Anyone looking to find some peace and tranquility in their lives need look no further than the heart of Downtown Flint, where Applewood Estate has roughly 41 acres showcasing beautiful gardens and grounds that visitors are welcome to explore and enjoy.
Located on the Applewood Estate and managed by the Ruth Mott Foundation, the gardens feature an orchard of 71 trees representing 29 heirloom apple varieties. Todd Bakos, Director of Estate Operations, says that while visitors are asked not to pick the apples while they are growing, the “Taste of Applewood” program offers every guest a piece of Applewood produce or food made with ingredients grown there.
Apples are also donated to community organizations like the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan and the Flint Fresh Food Hub. Applewood has other fruit trees, as well as vegetable and herb gardens.
The Cut Flower Garden is filled with colorful flowers used to create arrangements for the Mott house, while the Demonstration Garden includes herbs and vegetables planted to provide ideas and inspiration to visitors. The original vegetable garden filled Applewood’s lower gardens area and the fresh produce fed the Mott family and their animals.
In the Perennial Garden, about 90 varieties of perennial plants grow alongside about 20 beds of annuals.
Originally the site of the Cut Flower Garden, the Rose Garden now follows the same layout with beds surrounded by gravel walks and grass. It includes 28 varieties of roses, as well as beds of annual flowers and perennials.
Popular annual programs offered at the estate include “Storytime at Applewood.”
Bakos, who began his journey with Applewood Estate at age 16, was appointed to his current position after 37 years of dedicated service. He explained a bit of the history of the gardens. “When C.S. Mott purchased the land for Applewood in 1915, he wanted enough room to include a farm that would provide healthy food and space for livestock,” Bakos said. “He enlisted a landscape architect to design a beautiful and practical estate, developed in 1916 and 1917, that included flower and vegetable gardens and a parklike setting with large expanses of green lawn plus a diverse collection of trees, shrubs, annuals and perennials. Today, Applewood’s gardens and grounds are known as a peaceful place of natural beauty. If you haven’t been to Applewood, we welcome you to visit, explore and experience it for yourself.”
Bakos said planning for the gardens is an ongoing cycle, but generally starts in the fall with staff collaborating to design the annual flower beds. “The designs differ each year and it is always fun to play with color and varieties, and rewarding to see the results of our planning bloom throughout the season,” Bakos shared. “In a typical year, there are about 9,000 greenhouse plants we could transplant, some grown from seed and some from plugs. The Applewood gardens are designed so there is always something blooming throughout the season.” The staff keeps a close eye on the weather and this year, they hope to be able to begin planting the most frost-tolerant varieties in the last week of May and finish planting all the garden beds in mid-June.
Garden maintenance is also an ongoing process. “With roughly 41 acres at Applewood, there is always something in need of care or maintenance,” Bakos said.
For example, in the winter months, workers take advantage of the dormancy of the landscapes to remove invasive plants.
“You can compare it to a vegetable garden; if you don’t weed it, it won’t produce a good crop,” Bakos stated.
In February, staff was busy pruning the Heritage Apple Orchard which produces 29 heirloom varieties.
“Pruning the trees before they ‘wake up’ helps get them ready to produce the approximately 400 bushels of apples we harvest,” Bakos explained. “The pruning is an important step to correct the structure of the plants and improve air circulation, which prevents disease.”
Soon, the maintenance staff will start processing collected leaves into leaf mulch for the perennial and annual flower beds. “Each fall, we collect all the leaves and recycle them,” Bakos said. “It’s a time-consuming process that has many benefits, including weed control, pH-buffering, moisture, and improved soil structure. Also last fall, we maintained the Rose Garden which has 180 plants representing 28 varieties, pruning the stems and branches that might jostle each other in wind exposure. We also piled wood chips at the bases to protect from sudden temperature swings that could harm the plants. In the spring, we will remove the wood chips before they wake up and prune as needed. Also in the spring, all the turf along the driveways and pathways will be repaired from the winter and snow plowing.”
The Applewood horticulture team has 11 full-time positions: Director of Estate Operations, Landscape Operations Field Manager, Orchard Manager, Floriculturist, General Repair & Maintenance Manager, three Landscape Specialists, and three Landscape Assistants. Bakos added that in addition to these full-time members, other staff oversee historic preservation, public programs and visitor services. It also takes a dedicated corps of volunteers to help with the gardens, programming, and making the open days go smoothly. “We also have a security team to make sure visitors and staff enjoy their days at Applewood.
Really, all the Ruth Mott Foundation staff have a hand in sharing Applewood with the community.”
According to Kristin Longley, Director of Communications, Applewood was built in 1916, and Ruth Mott was the last family member to live there until she passed away in 1999. Today, it is under the care of the Ruth Mott Foundation, which she established to extend the reach of her philanthropy beyond her lifetime with a continued presence in Flint.
In 1979, Applewood was granted a listing on the National Register of Historic Places and received an official historic marker during its centennial celebration in 2016. It was Ruth Mott’s vision that Applewood would eventually be opened to the public, and she asked staff to develop public programs that would honor C.S. Mott’s legacy. “Hopefully, these plans will be well in hand, so that when I pass on, the Applewood home and grounds will become a memorial museum for the public to use and enjoy and that this will foster an interest in history, perpetuate Mr. Mott’s memory, and preserve a gracious way of life,” she said at the time.
In accordance with her wishes, the Applewood grounds were opened to the public on occasion after Mrs. Mott’s passing in 1999.
“If you haven’t been to Applewood, we welcome you to visit, explore and experience it for yourself.”
Todd Bakos, Director of Estate Operations
In honor of Applewood’s centennial in 2016, weekly visitor hours were established, and the house was opened for public tours for the first time. Admission and activities at Applewood are all free of charge.
Longley says tens of thousands of people visit the gardens each season, which runs from May to October 31 this year. Open hours are 11AM-5PM Thursday through Saturday and 1-4PM on Sunday. Anyone 16 and younger must be accompanied by an adult.
Twice monthly, Applewood offers a guided “What’s in Bloom Garden Tour” in May through October. The tours are led by an expert horticulturist and focus on what is blooming or thriving that month. If you come in June and again in August, you will experience two different tours. Garden tour participants are welcome to bring any questions they may have about their gardens or yards. Visitors are always welcome to stroll the gardens at their leisure during visitor hours. Longley added that in addition to the guided garden tours, House Tours are offered from 1-4PM on each open day, and other Applewood programs include “Storytime at Applewood”, “Mindfulness Walks”, and “Civic Matters”, focused on the importance of historic preservation and civic participation. Throughout the season, Applewood welcomes groups for field trips.
NEW THIS YEAR
This season, Applewood will celebrate the grand opening of the new pavilion that will bring much-needed visitor amenities to the lower gardens. The pavilion will include restrooms, open-air shelter, a lactation room, a water station, accessible paths, new landscaping and a flexible learning space with A/V technology.
“We’re excited about the new opportunities this presents for visitors, potential community convenings and Applewood programming,” said Todd Bakos. “While the building is expected to open in May, visitors may notice the pavilion landscaping being installed in phases throughout the season and a new rain garden will be planted there in 2026.”
VOLUNTEERS WELCOME
The Applewood Estate is recruiting volunteers to help share this beloved, historical gem with the community. Anyone interested in more information about volunteering, visiting, or the history of Applewood can visit applewood.org
