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Catalog Data

Provenance:
Garden Club of Twenty  Search this
Collection Creator:
Garden Club of America  Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Place:
Mrs. Hathaway's Garden (Owings Mills, Maryland)
United States of America -- Maryland -- Baltimore -- Owings Mills
Scope and Contents:
The folder includes worksheets and photocopies of articles.
General:
With only a rudimentary plan at the start, one owner has been gardening this 13.5 acre property since 1953, appreciating and augmenting the beauty of the natural setting. First, a house was built among aged beech trees already growing on the undeveloped site and then the undergrowth in woodlands was cleared and three foot borders were dug at the edges, intended for cultivated flowers and shrubs. The borders were widened, eventually to twelve feet and dogwood trees were planted under taller native trees (over 100 to 250 years old) including American beech, oaks and tulip poplars, appreciated for their lacy effect in spring and color in fall. Evergreens and other perennials with variegated foliage were planted in darker, shady areas to mimic dappled sunlight, a technique the owner learned in Scotland. A spring on the property was dammed to create a pond and a cut made by a bulldozer was turned into a spring bulb garden planted with daffodils. The gardens have been worked for sixty years and have changed every few years as trees grow or die off, affecting the amount of light reaching the understories. Cultivars that grow successfully here are used repeatedly, such as New Dawn rose varieties, and this gives coherence to the large property.
On the west side of the house there is a formal kitchen garden comprised of four bow-knot shaped boxwood parterres with a holly standard in the center of each. In the kitchen garden beds there are rose bushes, flowers, herbs and lettuces. A stone path leads to rose and cutting garden beds, and beyond them a former children's playhouse supports climbing roses, with peonies planted at the foundation. There is a small greenhouse tucked in next to the main house, planted containers along the driveway, and an espaliered tree on the side of the house. To the east there are additional deep flower borders fronting the woodlands. Two long rows of double sets of free-standing trellises covered with roses and clematis looked like railroad tracks when they were bare but now look more like pergolas as the vines meet over the grass walkway. A blue-painted teak bench was placed at the edge of the woodlands, copying an idea from Hidcote in England. Ornate cast iron gates that are a focal point in the back lawn mark the entrance to the swimming pool otherwise hidden behind tall hemlock hedges.
Related Materials:
Mrs. Hathaway's Garden related holdings consist of 2 folders (7 35mm slides (photographs); 72 digital images)
See others in:
Eleanor Weller collection, circa 1981-1993.
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.
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.
Topic:
Gardens -- Maryland -- Owings Mills  Search this
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, The Garden Club of America collection.
Identifier:
AAG.GCA, File MD277
See more items in:
The Garden Club of America collection
The Garden Club of America collection / Series 1: United States Garden Images / Maryland
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Gardens
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kb6dbe444c9-8322-4ff7-914b-1c0730c6ad15
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-aag-gca-ref14209