Hudson Gardens is gem for generations

Lovely acreage has roots in namesake couple

BY SONYA ELLINGBOE SELLINGBOE@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

I spent a happy Monday afternoon soaking up Colorado sunshine and the beautiful views at Hudson Gardens with my grandson. And I wanted to remind readers that it’s a really lovely way to spend a few hours — just being there! It’s free, beautifully maintained by South Suburban Parks and Recreation District and o ers an ever-changing menu of growing things. Soon, the Rose Garden will be blooming, as will the Water Lily Pond and trees and shrubs ... including fragrant lilacs.

In 1940, Col. King C. Hudson was stationed at Fort Logan in Denver and his wife, Evelyn, joined him. He was ready to retire soon and the couple decided they would like to live in the area and start the restaurant she had been wanting to operate after a career in the foods business in Chicago. (Marshall Field’s tearoom in particular.) ey looked at various properties and decided on a large plot of farmland in Littleton, near the bank of the South Platte River.

Local old-timers in this primarily agricultural community shook their heads over that restaurant idea. “People will never come this far south to have dinner,” they said.

First, the Hudsons built a log home for themselves, close to the riverbank, then they designed and built the log Country Kitchen Restaurant on Santa Fe Drive.

e pair had traveled widely in Europe and Asia and she had written a series of “Tummy Travel” books about food they’d enjoyed. (Some reprints are available in the Gardens’ shop.) e restaurant opened with bu et assortments of foods re ecting various nationalities and added some more traditional menu dinners as well. e Country Kitchen was an immediate success, was recommended in the latest Duncan Hines travel guidebook that many driving travelers carried and, drew crowds from Denver, as well, who returned soon with more friends in tow. At rst, the pair would close the restaurant in the winter after the holidays and travel for a while, opening again in warmer weather, but eventually, it had a sta who could keep the operation running.

In the early 1950s, Marathon Oil and Martin Marietta both opened labs nearby, drawing employees who enjoyed good food. Our family came to work for Marathon and soon visited the Hudsons’ restaurant with our families. (Moving here, in the middle of the U.S., with Rocky Mountains close enough for a picnic excursion, seems to guarantee lots of company, which is usually ne, as long as there’s time to wash sheets in between!)

Eventually, the busy couple retired, renting the log building to another food person, who operated as e Northwoods Inn, with a huge Paul Bunyan gure standing by their sign. e Hudsons continued to live in their riverside home. He raised purebred horses and she became interested in beautifying her city, contributing trees and planting materials to the new Arapahoe Community College campus and elsewhere. She also served on the Littleton Fine Arts Board, seeking ways to pay for sculpture and an art collection for the growing city.

She told me of a visit to the city planning o ce to inquire about something. (A visit she made quite frequently.) While there, she saw a drawing on a desk of riverfront land that included hers, she realized. Planners’ drawings showed that land lled with houses and apartments.

I can remember Evelyn telling me a few days later that she had driven home and immediately called her lawyer and set up a foundation that day, which would protect the Hudson acreage as open land. Her thinking quickly progressed to creating a place of beauty that people of all ages could enjoy and appreciate — and perhaps learn a bit about how to grow beautiful plants and teach others about that beauty.

She called a few close friends and her beloved nephew, Don Had eld, and soon was involved in setting up the rst Hudson Gardens Board of Directors, which met in her living room monthly — and at times, more often. Local landscape architect Doug Rockne was hired to design Hudson Gardens, with input from British horticulturalist Andrew Pierce. Board members and sta were generous with time and expertise at public gardens visited across the U.S. and in Canada. From Longwood Gardens in Philadelphia to Buchart Gardens in Vancouver, Canada.

Plans were drawn and redrawn and plant lists were developed and landscapers hired. Soon, a lovely garden was open for business ... I feel certain, Evelyn is somewhere, smiling ...

Thu 4/27

Tom Mcelvain Music @ 5pm

The Englewood Tavern, 4386 S Broadway, Englewood

Jamie Lissow @ 6:30pm

Comedy Works South, 5345 Landmark Pl, Greenwood Village

Fri 4/28

Mark O'Connor @ 6pm Lone Tree Arts Center, 10075 Commons St, Lone Tree

Vamonos Pest/Mobro:

Vamonos Pest at Cherokee Ranch & Castle @ 5:30pm

Cherokee Ranch & Castle, 6113 N Daniels Park Rd, Sedalia

Wild Pink @ 6pm

Gothic Theatre, 3263 S Broadway, Englewood

R�N for Fire Heroes - Fire�ghter Strength Challenge & 5K @ 11pm / $30

Apr 30th - May 7th

1071 Round Top Lane, Castle Rock

Mon 5/01

Social Skills: Group for Teens (1317 yrs) S/S23 @ 5am

May 1st - Aug 31st

Parker Recreation Center, 17301 E Lincoln Ave., Parker

Kids’ Zone: Gym Jam (3-6 yrs) S/S23 @ 5am

May 1st - Aug 31st

Jamie Lissow @ 6:15pm

Comedy Works South, 5345 Land‐mark Pl, Greenwood Village

Tom Mcelvain Music @ 7pm Wild Goose Saloon, Parker

Dave Hadley: Water 2 Wine w/ June Star @ 5pm

Water 2 Wine, 8130 S University Blvd #110, Centennial

Ryan Chrys & The Rough Cuts @ 8pm Wild Goose Saloon, Parker

Miguel Mateos @ 8:30pm

Stampede, 2430 S Havana St, Aurora

Sat 4/29

The Slocan Ramblers: Five String Barn Concert @ 6:30pm

Five String Barn Concert, Castle Rock

Sun 4/30

Parker Recreation Center, 17301 E Lincoln Ave., Parker

BOOM Sports: (18 mos-6 yrs) 10 Punch Card S/S23 @ 5am

May 1st - Aug 31st

Parker Fieldhouse, 18700 E Plaza Dr, Parker

Preschool Month RegistrationMay @ 8am / Free May 1st - May 31st

Parker Fieldhouse, 18700 E Plaza Dr., Parker. 303-805-6315

Tue 5/02

Gymnastics: Ninja: Mighty Ninja (34 yrs) May @ 3pm

May 2nd - May 23rd

Parker Recreation Center, 17301 E Lincoln Ave., Parker

Denver Concert Band: Young Artist Concert @ 1pm / $22

Lone Tree Arts Center, 10075

Commons Street, Lone Tree. Info@ DenverConcertBand.org, 720-5091000

Ruston Kelly @ 6pm Gothic Theatre, 3263 S Broadway, Engle‐wood

Wed 5/03

Dear Marsha,: DM Acoustic @ Brewability @ 5:30pm Brewability Lab, 3445 S Broadway, Englewood Whitechapel

@ 7pm Gothic Theatre, 3263 South Broadway, En‐glewood

Littleton YMCA Offering Free Family Fun on Healthy Kids Day @ 8am Littleton Family YMCA, 11 West Dry Creek Court, Littleton

6 Million Dollar Band @ 7pm Wild Goose Saloon, Parker

Kelsey Cook @ 6pm

Comedy Works South, 5345 Landmark Pl, Greenwood Village

New Pornographers @ 7pm Gothic Theatre, 3263 South Broadway, En‐glewood

Ladies Night @ 5pm / $10 Stampede, 2430 South Havana, Aurora

Thu 5/04

Bad Omens: 107.9 KBPI Birthday Bash @ 6pm Fiddlers Green Amphitheater, 6501 S Fid‐dlers Green Cir, Greenwood Village