Kansas City -- The Weatherly Garden
Object Details
sova.aag.gca_ref8885
- General
- The Weatherly Garden was the work of two generations of self-taught horticulturalists, mother and two daughters, who turned a quarter-acre city lot filled with elm trees into nine garden rooms filled with color, scent and supplies for gourmet cooks. Their earliest efforts considered the shade and drainage patterns on the property; later the lot opened up when the trees succumbed to Dutch Elm disease. Meticulous records were kept for each plant: the source and cost, the date of planting, and notes on its growth pattern. The original plan called for nine different garden rooms: a Sweet Herb knot garden with 12 small beds; a Grass Walk bordered with perennials on one side and Exbury azaleas on the other; an orderly Vegetable Garden planted in rows with a bee skep feature; a formal Perennial Garden with Korean boxwood borders; a Culinary Herb Garden next to a brick terrace; a Daylily bed later replanted with shrubbery requiring less maintenance; Shrubbery Borders at the perimeter of the property; an Orchard; and an Old Rose Hedge featuring damask, moss and David Austin roses. The sisters constructed walks and raised beds from salvaged bricks and built a lattice-sided garden shed.
- Lavender was used to edge garden beds, and self-sown sprouts were dug out of the walkways and transplanted. Two varieties of lavender were planted -- munsted and hidcote that eventually crossed to create a new variety, named Weatherly after the garden. Cuttings from the Korean boxwood also took root and were transplanted. Self-sowing varieties were allowed to spread so long as they did not crowd out another desired plant. Scent and compact growth habits were important in choosing flower varieties, and a tapestry of colors and shapes was the desired effect. Trellises were used in the vegetable garden to maximize the small space but flowers requiring staking were not planted since their supports would have been hard to disguise. Taller, blowsy herbs and perennials were planted under the shrub borders. Creeping thyme was allowed to invade the brick walks, with a semi-circular patch of thyme at the side of the culinary herb garden intended as a seat, a practice in medieval gardens.
- The Weatherly Garden was routinely cultivated rather than mulched. The loose soil acted as mulch and weeds were not a problem after many years of cultivation. A sonic pest eradicator kept squirrels away from the orchard.
- Persons associated with the garden include: Virginia and Sarah Weatherly (garden designers and former owners, 1943-1995); and John Rufenacht (former owner, 1995 - 2007).
- Former owner
- Weatherly, Virginia
- Garden designer
- Weatherly, Virginia
- Weatherly, Sarah
- Former owner
- Weatherly, Sarah
- Rufenacht, John
- Provenance
- The Westport Garden Club
- Collection Creator
- Garden Club of America
- Place
- The Weatherly Garden (Kansas City, Missouri)
- United States of America -- Missouri -- Kansas City
- Topic
- Gardens -- Missouri -- Kansas City
- Former owner
- Weatherly, Virginia
- Garden designer
- Weatherly, Virginia
- Weatherly, Sarah
- Former owner
- Weatherly, Sarah
- Rufenacht, John
- Provenance
- The Westport Garden Club
- See more items in
- The Garden Club of America collection
- The Garden Club of America collection / Series 1: United States Gardens / Missouri
- 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 Westport Garden Club facilitated the submission of this garden's documentation.
- Archival Repository
- Archives of American Gardens
- Identifier
- AAG.GCA, File MO081
- 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
- This property is featured in The American Woman's Garden by Ellen Samuels and Rosemary (Verey, Little, Brown, 1984); Gardening in the Heartland by Rachel Snyder, University of Kansas Press, 1992; "Gardening in Small Spaces" by Douglas A. Jimerson, published in Better Homes and Gardens, February 1987, pp. 92 - 95; "Sisters' Garden" by Allison Engel, published in Country Gardens, summer 1994, pp. 100-110; "The City Eden of Sarah and Virginia Weatherly" by Ruth Rhode Haskell, published in Flower and Garden Magazine, February 1989, pp. 44-48; "The Dooryard Garden" by A. Cort Sinnes, published in Flower and Garden Magazine, October 1989, p. 40; "Virginia and Sarah Weatherly, the World is Their Garden" by A. Cort Sinnes, published in Kansas City Live!, July 19990, pp. 44-46; "Theirs is a Garden of Delight" by George H. Gurley Jr., published in "The Kansas City Star" March 28, 1987; "In the Garden a Long, Long Time" by Anne Raver, published in "The New York Times", September 30, 1993; "Herbs in a Small City Garden" by Virginia and Sarah Weatherly, published in American Cottage Gardens, Brooklyn Botanic Garden Record, 1990.
- Scope and Contents
- The folder includes worksheets and photocopies of articles.
- 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.
AAG.GCA_ref8885
Large EAD
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kb6bf465d4d-7496-4c1b-8e25-3f02581edf8f
AAG.GCA
AAG
- Record ID
- ebl-1643208220039-1643210181533-0
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
- 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.GCALarge EADhttps://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kb617385372-1028-4cb7-b07d-04fea2e51c47AAG.GCAAAG- Record ID
- ebl-1562776092361-1562776095300-0