the hedge to lead you out of the maze.  Even the Arboretum staff will often close and open certain gates to change the flow of the maze to keep more frequent visitors to the maze always on their toes. 

This Maze Garden’s wonderfully unique combination of ideas about mazes, historical uses of plants it “houses” and a sense of garden space, come together to offer a rich and rewarding experience for people of all ages and interests.  No matter the season there is always good reason to visit this amazing space.