Developed to be a garden cemetery by landscape designer Adolph Strauch, Lake View bursts with color each spring as its more than 1,000 recorded plantings complement the trees and headstones. Marilyn Brandt, Lake View's vice president of operations, points out five varieties that beautify the ever-changing surroundings.
Late March: The earliest signs of spring come from the brilliant yellow flowers of the cornelian cherry dogwood. These ornamental shrubs sprout red edible fruits in July. "You don't see those big showy flowers like typical dogwoods," says Brandt. Spot them in section 10 near the Mayfield Road entrance.
July: The conic white blooms of the bottlebrush buckeye sprout upward from these large, dense shrubs. Find them in the sections around the Garfield Memorial. In early spring, many plants blossom with pinks, purples and yellows. "In July, you begin seeing more white flowers,"says Brandt.
Late July: Prominent in section 2, the dense blooms on each peegee hydrangea can reach 18 inches in length. They undergo a stunning change in August. "They bloom pure white," says Brandt. "But as the weeks progress, they turn into a light pink and then mauve purple."
