Historic gardens Archives - Lasting Landscapes by Carol

“The lesson I have thoroughly learnt, and wish to pass on to others, is to know the enduring happiness that the love of a garden gives.” Gertrude Jekyll

Sometimes the universe points you in a certain direction. Lately, for me, the direction has been to learn more about Gertrude Jekyll, a renowned British garden designer and influencer. In the past couple of weeks, I have listened to the Plant a Trillion Trees Podcast episode about Gertrude’s home Munstead Wood and participated in the Garden Conservancy webcast on the topic. Add to that, my friend Louise’s Facebook post highlighted her recent visit to Munstead Wood. See what I mean about the universe inspiring me to write about Gertrude? How could I not?

As I started to learn more about this amazing gardener and designer, I realized how much in parallel my life is to hers:

She never married and had no children. Yep, me too.

She was an artist first and loved photography. She frequently photographed her garden to study its evolution. I studied Graphic Design and painted watercolors that I sold to friends in corporate America. And I love photography. Like Gertrude, I regularly record what’s going on in my garden and even make a garden calendar each year that features my favorite images.

Lasting Landscapes by Carol calendars of garden showing flower photos — A sampling of the calendars I have made over the years.

Gertrude didn’t start designing gardens until she was in her 50s. I started doing design full time at 55.

And there’s more.

Gertrude liked making gardens sustainable. She enjoyed utilizing common plants and native plants with ornamentals for the best effect and used combinations to create a connection to place. She understood the concept of the ‘right plant, right place’ and shared practical and attainable advice, always working in collaboration with nature. She utilized texture and color combinations in a remarkable way and with careful orchestration and attention to detail. Generous in spirit, she inspired many others to give gardening a go and happily shared plants and knowledge with others. She viewed herself as a working amateur and learned by doing, using her own garden as a trial space. In her writings she employed a conversational style. Check. Check. Check.

Lasting Landscapes by Carol two photos of foxgloves — Gertrude loved foxgloves, particularly white ones. I love them too. A white foxglove in my garden on the left and foxgloves at Munstead Wood (Photo by Louise Clarke).

Lasting Landscapes by Carol woodland garden path at munstead wood — The woodland garden was one of Gertrude’s favorite spots. Photo by Louise Clarke.

Lasting Landscapes by Carol stone gate in garden of munstead wood — Portals transport the visitor to other parts of the garden and the plantings demonstrate Gertrude’s love of texture. Photo by Louise Clarke.

Lasting Landscapes by Carol. Hellebores lining a woodland path at Munstead wood — Hellebores line a path at Munstead Wood. Photo by Louise Clarke.

Gertrude designed many of her gardens without ever visiting a site. Garden design by mail order if you will. Funny then (or perhaps just expected), that I have also designed gardens remotely for folks in Virginia and Massachusetts.

Gertrude designed over 400 gardens, yet hardly any remain. Even her own is in a state of disrepair and overgrown. How wonderful it is that the National Trust utilized its own funds to purchase Gertrude’s home in 2023 and plans to make it available to the public at some point in the future.

Lasting Landscapes by Carol design drawing — I began to wonder how many of my designs would outlive me.

Katherine Mills, who manages the property and project said about $9 million in funds are needed to restore the home and garden and make it into a place that will instill a spirit that includes learning, collaboration, creativity, influence and equality. The vision includes using the space to offer internships for aspiring gardens and places of refuge for those needing to restore mental health through a career that involves interacting with nature. You can follow their progress here or donate if you feel so inclined.

Lasting Landscapes by Carol mustead wood sign saying its not open to public — Munstead Wood could use your help to restore and preserve the magic Gertrude created in her home garden. Photo by Louise Clarke.

Gertrude Jekyll, I thank you. Thank you for inspiring me to learn about you and your far-reaching influence. Thank you for validating my path. I appreciate that you instilled in me ‘the love of gardening as a seed that once sown never dies.”

As one of the oldest cities in the USA, Philadelphia has made an indelible imprint on American history. Yet with all my Philly history lessons, I never knew the far-reaching impact of one of its rural resident farmers.

Lasting Landscapes by Carol — My American history lessons didn’t include the John Hershey Homestead

John Hershey was a nurseryman focused on trees and their benefit to humans and livestock. In the 1920’s, well ahead of his time, Hershey proposed planting crops like wheat or corn interspersed with rows of trees. The trees would anchor the soil, provide shade for the crops and feed the chickens, cows and pigs. Hershey felt this method of farming would help to reverse the climatic change being caused by humans as they destroyed forests and the soil in the name of progress.

According to an article by Sandy Hingston in Philadelphia Magazine in 2018, “Hershey’s vision was for a better kind of American farm, one that took full advantage of what he called the ‘Orbit of Nature.’ He wanted to optimize what God in his glory had provided and teach America to make the most of it. He foresaw farmers chilling on their front porches while all around them, nut and fruit trees rained down their bounty on the land, fattening livestock even as they replenished the soil.”

I had the pleasure of visiting Hershey’s homestead in Downingtown, Pennsylvania recently and immersing myself in America’s oldest intact food forest. The homestead is now under the stewardship of owners Cheryl, Pat and George, who are committed to preserving the property and its remarkable plantings to the best of their ability.

While surrounded by residential developments, the homestead stands strong amid a number of Hershey’s fruit and nut trees which proudly display their scars showing where a cutting was grafted onto rootstock to create the ‘best of the best.’ Committed to finding the best trees in existence, John Hershey placed advertisements in newspapers asking people to respond if they had an amazing hickory or honey locust or a favorite persimmon. He rewarded winners with a $50 payment and then utilized that stock as the basis for his food farm.

Today, most people think of nut and fruit trees as dirty trees, depositing their litter on the ground and disrupting pristine landscapes. But to Hershey, these were cherished specimens meant to be celebrated and used for a positive environmental impact.

In addition to being a ‘doer’ and leading by example, Hershey was also a writer. In Nature’s Orbits, he said, “Ever cross your mind, the violence and the violent struggle, needed to get into the stream of life? Think about the force of an acorn, walnut, or any seed that bursts forth from its shell, furiously sending down roots. … I nose-dived into the stream flow of life — plunged from the matrix, hands forward, head down, nose projected out, ready to plunge through life like a diver and will continue so until I die.”

I’m thankful for the doers out there like John Hershey and his homestead’s current owners. These people are committed to diving in head first to change the future and preserve the past.

Lasting Landscapes by Carol

Posts in category: Historic gardens

Munstead Wood

America’s Oldest Food Farm