Birmingham -- Ruffner Page Garden

Object Details

sova.aag.gca_ref4924
GUID
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kb602ea1701-8768-41cb-9cf3-f89502bb7bf6
General
The Tudor revival style house built in the 1920s dictated the English country house style of the garden for this approximately three acre property, installed by the current owners who also renovated the house. Mature trees surround the property, now divided into garden rooms with bricks walls and steps delineating spaces. Trimmed boxwood was used as another, softer border surrounding lawn and terraces, and the design is predominately rectilinear, formal and symmetrical. The house is approached from a Belgian block motor court with a Tudor style limestone bench and formal linear stone terrace fronting the house. Off to one side there is a friends' gate into the garden set in a high brick wall. A small grove of Japanese maple trees frame a fountain alongside the house, just beyond the porch. There is a formal upper terrace with iron outdoor furniture with beds of flowers for cutting off to the side. The swimming pool and pool house fill another room with a sizeable service court behind that is approached from its own drive that is lined with evergreens. Additional garden rooms include a lawn court with a sundial, a guesthouse, another lower lawn, and a wild flower garden in front of the woodlands at the back of the property.
Persons associated with the garden include: Nabb and Frances Drennen (former owners, 1929-1935); George and Rose Johnston (former owners, 1935-1960); Emmet and Mary Anne O'Neal (former owners, 1960-1981); John and Betty McMahon (former owners, 1981-1998); Henry Sprott Long (architect for addition to house, 1970s); John Carraway (architect for pool house, 1980s); Katherine Shannon Owens (renovation architect, 1999-2000); Ben Page (landscape architect, 1999-2000); Pratt Brown (landscape contractor, 1999-2000); Stephen Dorsey (construction, 1999-2000).
Henry Long was the architect of the addition to the house. John Carraway was the architect of the pool house.
Former owner
Drennen, Nabb
Drennen, Frances
Johnston, George
Johnston, Rose
O'Neal, Emmet
O'Neal, Mary Anne
McMahon, John
McMahon, Betty
Architect
Long, Henry Sprott
Carraway, John
Renovation architect
Owens, Katherine Shannon
Landscape architect
Page, Ben
Landscape contractor
Brown, Pratt
Construction
Dorsey, Stephen
Provenance
Red Mountain Garden Club
Collection Creator
Garden Club of America
Place
Ruffner Page Garden (Birmingham, Alabama)
United States of America -- Alabama -- Jefferson -- Birmingham
Topic
Gardens -- Alabama -- Birmingham
Former owner
Drennen, Nabb
Drennen, Frances
Johnston, George
Johnston, Rose
O'Neal, Emmet
O'Neal, Mary Anne
McMahon, John
McMahon, Betty
Architect
Long, Henry Sprott
Carraway, John
Renovation architect
Owens, Katherine Shannon
Landscape architect
Page, Ben
Landscape contractor
Brown, Pratt
Construction
Dorsey, Stephen
Provenance
Red Mountain Garden Club
See more items in
The Garden Club of America collection
The Garden Club of America collection / Series 1: United States Gardens / Alabama
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
Red Mountain Garden Club facilitated the submission of this garden's documentation.
Archival Repository
Archives of American Gardens
Identifier
AAG.GCA, File AL047
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.
Scope and Contents
The folder includes worksheets.
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
Ruffner Page Garden related holdings consist of 1 folder (20 digital images)
AAG.GCA_ref4924
Large EAD
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kb602ea1701-8768-41cb-9cf3-f89502bb7bf6
AAG.GCA
AAG
Record ID
ebl-1643208220039-1643210175945-2
Birmingham -- Ruffner Page Garden
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
    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
    The Garden Club of America Collection at the Smithsonian's Archives of American Gardens contains over 100,000 images (lantern slides, 35mm slides, photographs, and digital images) and garden files that document thousands of historic and contemporary gardens (public and private) across the United States. Each garden file includes a range of documentation such as descriptive information, photocopied articles from journals, newspapers, or books, planting lists, correspondence, and/or landscape plans and drawings. These files have been compiled by members of The Garden Club of America (GCA). Some of the gardens in the GCA Collection have been photographed over the course of several decades; others are documented at 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.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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