Renaissance Woman

Loosely defined as a woman who defies convention and sets her own goals for personal achievements and perhaps is even somewhat outrageous, a renaissance woman is someone you’d probably want to know!  She gets things done, even if its sometimes unconventional.

Gene Stratton-Porter was just such a woman.  She lived in the early 1900’s, the youngest of 12 children.  She grew up to be a reknowned author of such books as “A Girl of the Limberlost” and “Freckles”, often outselling even Jack London at that time!  She was a naturalist and tended beautiful gardens at her home near the Limberlost Swamp in Geneva, Indiana and later at “The Cabin at Wildflower Woods” on Sylvan Lake in Rome City, Indiana, as well as in Hollywood, where she had quite a career as a film producer.  Her two Indiana homesteads are well-preserved as Indiana State Historic Sites, and still include fabulous gardens.  Gene is said to have hand-planted over 15,000 plants on the grounds of her Sylvan Lake “cottage” , including 1500 different species of Indiana plants.  Many of the plants were endangered at the time, but thanks to her efforts, are now flourishing. 

Enjoy a few photos, but like any thing of beauty, it is best viewed “up close and personal”.  The sites are open year-round, with information here and here.

P.S.  Visited the site again over the holiday weekend and got some great early-morning shots!  See how lighting makes all the difference in photography, in the last 3 photos shown…