Pool of the Nymphs

The formal garden in the southwest corner of the Vogt's property was known as the Garden of the Nymphs or Pool of the Nymphs. This part of the garden appears to have been planned as a complete design of interrelated elements, in contrast to other areas of Ak-Sar-Ben which are loose groupings of solitary planters and flower beds. As the most ambitiously-planned project it seems likely that the Pool of the Nymphs was one of the later parts of the garden built by the Vogts, in the mid to late 1930s.

Pathways paved in irregular marble slabs enter the area through rock arches. From here visitors first encounter a circular path around a pool for water lilies with showy red, white and purple flowers. The pool is ringed by a low wall of pockmarked limestone rocks with small quartz crystals the Vogts gathered in the Ozarks. The center of the pool has a small statuette of a fisherman which sprays from a fountain on top.

From the water lily pool, two curved walkways continue on either side of an enclosed flower bed. Hidden behind the taller flowers a tiny rill or channel made of rough stones runs through the center. At the far end of the enclosed flower bed the water flows from a tiny waterfall running down the center of a staircase.

A staircase between two square posts topped by ornamental lanterns leads to a raised platform and the source of the little rill at a shallow reflecting pool. Two cupids dip their toes in the water, while above them a nude nymph appears hesitant to step into the pool. A small alcove or grotto made of concrete with a textured surface of black cintered ore makes a contrasting theatrical backdrop for the smooth white paint of the statue. The Pool of the Nymphs is the most contemplative area of the garden, with its balanced symmetry and quiet sounds of moving water. The design appears to be as much inspired by Art Deco hotel lobbies as by the bathtub Madonna shrines which are common in many small towns in Iowa and Minnesota which the Vogts may have seen on their drive from Omaha.

Arnold Vogt passed away in Omaha in 1955 at age 66. Hugo died the following year at age 80. The property fell into neglect for several years until Arnold's widow Dora sold the property in 1959 to a Minneapolis truck driver who was looking for a new career. Rudy Seliga and his wife and four children restored the garden and operated it as a commercial tourist attraction charging 75¢ admission. They added a petting zoo, picnic area, gift shop and a snack bar concession stand. The Seliga children sold frogs to visitors and the tame bass continued to leap from the water to snatch them. The gardens remained open to the public until the late 1970s.

The gardens are not currently open to the public aside from occasional weekend events.