Over the years my work with the gardens at the National Museum of Dance has allowed me to demonstrate the close relationship of gardens with dance. Various areas of each garden reflect different dance styles and relate to choreography within the natural environment. The gardens have become a seasonal tribute to the enduring art form […]
The Bradley and Leila Barnes Grounds & Victorian Gardens are part of the historic Barnes Museum Homestead. Located in the heart of downtown Southington, Connecticut, the property was purchased in 1836 by Bradley Barnes’ grandparents, Amon and Sylvia Bradley. Three generations of the Bradley/Barnes family lived on the land for 137 years. During the early years, the […]
IntroductionIn the fall of 2016, The Korea Gallery’s scheduled decade-long run at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) was coming close to its end. The question arose – what do we put in its place? A fun challenge, but a challenge nonetheless! Many ideas were proposed, but ultimately the museum’s exhibits team landed […]
Few public gardens have had such an enduring influence on American camellia history as the world-famous Bellingrath Gardens near Mobile, Alabama. Ever since its 1930’s opening during the rise of America’s fascination with camellias, it has topped many lists of attractions in the nation and has hosted the American Camellia Society for tours and meetings […]
Filoli is a country house estate on 654 acres in Woodside, California. There are sixteen acres of beautifully designed formal gardens around the house. In the spring the perennial garden shines with lovely blue delphiniums taking center stage. The mass plantings of the cutting garden flowers bloom during the summer have looked good every time […]
We visited this free garden in Palo Alto, California when we read it was added to the American Camellia Society Camellia Trail. We were not disappointed. It is the former home and garden of Elizabeth Gamble, the granddaughter of the founder of Proctor & Gamble. It was given to the city of Palo Alto, which […]
The Huntington Botanical Garden was named an International Camellia Garden of Excellence in 2001 by the International Camellia Society because it has one of the most comprehensive collections of camellias in North America. There are 60 species and 1,200 cultivars beautifully planted along pathways on both sides of the North Vista and on the North […]
In 1843, Luke Gannon and his family, immigrants from Ireland, built a log cabin in what is now Crystal Lake, Illinois. The restored cabin was moved to Union, Illinois in 1966 on the grounds of the McHenry County Historical Society. Two years ago, in 2015, the Historical Society asked the University of Illinois Extension Master […]
The Van Vleck House & Gardens originated as a 12-acre private estate more than 140 years ago when Joseph Van Vleck Sr and his family moved to Montclair from Brooklyn in 1868. Like many successful businessmen of the era, Joseph Van Vleck Sr came to the suburbs seeking a refuge from industrial living and brought […]
The Poquoson Learning Garden is located at the Poquoson Museum, the former sixteen acre William Freeman Dryden farm in the City of Poquoson, Virginia. The museum campus contains a circa 1900 farm house, agricultural out buildings, frontage along the marshes of Topping Creek and a country store known as ‘Miss Becky’s Store’ that served local […]
If you ever want to go to a nice museum, then go to one that has nature within it. In this garden are all sorts of things that you are going to want to see, so stay tuned to what I am going to say. This is some museum or garden! Actually, it is both. […]
In 1912, Dr. Henry Forrest Libby created the Libby Museum in order to house his collection of specimens found in nature. He and his wife stuffed and mounted many of the animals and plants still present in the museum today, making them over 100 years old. Today, we continue his fascination of nature by creating […]
The Green Thumbs Garden is a contribution to the community effort to enhance downtown Newark, Ohio and its offerings. It is located on property owned by The Works: Ohio Center for History, Art, and Technology. The Green Thumbs Garden is both a vegetable garden and an activity space designed to evoke inquiry and understanding. Located […]