CHANCE GARDENS

Chance Garden, a horticultural attraction was built in 1936 by Mr. Albert Bishop Chance, as an expression of his gratitude to the community for it’s support through the years. In 1927 Mr. Chance took a world tour. He was so inspired by the gardens he saw that upon his return he built one of his own.
The garden was designed by Mrs. Maude Dawson Taylor, landscape architect of Kansas City, Missouri. The oriental influence may be sensed in the artful harmony of wood, water, rocks, trees, shrubs and flowers as well as in the design of entrances and garden pergola. Key features include a massive stone arch and wishing well.
Across a low, pine-topped berm, a brook cascades down a miniature mountainside, joining a smaller spring fed stream and then meandering through a rock strewn valley.
A rock grotto is among the gardens best known attractions, reminiscent of caves constructed in early Chinese landscapes, is lined with unusual specimens from Missouri caves.
Chance Garden, now listed on the National Historic Registry, is Boone County’s oldest garden open to the public. It continues to attract thousands of visitors annually. Some return several times during the year to admire the changes brought by the advancing seasons.
A 1995 addition, the Rose Garden, sits adjacent to the Chance Museum. Its design compliments the architecture of the 1904 Queen Ann Victorian style house. From May to November the Rose Garden is ablaze with the blooms of 400+ different varieties of Hybrid Tea and Floribunda Roses.