Flour and Flowers Made a Garden

Just north of a bend in the Ohio River in Evansville, Indiana, a 25-acre arboretum and bird sanctuary sits. 

There is a small pond with two replica white swans; they work as a deterrent to the Canada Geese but also are a nod to the origin of this garden oasis. Swans Down cake flour is described as soft, as swans down, and elevated cake baking in kitchens around the world in the early 1900s. Described as a ‘sanctuary for the soul” by Phyliss Igelhart Kerdasha, Igleheart Gardens is today a private garden open only for educational events and charity fundraisers.

I have had the privilege of speaking at Igleheart for the past two years, and returning to this garden is a rare treat. 

The land was originally acres of flat farmland. Aline Igleheart was the gardener who transformed it into a family estate.  Aline’s love of trees formed the arboretum. It is said she alone planted 65 trees. She gave her children trees for their birthdays. Her daughter Phyliss recalled receiving a Norwegian Spruce for her 6th birthday instead of a bicycle. The tree still grows today. With over 250 tree species and a migration pathway for over 350 bird species, it is an oasis of calm and refuge for nature’s creatures. The garden is more than trees, with 60 species of heirloom Peonies that bloom in the spring and elaborate containers filled with seasonal plants.

Its architectural style developed after Phyllis’s parents, Aline and Edgar Igleheart honeymooned in France in 1904 and were inspired to recreate their home in Indiana in the French Chateau Style they had so admired in their travels. 

The home is filled with a lifetime collection of art and rare furniture and is rarely open to the public. It is on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Iglehearts were Evansville elites who provided employment and supported culture and the arts in the local community.

Their daughter, Phyllis, led an international life, living in Paris, Miami, and NYC.  At the end of her life, she returned to Evansville and devoted herself to preserving the family home. Phyllis was the family’s last living direct descendant. She made it her goal to prevent the property from being sold off for private development. She established the Igleheart Foundation that preserves the garden today. Rich Tremont has led the garden’s foundation since Phyllis’s death in 1973. 

He has added multinational sculptures among the trees, making this walkable oasis an inspiration and celebration of the arts.

Who were the Igelhearts?  Brothers Levi, William, and Asa realized that combining the river with wheat floating on barges downstream from Midwest farms was a business opportunity.  It is hard to imagine a time when stone-ground wheat was the only option in baking.  Romanticized today as a simpler time, it was then a basic flour with limited recipes. As supplies of sugar, eggs, and butter became more available and food tastes expanded, remilling grain became a major discovery. Roller-mill grinding of soft winter wheat became Swans Down Cake Flour.  Milling it 27 times created a delicate, fine texture that allowed a light, fluffy cake.  This business was so successful that the flour was exported internationally, and the first cake mixes were invented.  The Swansdown Angel Food Cake Mix sales exploded. The cake won a prize at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis, MO. At the time, the Igleheart fortune was $100 million.

Today, the foundation is developing a new community art center and art studios, and encouraging students with interests in the arts and horticulture.  Swansdown cake flour is still on grocery shelves. The invention of a new milling technique provided generations with wealth and left us a garden to enjoy. Let’s have some cake.

Sources: 

Two Main Street Interview: David James interviews Rich Tremont, June 7, 2026, Tri State Public Media

Phyllis Igleheart  Obituary. The Evansville Courier Press, Jan. 18, 2016.

Igleheart Gardens Website  https://igleheartgardens.com/history/