United States of America -- Connecticut -- Hartford County -- Farmington
Scope and Contents:
The folder includes worksheets, a site plan, a narrative description of the garden, and other information.
General:
This sunken garden was designed in the 1950s by noted landscape architect Fletcher Steele and, like many of his other designs, provides a bridge between Beaux Arts formalism and modern landscape design. Using the outside dimensions of the house, Steele designed a formal sunken garden to outline the perimeter of the rectangular suburban lot. To soften the feeling of a walled enclosure, he designed a series of multi-layered terraces filled with colorful flower borders and walkways to gracefully transition to a central flat lawn, large enough to accommodate many outdoor activities. He used native red sandstone for the stone walls, and for textural variety bordered the gravel walkway and flower borders with tufa, a porous stone made from lava, to create a rockery. Steele's sense of whimsy is evident everywhere, as in the low sandstone pedestals decorated with rams' heads and laurel swags to mark the edges of the stone steps and the corners of the garden. For theatrical performances he designed an elegantly curved, elevated stage at the far end of the sunken garden, facing it with a stone wall and covering it with grass. Arborvitae provide the screen backdrop.
Persons associated with the garden include Fletcher Steele (landscape architect, 1954-1956) and Mr. and Mrs. Stuart Ellsworth Smith (former owners, 1950s).
Related Materials:
Olsen Garden related holdings consist of 1 folder (8 35 mm. slides)
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.
