Name/Title
Charles Mann albumsEntry/Object ID
2025.09.15Scope and Content
Hundreds of scans of photos and newspaper clipping from photo albums owned by horticulturalist Charlie Mann. The photos are mostly of individual plants, garden beds and views of Charles Man's extensive gardens that surrounded his home. There are also winter and snow photos, autumn color, nature shots and photos of the home and seasonal decorations.
Web links, below, contain downloadable zip files of scans of the following Mann or Pamperien/Yoder garden photo albums:
- Mann's 1977-82 brown-cover photo album
- Mann's 2000 garden with captions album
- Mann's garden and house photos
- Mann's green photo album
- Nature photos by Charles Mann (Birds, fox, deer, Schultz Park landing, man searching beach with metal detector, sport fishermen, chain ferry Diane, Deam lighthouse, bugs, girl tanning on beach, boats, mushroom)
- Charles Mann newspaper clippings
- Mann's tan photo album
- Mann's garden photos taken by Pamperien/Yoder family membersContext
Charles W. Mann first became interested in gardening while he was a boy living on the southern estate of Thomas Fortune Ryan, a New York financier, where his father was manager of the greenhouses and gardens.
He graduated from Ohio State University's Department of Horticulture in 1935. In 1947, Mr. Mann established The Flower Basket, a nursery and landscape service in Saugatuck, Michigan. He designed a series of garden rooms and outdoor living areas on his home grounds, adjacent to his nursery, erecting vistas through the use of elevations, terraces, sunken gardens and stone walls. This show garden was said to be unsurpassed for beauty of material, fine maintenance and artistry, a model that inspired many visitors to improve and beautify their own property.
A former Virginian, Mann became lonesome for the azaleas and rhododendrons which / beautify the Old Dominion mountain vistas. After years of experimenting, he is credited with being among the first in Michigan to successfully grow rhododendrons, azaleas and hollies and was considered one of Michigan's foremost horticulturists.Collection
Family History, Nature, ecology, the landscapeCataloged By
Winthers, SallyAcquisition
Accession
2025.09Source or Donor
Yoder, ChrisAcquisition Method
Donation, unconditionalCredit Line
Items scanned by Chris Yoder or Jack Sheridan for the SDHC family history group.Location
* Untyped Location
Digital data in CatalogItRelationships
Related Person or Organization
Person or Organization
Mann, Charles "Charlie" W. 1911-2001, 543 S. Maple/Charles Mann Gardens/Flower BasketCreate Date
June 1, 2025Update Date
October 2, 2025
