He's hosted more than 100 tours in his "Gardens of Oz" over the years—all for charity.
In Other News #23 // Celebrating the stories of everyday heroes among us.
More than 100 garden tours have wound through Dennis Denenberg’s Gardens of Oz over the years—all for charity. While his hosting and touring days are over, Denenberg is reflecting on his life and career, all while still welcoming individual visitors to stop by anytime and smell the roses.
Turning over a new leaf
It’s a time of transition for Denenberg. The longtime Lancaster County, Pa. educator, gardener, author and breast cancer awareness advocate is shifting into a new season of life and wellness.
“At my age, my goal is downsizing—but I’m not very successful yet,” says Denenberg with a smile, along with a twinkle in his eyes. He turns 78 in August.
Slowly but surely, that downsizing is taking place, both inside and out.
“I want to age in place, so the gardens have to be less time-consuming,” he says, gesturing across the lush, 1-acre property. Garden beds stretch as far as the eye can see, a sea of green rippling in the breeze, encompassing shrubs, trees, and a bamboo grove in the distance. Flowers provide splashes of color.
“There’s no place like home,” is one of the most famous lines from the classic movie “The Wizard of Oz,” and it rings true for Denenberg. Over the past 30 years, he created a one-of-a-kind home and property that as many as 3,000 people have visited to-date. Wizard of Oz features—such as the winding yellow-brick garden path—are delightful surprises throughout.
“Ever since I was a youth, I fell in love with the movie,” says Denenberg. “It’s from 1939 and has stood the test of time.”
The time of his life
Denenberg’s own path in life could be compared to that joyful, ever-winding yellow-brick road.
His career launch, as a high school history teacher, shifted into elementary principal and assistant superintendent roles—all within Lancaster County—then director of student teaching and professor of elementary education at Millersville University.
Along the way, he wrote and published the highly-successful book, “50 American Heroes Every Kid Should Meet,” published by Scholastic—followed by “60 American Heroes Every Kid Should Meet” with Lerner Publishing in 2023.
“Professionally, the book is the best thing I’ve ever done,” says Denenberg, who spent 15 years supporting the book through travel and speaking engagements. It sold more than 100,000 copies, sharing stories of American icons from Abraham Lincoln to Fred Rogers—and Denenberg’s favorite, Dolly Parton.
Intertwined with his educational career, a new phase of life took root when he moved into his Manheim Township home 30 years ago.
“This 1-acre property was all grass,” Denenberg recalls. “I bought a riding tractor from the previous owner and mowed it one time—it took over four hours and I said, ‘Never again—I hate grass.’”
Thick layers of woodchips transformed the grassy lawn, section by section, into creative garden spaces—a bed where thousands of daffodils burst forth in spring, another housing 75 peony bushes, a shady collection of hostas, and more. But within all the beauty, there’s one special garden that stands out.
“The most popular garden is ‘the pink garden’ to honor my sister and everybody battling breast cancer,” Denenberg says. “Diana contracted breast cancer in 1989, and she battled for 18 years. She was unbelievably heroic—never asking, ‘Why me?’”
Today, a full range of pink flowers, from knock-out roses and anemones, to peonies, coneflowers, zinnias and petunias honor her memory. Denenberg also founded Diana’s Dreamers, an endowment fund at Millersville that promotes breast health education and awareness among college students.
Golden time, golden advice
The most common question visitors always ask Denenberg is this: Aren’t the gardens more work than grass?
“The answer is yes, but if I didn’t have the goddesses, I couldn’t do this,” he says, referring to Inge and Greta, two local horticulturists who’ve worked for him for 15 years.
Currently, the goddesses are helping him incorporate more shrubs and fewer flowers into the gardens. This is for several reasons: First, shrubs will be easier to maintain in the years to come.
But secondly, shrubs may provide more resilient against the effects of climate change that Denenberg says he’s witnessed throughout the gardens’ 30 years. Many flowers, such as a large bed of lupine, have died out due to warmer weather patterns. The USDA reclassified many of the nation’s hardiness zones in 2023, based upon average minimum winter temperatures, which have changed.
Amid blooming flowers, Denenberg hosted garden parties every June for many years. Now, he says, many of those same “garden party flowers” are opening their blooms earlier and earlier, in May. The timing proved to be very difficult and frustrating during his final few years of garden parties.
Still, the biggest perk related to losing his lawn and gaining gardens is what Denenberg calls “freedom from mowing.”
These days, Denenberg is also downsizing, indoors. He’s working on donating his childhood toys to the world’s largest toy museum, The Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, N.Y.
Another famous line from “The Wizard of Oz” may be on his mind these days: "A heart is not judged by how much you love; but by how much you are loved by others."
His advice for living well?
“I think it’s important for everyone regardless of your means to give back,” Denenberg says. “It can be with your money or your time, but it’s very important to do things that help others.”
Even though the Gardens of Oz are no longer available for nonprofit fundraising events, Dennis Denenberg invites individual visitors to stop by and enjoy the gardens, located at 410 Valley Road, Lancaster 17601. Denenberg advises visitors to park across the road, on a public roadway, Fiddlers Green.
Nature Nugget
A quick travel tip and photo, sharing incredible views, trails, or parks
I can relate to Denenberg’s observation regarding our shifting climate. As I was writing his story, I had my own personal gardening challenge. My magnolia shrub (different than a magnolia tree) was covered in gorgeous sunny yellow buds, spurred by a string of warmer-than-average early spring temperatures.
But before they could fully open, we had a frosty overnight. The past few years, when we experienced a frost warning, the shrub the small enough that I could cover it for the night. But it’s too large now. So this year, I left it up to chance, uncovered. The above photos were taken less then 24 hours apart—separated by a night of frost. All of this year’s blossoms were lost.
I wonder how major parks and gardens are faring, adjusting or replanting—just like Denenberg—based upon the wide swings in temperatures that seem to have become our “new normal.”
Luna Lens
Sharing a photo of my fluffy floofy dog Luna… because there’s plenty of fluff to go around.
Some of us may be enjoying Easter ham today… but Luna is a ham at some point every day. :-)
Comfort Corner
A great recipe, or a Spotify song. Comfort food or chill tunes. Maybe both.
NPR recently released its third version of “Songs to calm the nerves.” Enjoy!
Be well—have a wonderful week ahead,
Karen