Orford -- Willard House

Object Details

sova.aag.gca_ref9545
GUID
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kb628dc1ef6-d13a-43d5-975f-951f1da4de0b
General
Located on nine acres, the Willard House garden is anexample of an early New Hampshire garden. It was designed in 1938 for the last of the seven historic houses known as "The Ridge." These seven houses are listed on the National Register of Historic Places and were built between 1767 and 1838.
The main garden is laid out axially from the house, and formal in design. The horseshoe shaped bed between the driveway and the house is overflowing in flowering abandon of color and texture. In the spring, the gardens are filled with blue and yellow Mertensia and Jonquils. Summer offers a tapestry of shades of pink, dominated by Phlox. Autumn beds return to blue and yellow with perennial Asters, Chrysanthemums and Marigolds. Boxwood does not normally like New Hampshire winters but has been nurtured to grow along the south side of the house and until recently a boxwood chicken topiary greeted people at the door. Dear to the owner's heart, are three unusual shrubs, Tsuga Canadensis pendula 'Sargentii' (weeping hemlocks) planted below a window and judiciously pruned.
Behind the house and barn an eight foot wall drops down to neatly cut grass paths leading to an asparagus patch, a vegetable garden and a very formally designed fenced in herb garden. At the center of the herb garden is a sundial quarried from local New Hampshire granite.
These gardens have added beauty and interest and been appreciated by neighbors for many decades.
Persons associated with the garden include: Mrs. Edward Warren (gardener, 1936-1961), Mrs. Clifford Fifield (gardener, 1961-present).
Former owner
Stedman, Willard, 1838-1936
Warren, Edward, Mr.
Fifield, Clifford C., Mr., 1903-1959
Gardener
Fifield, Clifford, Mrs.
Warren, Edward, Mrs.
Photographer
Amberger, Michael
Provenance
Connecticut Valley Garden Club
Former owner
Davis, Ann Golding, 1932-2023
Davis, Joseph W. S., Jr.
Collection Creator
Garden Club of America
Place
Willard House (Orford, New Hampshire)
United States of America -- New Hampshire -- Grafton County -- Orford
United States of America -- New Hampshire -- Grafton County -- Orford
Topic
Gardens -- New Hampshire -- Orford
Former owner
Stedman, Willard, 1838-1936
Warren, Edward, Mr.
Fifield, Clifford C., Mr., 1903-1959
Gardener
Fifield, Clifford, Mrs.
Warren, Edward, Mrs.
Photographer
Amberger, Michael
Provenance
Connecticut Valley Garden Club
Former owner
Davis, Ann Golding, 1932-2023
Davis, Joseph W. S., Jr.
See more items in
The Garden Club of America collection
The Garden Club of America collection / Series 1: United States Gardens / New Hampshire
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 CT Valley Garden Club facilitated the submission of this garden's documentation.
Archival Repository
Archives of American Gardens
Identifier
AAG.GCA, File NH073
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
"The Ridge Houses", Antiques Magazine; "Places to Visit in New Hampshire", Reader's Digest; Alice Doan Hodgeson,"Thanks to the Past, Orford, N.H", Historical Fact Publication, (1965); Shelby Grantham,"A New England Tapestry", Gardens: Early American Life, (1988): p. 14; Shepherd Ogden, "Rhapsody in Green", New Hampshire Profiles 38, no. 4 (April 1989).
Scope and Contents
The folder includes worksheets, site plans, and other information.
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
Willard House related holdings consist of 1 folder (9 35 mm slides)
AAG.GCA_ref9545
Large EAD
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kb628dc1ef6-d13a-43d5-975f-951f1da4de0b
AAG.GCA
AAG
Record ID
ebl-1643208220039-1643210181762-2
Orford -- Willard House
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .
Orford -- Willard House
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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