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Marty Wingate has written 10 reviews in 5 countries.
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Gardens in East Coast, United States
Stroll around this enormous formerly private estate and marvel at its combination of formality, high horticulture and downright fun. Miles of neatly clipped hedges, topiary that borders on funky, impressive conservatories and timed fountain displays that shoot water to John Philip Sousa marches all make for an entertaining day whether you’re a gardener or a child. The gardens began in the early 1700s, with Quaker brothers Samuel and Joshua Peirce planting out an arboretum, but today’s gardens owe their magnificence to Pierre S. du Pont — of the du Pont chemical company — who built the extravagance beginning in 1907 and into the 1930s. The formal styles of European gardens including Kew and Hampton Court Palace influenced du Pont, and he incorporated many design elements from them. He was particularly fond of fountains, and this legacy is a delight to visitors young and old. The Main Fountain Garden in front of the conservatory shoots 10,000 gallons of water 130 feet into the air. Lights change the water to every imaginable color. The Open Air Theater water show may seem tame in comparison — only 750 jets — but it is still a delight. |
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Gardens in Rome, Italy
Breathtaking views and astounding stone fountain designs are enough to make Villa d’Este a must-see garden in Italy, but add to that its long history and influence in garden history design, and you have, wrapped up in one garden, the essence of Italy. Villa d’Este is a World Heritage site.The magnificent tiered gardens and fountains date from the second half of the 16th century, when Cardinal Ippolito d’Este commissioned archeologist and architect Pirro Ligorio. The result was one of the first Italian designs to incorporate the house and garden as a whole. In addition, the hillside became an incredible scene of moving water. Water is integral to Italian garden design, and Ligorio used it to great effect. He created the Terrace of the Hundred Fountains, and also a stone pipe organ that makes its hauntingly musical sounds with wind and water. The organ ceased to work because of calcification in the stone, but it has been restored. Villa d’Este is a romantic, dramatic spectacle that celebrates all that is Italian. |
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Gardens in Taunton, United Kingdom
This Somerset garden was designed by the famous one-two punch of Edwin Lutyens (architecture, bones of the garden) and Gertrude Jekyll (abundant color-coordinated plantings). The house, which houses the Somerset fire brigade, is not open to the public, but everyone says it isn’t worth it anyway. Yet it makes a fabulous backdrop for the Victorian terrace, which is flanked by two long stone rills. Opposite the house is the pergola walk. The sunken square formed by all these features is called the Great Plat, which is a large parterre garden broken up into geometric spaces and planted with a succession of color, from spring delphiniums to summer cannas. Noted Lutyen’s touches include the elliptical steps and the use of stone to create the spaces within the gardens — these are seen at their finest here. Enter the gardens through the Chinese gate, which has a cutout that lets you peek in, and onto the terrace, planted in lavender, catmint and other purple and silver plants. There is another garden at Hestercombe, an 18th-century landscape garden that was discovered only in the 1990s. Peter White was working nearby, and would take his lunch into the woods at Hestercombe. Gradually, he noticed remnants of the garden that had been built between 1750-1786 by Coplestone Warre Bampfylde. White was so taken with the garden, that he has been instrumental in its restoration, and is now chief executive of the Hestercombe Gardens Trust. The combination of the 18th-century landscape garden with its path through woods and carefully planned “natural” views and the Lutyens-Jekyll Edwardian garden makes Hestercombe one of the finest garden visits anywhere. |
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Gardens in Los Angeles, United States
Others go to see the library or the famous art collection, but gardeners go to the Huntington to view the amazing desert garden, sit in the rose garden or marvel at the formal design of the North Vista camellia garden, which includes hundreds of camellias along flanked rows of 17th- and 18th-century statues of mythological figures. The Huntington was founded early in the 20th century by railroad tycoon Henry Edwards Huntington. It’s in an old Pasadena neighborhood, which is full of stately homes, although not far off a traffic-laden street. Amazing that in this built-up area of Southern California, 120 acres were saved as gardens. There is a garden to every taste: a bonsai collection, a Japanese garden, a conservatory, a palm garden, and a rose garden. Visit the Australian garden and learn what grows down under, and stroll through the Shakespeare garden — just in case you want to see all the plants mentioned in his writings. Of all the gardens, the desert display, 10 acres alone, is one of the most talked about. It dates back to 1907 and contains significant collections of, among other plant groups, agaves, aloes and euphorbias (euphorbias that are native to Africa look just like cacti). It would be difficult to see all the gardens in one day, so it’s best to pick and choose. |
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Gardens in West Country, United Kingdom
This stunning small garden — only 2.5 acres — shows off the combination of formality with the softening effects of plants as well as any Jekyll-Lutyens garden. Harold Peto created the gardens at Iford Manor from 1899 to his death in 1933. The gardens are known as Italianate, but current owners believe Roman would be more accurate. Peto saw formality in the land that slopes toward the River Frome; he carved out terraces and shipped Roman antiquities (or had them reproduced) from Italy to decorate the landscape. He knew the importance of repetition. Stand at one end of the Great Terrace and your eyes are drawn down the straight path by the repeating forms of columns, pedestals, and plants, including a Judas tree (Cercis siliquastrum) and Italian cypress (Cupressus sempervirens). As with many fine formal gardens, the edges become blurred to help with the transition from formal to natural. At Iford, you can wander up into the woods toward the King Edward VII column, but be sure to also admire the boxwood trees. We are so accustomed to seeing neatly clipped boxwood hedges, that we don’t realize that Buxus sempervirens is actually a small, graceful evergreen tree. It’s a charming garden, and the perfect place for summer concerts. The current owners, working with local arts groups, host summer chamber concerts and opera in the Cloisters, a structure built in 1914 by Peto, who used many various bits of antiquities in the small building. |
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