United States of America -- New York -- Bedford County -- Bedford -- Bedford Hills
Scope and Contents:
The folder includes worksheets, site plans, a detailed description of the garden (including plant names), copies of articles about the garden, and other information.
General:
Located in Westchester County, Wildflower Farm's comparatively new (since 1995) garden complements its century-old house surrounded by mature trees. Its design, including hardscaping, was carefully planned to unify the land with the house, for example by using hedges and shrubs to provide a transitional level to the landscape between the house and the trees. Several smaller gardens are situated throughout the nearly 20-acre site, among them a parterre (near the Classical Revival porch on the eastern side of the house), a peony garden, a rhododendron enclave, a Japanese-inspired azalea garden, and the studio garden, located outside the owner's design studio. Less formal features include a vegetable garden, cutting gardens, and an old apple orchard. Dogwoods, magnolias, sycamores, and Camperdown elms are but a few of the trees that are found throughout the property. The entire design and execution capitalizes on beautiful woodland views and the strong presence of the stone house. In addition to contemporary (2007) photographs of the garden, the file includes six copy prints made from images originally taken ca. 1906-1909, showing construction and early landscaping of the house.
Persons and firms associated with the site include Laura Fisher (creator of the garden and former owner, 1995-2007), Hitch Lyman (garden designer, 1995-2007); Babb, Cook & Welch (architects, 1906); Henry Marion Howe (former owner, 1906-1920); and Salvador and Erick Perez (gardeners, 1995 to date).
Related Materials:
Wildflower Farm related holdings consist of 1 folder (13 film transparencies; 7 photographic prints)
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.
