AUBURN - Imitation, as the saying goes, is the sincerest form of flattery.

In back of Willard Memorial Chapel, hidden from view, is the chapel's small maintenance shed.

The structure is brown, with steeply slanted roofs and an octagonal window above the door - eerily similar to the beautiful chapel itself sitting majestically a few feet away.

The shed was built last year by Mennonite carpenters and the design required approval from the New York State Historical Society, since the chapel itself is on the National Registry of Historic Places.

The maintenance shed was just one of the attractions presented at the Cayuga County Women's Republican Club's annual Victorian Garden Party, which took place at Willard Chapel Sunday afternoon.

The party included free refreshments and lemonade along with tours of the remodeled garden, and coincided with an informal organ recital by Joan Haff.

“(The creation of) this garden was actually a brainstorm during the city of Auburn's bicentennial celebration of 1999,” said Jean Wright, the club member overseeing the project during a tour of the grounds Sunday afternoon.

The club wanted to contribute something to the celebration, so its members chose to create gardens reminiscent of the chapel's early years, she explained.

“These gardens were in horrible shape, just overgrown with weeds and everything - so we decided to make it our project.”

The club's first contribution was a cedar trellis, built to resemble the trellis located on the grounds in the 1800s.

“This trellis was built from a picture of the (trellis) here on the grounds of (Auburn Theological Seminary) way, way back,” she said.

Inside the chapel, guests meandered between the sanctuary, where Haff played various organ works by Cesar Franck and others and the chapel meeting room, which held a table filled with cookies, cakes and lemonade.

Meanwhile, flowers like marigolds, roses and hostas soaked in the gorgeous June sun in the gardens.

“The (orange) marigolds were our signature color during the bicentennial celebration,” Wright said. “This whole area was full of marigolds from all over the country.”

Next to the chapel's front entrance was a memorial garden, filled mostly with geraniums, donated by Auburn Lodge No. 124 in 1992.

“I must say, I love it here,” Wright said. “I think it's the most beautiful spot, and (the gardens) have so much to offer- it's something we're really proud of.”