Title:
The Blue Garden : recapturing an iconic Newport landscape
Author:
Publication Date:
2019
Publication Information:
Lewes, UK : GILES, an imprint of D Giles Limited, in association with the Hamilton Family Charitable Trust, 2019.
Physical Description:
211 pages : illustrations (some color), plans, portraits ; 31 cm
ISBN:
9781911282594
Abstract:
This is a compelling story about the decline and rebirth of a 100 year old garden. Until recently, the Blue Garden, an icon of Gilded Age splendor in Newport, Rhode Island, was known only from hand-tinted slides dating from 1917. Originally designed in collaboration with the garden's original owner by Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr, and the Olmsted firm--founded by his father, the great landscape architect responsible for Central Park, New York City--it has now been brought back to life. Landscape historian Arleyn A. Levee tells a fascinating and carefully researched narrative about the garden's origins, development, heyday, decay and ultimate renaissance. The Blue Garden skillfully interweaves the garden's design and social history, and stories of its founders and the Olmsted firm, with historical photos, original drawings and sketches, and images of the restored garden from 2015. This is a timeless and inspiring account of the devoted patrons, skilled artisans and great designers behind the creation and revival of a masterpiece, made possible by the vision of a devoted patron, and the relevance of historic preservation of gardens in the 21st century.
General Note:
"2016, reprinted 2019."
Contents:
Acknowledgments -- Preface / by Charles A. Birnbaum -- Introduction: legacy in blue -- The context for the blue garden ; The Newport architectural heritage ; The Olmsted firm and the Newport landscape -- The estate on Beacon Hill: the owners ; Arthur Curtiss James ; Harriet Parsons James -- The estate on Beacon Hill: the designers ; Architects: Howells & Stokes -- Landscape architects: Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. and Olmsted Brothers ; Landscape architectural assistants: John H. Greatorex, Percy Reginald Jones, Charles Robert Wait, Hans J. Koehler, Harold Hill Blossom -- The estate on Beacon Hill: construction ; acquisition of the property ; Early development 1908 -- 1910 ; Early planting considerations ; Considering a formal garden ; The second phase of word 1911 -- Formality with distinction: the "Blue Garden" ; Evolution of an idea ; Implementing the idea : early construction ; Refining the -- the Persian water garden ; Planting the garden -- the perimeter ; Planting the garden -- An interior of blue with a "touch of white" ; Furnishing the Blue Garden -- Celebrating the garden ; "The masque of the Blue Garden" ; After the pageant ; Using the Blue Garden ; Changes in the Blue Garden ; Other garden rooms: the rose garden -- Years of decline ; The depression decade ; The passing of Arthur Curtiss and Harriet Parsons James ; The post -- James tenure ; Early reclamation -- A new era ; Recapturing the story ; Recapturing the place: preparation for reconstruction ; Construction ; Earthwork and soils, irrigation and the water system ; Planting ; Planting for a sustainable future ; Conclusion -- Photographic essay / Millicent Harvey and Marianne Lee.
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Language:
English
