Knoxville -- Savage Garden

Object Details

sova.aag.gca_ref32896
GUID
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kb687b96b2a-5501-47f5-98c0-c5692a7d2b7d
General
The Savage Garden as it exists today is a large (1.7 acres), densely planted garden located in Fountain City, Tennessee, a suburb of north of Knoxville. The historic garden was established in 1917 by Arthur Savage, who emigrated from Leamington Spa, England to Knoxville in 1886. In 1895, Savage married Hortense Garrett and moved into a bungalow style house in Fountain City in July 1917. Soon after, Hortense planted a garden behind the house. In 1920, Savage hired Charles Davis, a master stone mason and gardener to construct a sandstone perimeter wall. By 1921, two 18-foot stone water towers and a series of pools and ponds were constructed, to be joined later by streams connecting 3 additional ponds. By 1926, a sandstone Asian pagoda was built to house a 30-foot cistern and electric water pump. Pergolas and arbors led to the pagoda, followed soon after with a circular seating area, a stone tool shed, and a free standing sandstone arch overlooking the pagoda and pools. In the botanical garden, Savage collected a variety of plants, notably a Chinese pistache, a pond cypress, a fern-leaf beech, a Chinese parasol tree, and a Chinese fir. Savage's company produced machinery to cut stone, and this may explain why all of the garden's benches, steps, walls, water towers, outbuildings, and follies were made of stone. In 1986, Bill Dohm and Patty Cooper purchased the property with the intention to restore and preserve the garden. Dohm ad Cooper restored the stone walls and borders, the Asian Pagoda, and other outbuildings. Architect Bill Barth used photos of original structures to redesign the arbors and entrance gate. Dan Duncan replicated the structures, which were fully installed by 1993. In 2018, gardeners at Savage Garden planted 12 pickup truck loads of trillium, Twin Sister daffodils, and 20,000 snowdrops. The garden rooms are connected by pathways lined by stone with each room layered with wildflowers, bulbs, and perennials, depending on the season. Persons associated with the garden include: Arthur and Hortense Savage (former owners, 1917-1946); Hortense Savage (former owner, 1946-1953); Pearl Savage Laughtery (former owner, 1953-1986); Bill Dohm and Patty Cooper (owners, 1986-present); Charles Davis (Stonemason and gardener, 1920-1937); Bill Barth (Architect, 1990-1995); Dan Duncan (Master woodworker, 1990-1995); Eric Fortenberry (gardener and designer, 2007-present); Terumi Watson (gardener and designer, 2008-present).
Provenance
Knoxville Garden Club
Former owner
Savage, Arthur
Savage, Hortense
Savage Laughtery, Pearl
Present owner
Dohm, Bill
Cooper, Patty
Stone mason
Davis, Charles
Architect
Barth, Bill
Woodwork designer
Duncan, Dan
Garden designer
Fortenberry, Eric
Watson, Terumi
Collection Creator
Garden Club of America
Place
Savage Garden (Knoxville, Tennessee)
United States of America -- Tennessee -- Knox -- Knoxville
Topic
Gardens -- Tennessee -- Knoxville
Provenance
Knoxville Garden Club
Former owner
Savage, Arthur
Savage, Hortense
Savage Laughtery, Pearl
Present owner
Dohm, Bill
Cooper, Patty
Stone mason
Davis, Charles
Architect
Barth, Bill
Woodwork designer
Duncan, Dan
Garden designer
Fortenberry, Eric
Watson, Terumi
See more items in
The Garden Club of America collection
The Garden Club of America collection / Series 1: United States Garden Images / Tennessee
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.
Extent
17 Digital images (color, JPEG files. )
Custodial History
The Knoxville Garden Club facilitated the submission of this garden's documentation.
Archival Repository
Archives of American Gardens
Identifier
AAG.GCA, File TN121
Type
Archival materials
Digital images
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
This property is featured in "Preserving a fragile beauty," by Lynn Hutton in Halls Shopper News, Knoxville, August 3, 2009; Fountain City: People that Made a Difference, by J.C. Tumblin, Knoxville, 2006; "Coming back to life," by Ed Marcum in Knoxville News-Sentinel, May 9, 1990, pg. N1 and N2.
Scope and Contents
17 digital images and 1 folder.
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
The Knoxville News Sentinel Newspaper Articles/Subject Files at the McClung Collection in the East Tennessee History Center.
AAG.GCA_ref32896
Large EAD
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kb687b96b2a-5501-47f5-98c0-c5692a7d2b7d
AAG.GCA
AAG
Record ID
ebl-1643208220039-1643210186976-0
Knoxville -- Savage Garden
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .

Related Content

1 result(s)
  • The Garden Club of America collection
    sova.aag.gca
    GUID
    https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kb617385372-1028-4cb7-b07d-04fea2e51c47
    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
    37,000 Slides (35mm slides)
    33 Linear feet ((garden files))
    3,000 Lantern slides
    37,000 Slides (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
    Lantern slides
    Plans (drawings)
    Brochures
    Articles
    Correspondence
    Clippings
    Slides (photographs)
    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.GCA
    Large EAD
    https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kb617385372-1028-4cb7-b07d-04fea2e51c47
    AAG.GCA
    AAG
    Record ID
    ebl-1562776092361-1562776095300-0
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