Burden's gardens, including those at Windrush, his family home, showcase Steele Burden's signature design style, which emphasized the creation of garden rooms and used sculpture and plantings to draw the eye.

Born in Louisiana, Ollie Brice Steele Burden, known as Steele, grew up in Baton Rouge while spending weekends on his family’s 600-acre farm, Windrush Plantation. As an adult, Burden moved onto the Windrush property permanently. There, inspired by travels in Europe, he began his first experiments with garden design, creating a small formal garden in the 1920s.

Although he never earned a degree in landscape architecture, Burden took courses at Louisiana State University before working for the City of Baton Rouge. In the 19...