United States of America -- Ohio -- Montgomery County -- Dayton
Scope and Contents:
The folder includes worksheets, site plans, and other information.
General:
Located on less than one acre, Eleanor Shulman Garden in Dayton, OH was created from a grassy backyard slope where no previous garden had existed. In 1973 the owners terraced the slope in preparation for a new landscape design to reflect French, English and Italian influences taken from their travels to European gardens. This gradually evolved into four distinct areas which include: a shady front garden, a cutting garden, an upper level patio garden and connecting mid and lower level garden rooms.
The front garden features groundcover edged with boxwood hedges and topiary, hellebores, bulbs, flowering crabs, a Japanese umbrella pine and cut leaf maple. The cutting garden is planted along the west-facing apple espaliered wall of the house and screened from neighbors by a pleached hedge. The backyard slope was transformed into a three-tiered strolling garden entered through a black wrought iron gate and rose trellis on the patio level. The upper level beds of perennials and roses are edged by low box hedges or campanula anchored by conically pruned taxus. As the visitor descends to the middle and lower levels by way of wide stairs the landscape takes on an English cottage garden feel. Along the mid-level path, retaining walls constructed of railroad ties are covered with climbing hydrangea and are lined with more beds of perennials and roses. Descending to the bottom level, the visitor enters a series of distinct spaces. Surrounding a decorative armillary is a garden room furnished with a harmony of colorful perennials and roses enclosed on three sides with hedges of Spartan juniper, Bookwoodii viburnum and pleached pyrus calleryuna. Wandering further along the lower path, in a shady corner, a bench offers rest, contemplation and the enjoyment of spring blooming flowers and trees.
The great charm of this well ordered garden lies in its many changing vistas, its unusually large number of well selected and composed plants and the continuous bloom, color and fragrance the owner has achieved in such a little space.
Persons associated with the garden include: Zigrida Petersons (garden designer/installer, 1992-2011), James Slager (renovation architect, 1973), Forth Brothers (patio and terrace builders, 1973), Lloyd Fullmer (garden designer, 1973), James C. Gaddie (original builder, 1949), Donald D. Bollinger (original architect, 1949).
Related Materials:
Eleanore Shulman Garden related holdings consist of 1 folder (17 35 mm slides (photographs))
Collection Restrictions:
Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Collection Rights:
Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, The Garden Club of America collection.
Sponsor:
A project to describe images in this finding aid received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care Initiative, administered by the National Collections Program.
