Take A Stroll Through the Park

During the late 1980s and early 1990s volunteer gardeners designed an entrance with granite slabs. Six tons of granite was donated by a local quarry and a local stonemason volunteered to build the wall. A volunteer ironworker set an iron gate and fencing atop the wall. When land for the St. John’s Church rectory was being cleared, Barbara Sieg and a neighbor dug and transplanted many daffodils and other plants here. Mrs. Sieg was the driving force behind restoration efforts in the cemetery.

These iron railings, medallions and tassels were found buried in the cemetery and refurbished. Several plots are surrounded by the original iron fencing, which dates to the mid-1800s. The fencing bears the insignia of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows (I.O.O.F.), a service organization like today’s Rotary and Lion’s Clubs. Many I.O.O.F. members were blacksmiths, and William Whipps was a well-known blacksmith in Howard County.

Whipps Garden Cemetery was awarded Bay-Wise Certification in 2008 for utilizing practices to protect the natural resources throughout the Chesapeake Bay water shed.

• Provide wood piles and birdhouses to shelter animals • Plant native shrubs to offer cover, nesting areas, and food (berries and seeds) for wildlife • Avoid fertilizers; instead, enrich soil with compost • Recycle leaves for soil health and mulch • Minimize overhead watering to reduce disease; install drip irrigation system and if irrigation system is not available, water new shrubs and perennials up to 3x per week during hot dry weather in the first year to establish root system • Apply mulch

This chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution adopted a cemetery section in 1953. Members were the first to inventory the graves at Whipps Cemetery, which proved invaluable during restoration efforts. Unfortunately, some of the headstones were damaged beyond recognition in the overgrown graveyard and could not be confirmed when restoration was underway in the 1980s.

This section, near the iron-gate entrance, features boxwood and a stone angel looking down from its pedestal. In recent years, drought and snowstorms killed or severely damaged several of the boxwood. The garden club, together with Master Gardeners re-designed the area and added shade-tolerant heritage and native shrubs and perennials.

This section was the first to be cleared and head stones coupled with a foot stone were uncovered. Foot stones typically have carved initials to match the headstone. A granite border surrounds the plot and was originally surrounded by iron posts. A large triple-shaped stone marks the graves of all six of the Gaw’s children who died within a decade of each other. Many children are buried here and their gravesites are adorned with a Maryland state flag.

John White's is the oldest grave in the cemetery, born about 1780 and died in August 1828. Mr. White is the father of William Whipps’ first wife Sarah Earlougher White. William Whipps is the founder of this cemetery.

Once an iris garden, this garden is being replanted with hardy and deer-resistant hellebores. Commonly called Lenten rose, hellebores have year-round foliage and early-blooming flowers from February to May.

This section honors a friend named Nancy. Throughout the gardens, commemorative benches and plaques recognize others who held this special spot close to their hearts.

As restoration of Whipps’ Cemetery progressed, a line of broken and damaged gravestones were discovered nearby and relocated to the cemetery. Included were stones of cemetery founder William Whipps and his first-born son, Samuel (1813-1909) who was said to be the father of 22 children. Samuel was a charter member of Independent Order of Odd Fellows Lodge, a farmer, shop owner, postmaster. William's gravestone was the first to be mended.

In 2009, Whipps Cemetery was awarded a Howard County Watershed Enhancement Grant to enhance the cemetery’s riparian border, improve its eco-friendly environment and educate residents on gardening practices that improve water quality. A 17-ft by 65-ft riparian buffer on the south slope lies about 75 feet from an underground stream, which flows to the Patapsco River, was created and planted. Mostly native trees and shrubs comprise the buffer, which help prevent water run-off.

As part of an Eagle Scout project, the Free Seed Library was designed and constructed in 2024. Like a free book-lending library, this library encourages the public to donate and “check out” plant seeds including vegetable, annuals, perennials and native species.

The rose garden started with just 12 rose plants. This is one of the few sunny spaces in the cemetery, and a small stream flows through the area. A dry creek bed was added to accommodate water run-off in 2007. Overtime, the garden has been replanted with disease-resistant, reblooming and fragrant roses. With the installation of a drip watering system, the roses are continuing to thrive.

This parterre garden was created to honor Barbara Sieg’s vision to restore Whipps Garden Cemetery. A parterre is a formal garden design with planting beds typically edged in stone, hedges, and paths arranged in a symmetrical pattern. French parterres originated in 15th-century such as the Chateau of Versailles. Flowering herbs surround a statue of St. Francis of Assisi and include catmint, chives, oregano, wooly thyme, lemon balm, and creeping rosemary.

The oldest white oak in the U.S. stood for more than 450 years in Wye Mills, near Easton, MD. It was 31 ft. in circumference, 96 feet tall, and had a 119 ft. crown spread. The Wye Oak was toppled during a thunderstorm in 2002. It was cloned by a horticulturist at the University of Maryland by grafting buds from the tree onto seedlings from its acorns. The white oak is our state tree and supports over 500 species of butterflies and moths.

This garden, with its iron fencing, was created in 2008 with a variety of plants that support butterflies and their caterpillars. The garden is in the process of being replanted with shade tolerant and native pollinator plants.

This area—a favorite spot for photographers—features one of the many benches where visitors can rest and enjoy the peaceful surroundings. Garden volunteers regularly refresh the pots and urns throughout the gardens with seasonal plantings, adding beauty and variety year-round.

With Master Gardener assistance, this theater was built in 2007 as an Eagle Scout Project. It was patterned after the garden theater at Monticello and serves as a space for horticultural and historic presentations with seating for up to 30. In 2011 a new table was built. in 2011 and in 2014 the benches were refurbished. by Paul Kojzar and Paul DiCrispino. Signage with new branding was designed and donated in 2014.

A white picket fence surrounds the tombstone of Annie Vernay, a young child who lived from June 1861 to Sept 1862. As a child, local Howard County poet, Dysart McMullen (1882-1973), walked through the site with his nursemaid and later recalled a “child’s grave surrounded by a picket fence less than a foot high which is still remembered by one of the children who strolled among the tombstones.”

In the early days of restoration, this section was planted with daylilies and vinca—traditional cemetery heritage plants. It has been gradually replanted with native varieties to better support the environment and demonstrate sustainable gardening for visitors and passersby