6722 N. Newgard Avenue
6722 N. Newgard Avenue was owned by Jim Dickes and Jim Differding.
This garden was featured in the 1990 Annual Fall House Tour and the house in the 2002 Annual Fall House Tour Booklets.
Addresses
6722 N. Newgard Avenue, Peter J. Angsten, 1919.
6722 N. Newgard Avenue, Jim Dickes and Jim Differding, 1990, 2002.
The Garden
The Dickes/Differding Garden was about 10 months old in 1990 when the 1990 Annual Fall House Tour visited it. The apple tree and the deck in the backyard were the only existing features, around which the garden was planned. All the other plantings, the dog run, cedar fencing, and concrete block walls had been added during 1989. In the fall of 1990, daffodils, tulips, and other bulbs were to be added to complete the planting scheme.
To the right of the front brick wall is a dwarf Sargent Crab apple tree under-planted with a ground cover of purple leaf winter-creeper.
In front of the porch are Japanese yews left to grow in their natural shapes. By the gate is a Washington Hawthorne tree, which will eventually provide privacy between the two porches.
As you enter the gate, on the left there is a pagoda dogwood shrub under-planted with a heart-shaped leaf ground-cover, ginger, which is native to Illinois woods; nearby are white bleeding hearts, cinnamon fern, and astilbes.
To the right are mums, purple cone flower, and fountain grass. The multi-stem tree, by the bay window, is an alder. It is beginning to form small pine cones which will remain on the tree throughout the winter. Next to the alder is a bed of autumn joy sedum.
On the other side of the path, there are some small native hydrangea and strawberry bush shrubs. Across the way, there is a mixed bed of herbs, vegetables, ornamental grasses, and Siberian iris. At the corner of the house, there is a Miss Kim lilac.
Across the way, to the left, are six American cranberry bushes, and in front of the compost pile is a Cornellian cherry, which has small yellow flowers in early spring.
In front of the dog run is a Macintosh apple tree.
Between the garage windows is a star magnolia underplanted with a bed of mixed-colored daylilies, black-eyed Susans, alliums, daffodils, and tulips. At the corner of the garage is a multi-stem river birch tree.
To the right is a serviceberry shrub, at the corner of the deck is a dwarf flowering quince, and at the other corner is a black chokeberry shrub. In between is a bed of purple liatris.
The annual flowers are purple salira, French marigolds, white begonias, purple and white periwinkle, Dusty Miller, and kale.
The House
The Dickes/Differding House is a good example of the changes that took place in American architecture at the turn of the 20th Century. Unlike the older, vertically oriented Victorian houses, this classic stucco American Foursquare stretches wide across the lot and stays lower to the ground. You will not find any Victorian shingle work or ornate decorative bracketing on the home's exterior. The home shows the influence of the Prairie School, a style that sought to simplify designs and eliminate the visual "clutter" of the Queen Anne period.
As with the other homes in the area, there's a substantial open staircase upon entry. Take note of how this staircase is more subdued than in a Victorian house, but still makes a statement with its simple, elegant design. You won't find double parlors in this home, either, but rather a large, open living room that once had Prairie style art glass windows flanking the fireplace. These windows still exist behind the bookcases, and can be viewed from the side of the house.
Access to the kitchen and new addition can be found in the dining room, where the original oak beamed ceiling can be seen. The deck, garden, and original stucco garage can be seen from here.
There are four large bedrooms, two of which are being used as offices and one bath are found on the second floor.
We have no information on the unfinished attic on the third level.