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Gilded Age Gardens

by Paul Coughlin

In many ways the Gilded Age Garden was influenced by Edith Wharton, the novelist and chronicler of high society. Her 1904 book “Italian Villas and Their Gardens” introduced America to the fascinating world of Italian gardens. At a time when industrialists and their wives were traveling to Europe, Wharton's book became their guide. This inspired a host of new ideas and the creation of great gardens on large American estates, many in the Berkshire area. The Gilded Age Garden gained popularity after World War I and into 30's before being curtailed by the Great Depression.

THE MOUNT
Wharton's own garden can be seen today in Lenox MA. At a time when women didn't design homes, fountains and grounds, Edith Wharton designed and built "The Mount" transforming the 49-acres estate into one of the most significant formal gardens in New England. Recently restored to its original splendor, highlights include a sunken Italian "secret garden", stately grass terraces, a lime walk of linden trees and vibrant flower borders. The Mount is a National Historic Landmark country estate.

2 Plunkett Street, Lenox, MA 01240 413.637.1899 www.edithwharton.org

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NAUMKEAG
Fletcher Steele, known as the father of modern landscape design, met Miss Mabel Choate in 1926. Over the next 30 years they collaborated to transform Naumkeag, her father's 1880's McKim Mead and White estate, into an extravagantly stunning collection of gardens including an Afternoon Tea Garden, Tree Peony Garden, Moongate, Rose Garden Walk, Evergreen Garden, Chinese Temple Garden, and Linden Walk. Perhaps the most unusual feature is Steele's Blue Steps, a series of deep blue fountain pools flanked by groves of birch trees. The resulting work has been described as "something closer to a fantasy world than a garden." Visiting you never forget it.

5 Prospect Hill Road, Stockbridge, MA 01262 413.298.3239 www.thetrustees.org

CHESTERWOOD
Another Gilded Age Garden is Chesterwood, the home and studio of sculptor Daniel Chester French (1850-1931) best known for the sculpture of Abraham Lincoln in the Memorial in Washington DC. Daniel Chester French designed and laid out the gardens himself from 1900 into the 1920's. With its woodland walks, formal gardens, Arts & Crafts inspired Gardens, cloistered nooks and spacious lawns, it commands magnificent panoramic views of Great Barrington's Monument Mountain.

4 Williamsville Road, Stockbridge, MA 413.298.3579 www.chesterwood.org

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