Fairfield -- Farmwood
Object Details
sova.aag.gca_ref21467
- General
- Farmwood is a seven acre country estate with a Colonial Revival house originally built in 1871 and a formal garden comprised of two perpendicular rectangles installed in the 1920s. The original landscape architect is unknown, although Agnes Selkirk Clark, Ellen Biddle Shipman and the Olmsted Brothers all were working in the area at that time. The current owners restored original 6-foot stone walls, added gates and other architectural features, and replanted the formal deep borders and parterres in the garden rooms. Lattice fencing painted dark green was added to keep deer out of the planted areas and also to maintain the view of the garden from the house as was intended in the original design. The larger walled garden room has a deep border on the shorter side facing the house that is planted with daylilies, asters, dwarf standard lilacs, peonies, phlox and rudbeckia. There are similar borders on the long sides of the rectangle that are not as deep, punctuated by large antique urns set off by boxwoods. Within this garden room there are four matching parterres of boxwood, perennials, roses and red flowering buckeye trees with a shallow round reflecting pool with a fountain in the center, bordered by stonework and a low boxwood hedge. At the far side of the room there is a stone path with a stone bench at one end, a moon gate at the other end, and a wooden gate to the swimming pool garden room. Outside the walled garden there is a small stone chapel and shrine to the Virgin Mary (built in the 1970s) with meandering stone paths to another gate to the road set in the perimeter high stone wall as well as a path to the moon gate to the formal garden.
- The smaller rectangle, originally a rose garden, was converted to a swimming pool room by a previous owner and was featured in the 1968 movie "The Swimmer." This walled garden room has borders of day lilies, astilbes, ferns and flowering shrubs including viburnum and hydrangea, an original wall fountain, spa, patio and pool house. The bird watching is excellent since the neighboring property includes the 155-acre Roy and Margot Larson Wildlife Sanctuary, donated by previous owners of Farmwood. Originally much larger the country estate had dairy cows and poultry, vegetable gardens, and kennels for breeding pointer and setter hunting dogs. Remaining outbuildings include a two-story barn, sheds, fences and historic trees.
- Persons associated with the garden include: Samuel Banks (former owner until 1871); Zalmon Bradley (former owner, 1871-1906); Edward Sanford (former owner, 1806-1922); Mr. and Mrs. Udo Fleischmann (former owners, 1922-1939); Mr. and Mrs. Roy Larsen (former owners, 1939-1973); Mr. and Mrs. Harry Seggerman (former owners, 1973-2001); Oliver's Nursery (landscape design, 2003-2005); Cameron Clark (architect).
- Former owner
- Banks, Samuel
- Bradley, Zalmon
- Sanford, Edward
- Fleischmann, Udo
- Fleischmann, Udo Mrs.
- Larsen, Roy
- Larsen, Roy Mrs.
- Seggerman, Harry
- Seggerman, Harry Mrs
- Architect
- Clark, Cameron
- Landscape designer
- Oliver's Nursery
- Provenance
- Fairfield Garden Club
- Collection Creator
- Garden Club of America
- Place
- Farmwood (Fairfield, Connecticut)
- United States of America -- Connecticut -- Fairfield -- Fairfield
- Topic
- Gardens -- Connecticut -- Fairfield
- Former owner
- Banks, Samuel
- Bradley, Zalmon
- Sanford, Edward
- Fleischmann, Udo
- Fleischmann, Udo Mrs.
- Larsen, Roy
- Larsen, Roy Mrs.
- Seggerman, Harry
- Seggerman, Harry Mrs
- Architect
- Clark, Cameron
- Landscape designer
- Oliver's Nursery
- Provenance
- Fairfield Garden Club
- See more items in
- The Garden Club of America collection
- The Garden Club of America collection / Series 1: United States Garden Images / Connecticut
- 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.
- Custodial History
- The Fairfield Garden Club facilitated the submission of this garden's documentation.
- Archival Repository
- Archives of American Gardens
- Identifier
- AAG.GCA, File CT737
- Type
- Archival materials
- Collection Citation
- Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, The Garden Club of America collection.
- 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.
- Bibliography
- Garden has been featured in the article "Sales Bloom for Properties with Well-Tended Gardens" by Meg Barone in the Fairfield Citizen, May 22, 2015, pp. B1-B2.
- Scope and Contents
- The folder includes worksheets, a photocopy of an historical article, and artwork.
- 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.
- Related Materials
- Farmwood related holdings consist of 1 folder (20 digital images)
AAG.GCA_ref21467
Large EAD
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kb67dcaddab-5ec9-4c3a-a14f-b381e927967c
AAG.GCA
AAG
- Record ID
- ebl-1643208220039-1643210177533-0
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .
1 result(s)
-
The Garden Club of America collection
sova.aag.gca
- Creator
- Garden Club of America
- Names
- New York Flower Show
- Topic
- Gardens -- France
- Gardens -- Italy
- Gardens -- Japan
- Gardens -- Mexico
- Flower shows
- Gardening -- United States -- societies, etc
- Gardens -- England
- Landscape architecture
- Gardens -- United States
- Gardens -- Spain
- Gardens -- Scotland
- Creator
- Garden Club of America
- See more items in
- 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.
- Summary
- This collection contains over 37,000 35mm slides, 3,000 glass lantern slides and garden files that may include descriptive information, photocopied articles (from journals, newspapers, or books), planting lists, correspondence, brochures, landscape plans and drawings. Garden files were compiled by Garden Club of America (GCA) members for most of the gardens included in the collection. Some gardens have been photographed over the course of several decades; others only have images from a single point in time. In addition to images of American gardens, there are glass lantern slides of the New York Flower Show (1941-1951) and trips that GCA members took to other countries, including Mexico (1937), Italy, Spain, Japan (1935), France (1936), England (1929), and Scotland. A number of the slides are copies of historic images from outside repositories including horticultural and historical societies or from horticultural books and publications. The GCA made a concerted effort in the mid-1980s to acquire these images in order to increase its documentation of American garden history. Because of copyright considerations, use of these particular images may be restricted.
- Accruals note
- The GCA continues to document American gardens and submit images and documentation to the Archives of American Gardens. Further accruals are expected.
- Biographical/Historical note
- The Garden Club of America was established in 1913 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, when the Garden Club of Philadelphia and eleven other garden clubs met to create a national garden club. Its purpose is to foster the knowledge and love of gardening and to restore and protect the quality of the environment through educational programs and gardening and conservation efforts. The GCA was incorporated in Delaware in 1923, with its headquarters established in New York City. Today, local clubs are organized under twelve regional zones. The GCA continues its tradition of hosting flower shows and publishing material related to gardening in the United States. The GCA's glass lantern slides were used by The GCA for presentations and lectures about notable gardens throughout the United States dating back to colonial times. An effort was made in the late 1980s, in preparation of the 75th anniversary of the Garden Club of America's founding, to collect the disbursed slides. These slides were to eventually form the Slide Library of Notable American Parks and Gardens. The informational value of this collection is extensive since a number of images of the more than 4,500 gardens represented show garden designs that have changed over time or no longer exist. While the majority of images document a range of designed upper and upper-middle class gardens throughout the U.S., the scope of the collection is expanding as volunteers photograph and document contemporary gardens including community and vernacular gardens. The gardens illustrate the design work of dozens of landscape architects including Marian Coffin, Beatrix Farrand, Lawrence Halprin, Hare & Hare, Umberto Innocenti, Gertrude Jekyll, Jens Jensen, Warren Manning, the Olmsted Brothers, Charles Platt, Ellen Biddle Shipman, and Fletcher Steele. Because of their proximity to the gardens, works of notable architects and sculptors may also be featured in the images.
- Extent
- 37000 Slides (photographs) (35mm slides)
- 33 Linear feet ((garden files))
- 3,000 Lantern slides
- Date
- circa 1920-present
- Custodial History note
- The GCA's Slide Library of Notable American Parks and Gardens was donated to the Smithsonian Institution in 1992; this became the core collection of the Archives of American Gardens.
- Archival Repository
- Archives of American Gardens
- Identifier
- AAG.GCA
- Type
- Collection descriptions
- Archival materials
- Slides (photographs)
- Lantern slides
- Plans (drawings)
- Brochures
- Articles
- Correspondence
- Clippings
- Citation
- Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, The Garden Club of America 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.
- Genre/Form
- Plans (drawings)
- Brochures
- Articles
- Correspondence
- Clippings
- Lantern slides
- Slides (photographs)
- 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.
AAG.GCALarge EADhttps://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kb617385372-1028-4cb7-b07d-04fea2e51c47AAG.GCAAAG- Record ID
- ebl-1562776092361-1562776095300-0