The Formal Gardens at Shelburne Farms

The Formal Gardens T H E F OR M A L G A R DE N S AT S H E L BU R N E FA R M S

at Shelburne Farms

gl enn suok ko

About Shelburne Farms

Formal Gardens Preservation Project

Published 2020

Shelburne Farms, located in Vermont on the shores of Lake Champlain, is a fourteen-hundredacre working farm and educational nonprofit organization, offering an international network of educators and learners of all ages opportunities to explore the big ideas of sustainability through programs and workshops both on and off campus.

Gardener, design, and stewardship Birgit N. Deeds

Glenn Suokko Design Woodstock, Vermont

Original research and planning Susan Cady Hayward Del Keppelman Sheldon

www.glennsuokko.com

Built between 1886 and 1905 by Eliza “Lila” Vanderbilt and William Seward Webb as their private country estate, Shelburne Farms was donated to the nonprofit organization in 1984 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 2001.

The property includes the Webbs’ Shingle- and Queen Anne–style former residence (now open to the public as an inn), Italianate flower gardens, and three magnificent barns. Still a working farm that is now an important part of building a healthy local food system, Shelburne Farms produces a farmstead Cheddar cheese from its herd of Brown Swiss cows, lamb and beef, as well as vegetables, fruits, and flowers from a seven-acre organic Market Garden. Visitors can enjoy programs, lodging and dining, and miles of walking trails winding among pastures and woodlands, with stunning views of Vermont’s Green Mountains and New York’s Adirondacks.

Constructed in phases between 1887 and 1899, the Webbs’ three-story residence, Shelburne House, was transformed into the Inn at Shelburne Farms in the mid-1980s by the nonprofit organization. Guests can stay from May to October in one of twenty-four bedrooms in the main house or several cottages, enjoy generous common areas, participate in programs, and explore the property. The inn’s pioneering farm-totable restaurant features products from the farm and other local producers. The Formal Gardens were originally created by Lila Webb and have undergone substantial rehabilitation; today they rank among the most beautiful historic country gardens in America.

Located on Abenaki land, Shelburne Farms is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) education organization whose mission is to inspire and cultivate learning for a sustainable future.

Shelburne Farms 1611 Harbor Road Shelburne, Vermont 05482 www.shelburnefarms.org

Preservation landscape architects and planners Heritage Landscapes Architects SAS Architects The Office of Martin S. Tierney

Sources Julie Eldridge Edwards, Curator of Collections, Shelburne Farms Shelburne Farms: A Guide to the Formal Gardens,

by Birgit N. Deeds, n.d.

Architectural conservators Porter & Associates Conservation Associates

Shelburne Farms: House, Garden, Farm, and Barns, by Glenn Suokko, Rizzoli International Publications, 2017.

Engineers Civil Engineering Associates GeoDesign Engineering Ventures School of Engineering, University of Vermont

The History of Shelburne Farms: A Changing Landscape, An Evolving Vision, by Erica H. Donnis, The Vermont Historical Society and Shelburne Farms, 2010.

Materials scientists Anthony & Associates CTL Laboratories New Hampshire Materials Laboratory Documentation specialists Front Standard Photography Corinthian Cast Stone Collaborators The Garden Conservancy Historic Preservation Program, University of Vermont New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, Art & Antiquities Principal contractors, building crafts and trades Island Excavating Ireland Concrete Churchill Landscapes Olde World Masonry Wastrom Stonemasonry C.G. Stone Petra Terra New England Preservation Collaborative Project support Shelburne Farms donors, volunteers, staff, and Board of Directors

The “History” chronology (pages 28–33) features key moments of the gardens’ development.

It is an adaption of the time line on view in the Formal Gardens and of documents courtesy of the Shelburne Farms Archives.

“Preservation” (pages 34–37) is adapted from the 2011 report “Preservation of the Formal Gardens at Shelburne Farms,” by Porter & Associates, Burlington, Vermont.

Credits Principal photography by Glenn Suokko with additional photographs by Angelyn Bass, pp. 34 (top), 35 (top three), 36 (top, bottom), 37 (second from top); Ansel Dickey, Vermont Social Media, pp. 8–11, 33 (bottom); Neil Dixon/The Front Standard Photography, pp. 35 (bottom), 36 (middle two), 37 (bottom two); Andy Duback, p. 7; Shelburne Farms Collections, pp. 26, 28–31, 34 (middle and bottom).

Copyediting by Laura Jorstad.

Printed in the United States of America by Puritan Capital on Mohawk Superfine, a paper certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).

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The Formal Gardens at Shelburne Farms

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FOR E WOR D 6 T H E FOR M A L G A R DENS 13 H IS TORY A ND PR E SERVAT ION 27 PL A N TS I N T H E G A R DENS 59

FOR E WOR D Lila Webb’s gardens were her passion and joy. She loved to share them and opened them regularly to the local community.

I’m sure she would be pleased to see that they are such an important part of the experience of Shelburne Farms today.

The Formal Gardens rehabilitation project is a story of renewal based on love and generosity. For many years the gardens symbolized the seemingly impossible challenge of bringing to life a new vison for Shelburne Farms. It feels like witnessing a miracle to see the balustrade—portions of which had fallen into the lake—now reinstated and complete. We are deeply grateful to a longtime behind-the-scenes donor, along with Birgit Deeds and other dedicated supporters, and all of the farms’ caring staff members, consultants, and volunteers over the years for making this amazing project possible.

The gardens have remained a constant source of beauty through world wars and pandemics, and they will remain so, even as the climate changes. Many of us will always carry special memories of times spent in them, often awed by spectacular light or changing weather coming across the lake.

Shelburne Farms will endure thanks to a growing family of friends who love and appreciate it as a special place and who also see its impact as an education organization making a profound difference in people’s lives.

Alec S. Webb President, Shelburne Farms

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Gardener Birgit Deeds in the Formal Gardens, 2008

This book is dedicated to Birgit Deeds in recognition of her incredible volunteer commitment and support for Shelburne Farms. She has been an unceasing source of inspiration for the major effort to revitalize the Formal Gardens as a place of great beauty that visitors to the farms can enjoy.

The Formal Gardens at Shelburne Farms are located on Abenaki land on a promontory that is an important part of the Abenaki People’s history and culture.

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The Formal Gardens

In April, when Shelburne Farms is seemingly quiet, when the snow has melted, spring is right around the corner, and work for the six-month growing season ahead begins, you’ll find Birgit Deeds in the Formal Gardens with boots on her feet and clippers in her hands, pruning roses.

Birgit’s work in the gardens began in 1985. Prior to her interest, staff and volunteers who were working to revive the gardens in the early 1980s began researching the evolution of the original design to best create a new planting scheme for contemporary times. At that point the gardens’ brick walls were crumbling, many of the steps had disappeared, and architectural elements, such as the two pergolas, were gone.

Although the grand allée was planted and maintained, the soil structure throughout the gardens was weak. The lower terrace was bare. There was no rose garden. The view to the lake was blocked by trees, except for a narrow vista through two yews. Parts of the balustrade had fallen into the lake due to shoreline erosion. The concrete foundation of the lily pond had cracked, and it had gone dry.

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Fueled by philanthropic efforts to conserve and repair the gardens’ key elements, a major preservation initiative was set in motion in 1984. It eventually led to stabilizing the shoreline in front of the balustrade, as well as restoring the balustrade, brick walls, stairs, landings, and lily pond.

Lila and Seward Webb began to create Shelburne Farms in the nineteenth century. They hired Frederick Law Olmsted to design the farms’ extensive landscape; however, no professional designer is credited for the formal flower gardens that were created between 1911 and 1915, and no original plans have yet been discovered. Still, many agree that the design is chiefly Lila Webb’s creative expression. She was a well-traveled, wellread, creative individual who had a keen interest in gardening and garden design; she also mentioned the development of her gardens in her personal correspondence with family and friends as well as letters with the farms’ manager, E. F. Gebhardt. Judging from period photographs over a few decades, she experimented with many planting schemes, often mixing annual plants and perennials—some of which could not survive the cold Vermont winters and would have been moved each year into the farms’ greenhouses.

The Formal Gardens today would not be as accurate a representation of the original gardens were it not for the key initiatives made in the early 1980s. In 1982 restoration efforts were well under way to improve some of the garden walls. In 1983 an exhibition of historic photographs was held in the farms’ Coach Barn focusing on the landscape design of the Italianate gardens at Shelburne House. In 1984 Susan Hayward, in cooperation with Shelburne Farms Resources, conducted an independent research project through the Historic Preservation Program at the Department of History, 14

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University of Vermont, to present a history of the gardens from their inception through the 1930s—the years when Lila Webb was actively designing and planting. That same year Shelburne Farms Resources announced, “The Shelburne House formal gardens were redesigned this year according to its original planting plans and lists from the early 1900’s.

Susan Hayward, identified the early plantings through careful research and the current plan was developed by Del Keppelman with the assistance of head gardener Sara Hubley and assistant gardener, Deborah Dindo.”

Coinciding with plans to restore Shelburne House, the current Formal Gardens are the result of the restoration project begun in 1982 with the intention of reinterpreting the original features’ overall structure, building materials, style, and plantings. Starting from a skeletal structure and layout, staff and volunteers decided to adopt a Gertrude Jekyll–style garden to guide the next phase of development. Gertrude Jekyll was a highly influential English gardener and gardenbook writer, who, with architect Sir Edwin Lutyens, transformed country-house gardening in England at the turn of the twentieth century. She was a master of creating “drifts” of harmonious, blended color and visual movement through the informal use of perennials and annuals in the context of a formal garden structure, most notably in the long borders of grand allées.

Among Shelburne Farms’ garden volunteers in the 1980s, Birgit Deeds took a passionate interest in Jekyll’s approach to garden design. Birgit furthered her interest by attending Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University.

For three summers in a row, she traveled to England to visit private gardens that were still being maintained according to Jekyll’s planting schemes. Birgit’s daughter, Lee, joined her, 18

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taking up the study of Lutyens’s architectural work. Mother and daughter shared garden design ideas that led Birgit to believe that, in general, Jekyll was indeed the gardener Lila had wished to emulate. With the spirit of Jekyll’s gardens in mind, Birgit spent time in the Shelburne Farms Archives studying the history of the gardens, mainly through historic autochrome photographs, plant lists, and correspondence, along with Lila’s extensive gardening library. She assumed management of the Formal Gardens in 1988, a role she has continued for more than thirty years now.

In the early 2000s Shelburne Farms began work with preserva­ tion landscape architect Patricia O’Donnell to develop a master landscape stewardship plan. Her firm Heritage Landscapes also prepared documents that provided the planning framework that was later carried out by the team of volunteers and professionals Shelburne Farms had assembled.

The process exemplifies the farms’ vision in action, illustrating their commitment to historic preservation, sustainability, and leveraging community resources.

In 2006 architectural conservator Doug Porter, a consultant to the farms, became involved in preservation planning.

Over the course of the project, Doug coordinated the work of structural and geotechnical engineers, materials scientists, documentation specialists, architectural conservators, historic preservation specialists, and a number of craftspeople (brick masons, stonemasons, excavators, carvers, metalworkers) who were engaged with planning and carrying out the repairs.

They developed a design plan to restore the critical—often unseen—infrastructure securing the gardens’ major architectural features. Rather than accept the loss of the outermost portion of the original balustrade to the crumbling cliff along the shoreline, for example, they engineered solutions to 20

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stabilize the site and conserve its architectural elements; in doing so, they were able to repair the magnificent balustrade in its original position. With this repair strategy, the gardens could be returned to their original layout, retaining most of the original design elements and reducing the threat of future collapse.

Birgit has worked for decades to restore the soil (a special interest of hers, and one that fits well with Shelburne Farms’ mission of stewardship and sustainable land practices), removing invasive species and reintroducing plants that connect to Lila’s original choices: among them Queen Victoria peonies, Siberian iris, Baptisia australius, and echinops (which Birgit had seen in an archival photographs from Lila’s era). Birgit brought in perennials, evergreens, and lilacs; revitalized the rose garden; and each year introduces annuals to fill out the beds or support the color scheme as needed.

As a result of financial contributions from an anonymous donor, Birgit Deeds, and many other donors, as well as the work of staff, consultants, and volunteers who were passionate to see the former grandeur of the place sensitively and appropriately reconstructed, the Formal Gardens today provide a clear vision of the past while their restoration, revitalization, and preservation offers a vision for their future as a site for pleasure and education. The gardens today are a thriving, living resource for guests visiting the farm: children learning about nature as well as adults learning about gardens, garden scholars and horticulturists, and home gardeners seeking inspiration.

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History and Preservation

Today, at a moment when the Formal Gardens at Shelburne Farms include more than a century of design evolution, their history remains an important part of their future. Historically, private formal gardens were places for relaxation, for social intercourse, and to enjoy the outdoors through the beauty and scents of flowering plants. The gardens still suit these purposes and many more, including historic tours, family programs, and horticultural and garden design education.

The current Formal Gardens are the result of a substantial restoration project begun in 1982 with the intention of reinterpreting the original overall structure, building materials, style, and plantings. Through research and careful attention to the details of period photographs, the essence of Lila’s garden design has been revived—and the reinterpretation continues.

As of 2020, almost all of the major work on the original structural and architectural features of the main gardens has been accomplished. An important remaining element to complete is to reset and level the terrace stones where the north pergola formerly stood.

Opposite: Lila Webb in the garden, circa 1933.

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Chronology of the Formal Gardens

1880s 1886: Lila and Seward Webb purchase the first properties for Shelburne Farms.

1887: Construction of Shelburne House begins.

Circa 1894 The Wild Garden.

Circa 1900 Early garden design on westerly lawn of Shelburne House.

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1890s 1894: Lila Webb develops the Wild Garden along the cliffs to the north, featuring meandering paths planted with daffodils, tulips, and lilies of the valley amid trees, lilacs, azaleas, and rhododendrons.

Throughout the decade Lila travels to Europe, visiting and studying Italian, French, and English gardens. She collects gardening books by authors such as Gertrude Jekyll, Charles Latham, Charles Platt, and Edith Wharton, whose work inspires her vision for expanding her own gardens in Shelburne.

1900s It is not known who designed the first iterations of a formal flower garden on the western side of Shelburne House, a French parterre-style garden consisting of an oval center containing a sundial encircled by geometric-shaped beds planted with low-lying perennial and

annual flowers that were grown in steam-heated greenhouses on the property.

1905: Potted palms grown in the farms’ greenhouses are placed in the Wild Garden during the warm seasons. Shrubs and evergreens are planted along the Wild Garden’s eastern border to hide Shelburne House and the annex from view. A large, circular fountain featuring a sculpture of a woman combing her hair is installed, surrounded by irises and lilies.

1907: Over the next several years, Lila Webb and farm manager E. F. Gebhardt expand and rebuild the gardens in the Italianate style, a progression of garden “rooms” on different levels bordered by low brick walls.

1910s 1911: A terraced stairway connects Shelburne House’s north porch to the gardens.

1912: Lila decides to abandon the design for the parterre garden. Some of the plants are moved to the new Italianate gardens. A pergola and oval reflecting pool are constructed at the northern end of a new garden, backed by a high curving brick wall.

1913: A two-year reconstruction begins to extend and widen the main stairs from the lawn into the gardens and to construct a rose garden and a grand allée—a long grass walkway edged with wide beds filled with perennial and annual flowers.

1914: On the gardens’ lowest level on the semicircular lawn, a balustrade and a lily pool encircled with a bed for irises are constructed, and potted bay trees are placed along the balustrade.

Circa 1905–1909 A sundial is situated in the early parterre garden.

Circa 1916 Potted bay trees line the semicircular balustrade overlooking Lake Champlain.

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1920s A south pergola is built for climbing roses at the southwestern end of the rose garden.

1927: The balustrade’s bay trees freeze during an early cold snap and are replaced by yews.

1930s 1936: Lila Webb dies. Her daughter-inlaw Aileen Webb assumes management of the gardens through 1979.

1940s Aileen Webb directs a replanting of the grand allĂŠe and rose garden with lowmaintenance yew hedges and hostas.

1950s Portions of the north pergola are blown down by a hurricane. The reflecting pool is filled in. The terraced stairway leading from the north porch is covered over, and the area is sloped, smoothed, and planted with grass.

1960s The gardens continue to be maintained

by Aileen Webb on a minimal basis.

1915 Autochrome by Auguste and Louis Lumière.

Circa 1920 The north pergola and reflecting pool.

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1970s The south pergola is dismantled and put into storage.

1972: Shelburne Farms Resources is incorporated as an educational nonprofit organization.

1974: Shelburne House and Gardens opens for retreats and early community programs and events, including outdoor summer concerts.

1980s A formal rose garden is reintroduced.

Peonies from the original bed are divided. An herb garden is planted on the site of the reflecting pool.

1982: Due to shoreline erosion, sections of the balustrade fall into the lake.

Historical research on the gardens begins with the goal of retaining the spirit of the original gardens while adapting them to contemporary use and new horticultural practices. A list of more than one hundred flowers grown in the original gardens is compiled. The grand allée’s west wall, the main steps, and the northeast corner of the gardens are repaired.

1983: Del Keppelman Sheldon assumes management of the gardens.

1984: Derick Webb dies and wills the property to Shelburne Farms Resources.

Susan Cady Hayward prepares “Historical Evolution of the Shelburne House Gardens: Design Changes Through Time.” Major restoration of the grand allée begins; the plantings are an adap­tation of a Gertrude Jekyll– inspired color scheme.

1985: Restoration of Shelburne House begins.

1986: The rose garden, featuring hybrid tea roses, is partially restored.

1987: On July 1, Shelburne House opens as The Inn at Shelburne Farms.

1988: Shelburne Farms president Marilyn Webb receives the President’s Historic Preservation Award.

Birgit N. Deeds assumes management of the gardens.

1962 The farms’ herd of sheep graze on the lawn above the garden.

Circa 1976 The Vermont Symphony Orchestra performs a Fourth of July concert in the Formal Gardens as spectators listen and watch from the lawn.

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1989: The western walls of the rose garden and peony bed, eastern wall of the grand allée, and steps to the lily pool are repaired.

1990s 1990: The steps to the grand allée are replaced. The reflecting pool site is cleared of overgrowth.

1991: The main steps to the gardens are reset. The southern walls and north boundary wall are repaired. Birgit Deeds introduces new plantings.

1992–1995: Work to create the “Enchanted Forest” in the former Wild Garden area is overseen by J. Watson Webb, Jr. Undergrowth and dead trees are removed. Cedar hedges and yews are planted along the pathways.

2000s

1986 Initial repair work to the upper balstrade, grand allée, peony garden, and stairs.

2007 The upper terraces remain open while the lower terrace is closed as major preservation is begun.

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2001: Shelburne Farms is designated a National Historic Landmark.

2004–2006: Heritage Landscapes of Charlotte, Vermont, completes “Shelburne Farms Landscape Stewardship Plan” and “Shelburne House, Gardens, and Landscape Master Plan.”

2005: Engineering and historic preservation consultant Doug Porter of Porter & Associates (Burlington, Vermont) begins work on a plan to preserve the farms’ Breeding Barn and Formal Gardens.

2006: Assessments of the surviving architectural elements, including the retaining walls, balustrades, stairs, and lily pool, are conducted. A design is developed for shoreline stabilization below the garden site.

2007: Major preservation of the Formal Gardens begins. The lakeshore below the balustrade is stabilized. A set of original steps in the rose garden is discovered, unearthed, and recovered.

2009–2011: Stabilization, repair, and conservation of the lower west terrace take place, including the overlook balustrade and the lily pool.

2010s 2012: Masonry repairs of the north– south walls separating the lower terrace from the rest of the gardens include conserving and cleaning cast-stone elements.

2013: Masonry repairs are made on the balance of the brick walls surrounding the southeast terrace, and the steps and retaining walls along the main center stairs.

2014: Masonry repairs on the brick walls surrounding the grand allée begin.

2015: Masonry repairs of the curvilinear north pergola terrace and west wall of the grand allée include conservation and cleaning of cast-stone elements. The south pergola is repaired and reinstalled.

2017: The east wing wall and stairs at the upper north terrace are reconfigured.

Marble and cast-stone statuary and benches, as well as terra-cotta pots, are conserved. The soil conditions in the garden beds are amended using natural compost and mulching materials.

2018: Birgit Deeds begins working with horticulturalist Paul Wieczoreck.

2019: A remaining major initiative—the stabilization of the stone pavers of the north pergola—begins.

2015 Doug Porter (far left) oversees the reinstallation of the restored south pergola.

2019 Stabilization of the stone pavers at the north pergola area begins.

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Preservation of the Formal Gardens

By the 1980s, a portion of the lakeshore along the west boundary of the Formal Gardens had collapsed into Lake Champlain, taking with it some of the overlook foundation wall and balustrade.

The lower terrace lay in ruin as a result of lakeshore erosion, poor drainage behind the brick retaining structures that formed the terrace boundaries, and long-overdue maintenance.

Preservation and limited restoration of the gardens was planned as a multiyear, multiphase project with an immediate focus on recovering the lower terrace, its overlook balustrade, the lily pool and fountain, and the flanking stairs. The work necessitated the stabilization of the lakeshore; examining deterioration processes and designing solutions to avert future problems; repairing the historic overlook; restoring the lily pool and fountain; recovering historic retaining walls; and conserving the cast-stone and marble garden ornaments.

After substantial planning, engineering design, and a fortuitous stretch of cold weather (Lake Champlain froze, enabling heavy equipment to be positioned on the ice and moved to the worksite), the west boundary of lakeshore was successfully stabilized, which allowed 34

the construction of a seawall completed in 2007.

By 2009, nearly all of the historic retaining walls in the lower terrace—a series of brick structures that delineate the garden beds and terraces—had collapsed or were in the process of doing so, given the lack of proper reinforcement in the historic concrete as well as the inadequate drainage. Recovering the historic retaining walls required repairing them, repositioning them on their footings, and embedding a series of reinforced pilasters in the finished brickwork. In 2011, work on the lower terrace was concluded.

The regional silt and clay soils throughout the gardens are by nature poorly drained and susceptible to frost, which, as seasonal temperatures shift, causes pressure that can overturn walls.

The inadequate original drainage behind retaining walls resulted in rotation and collapse. Staircases had been displaced by winter frost, the brick paving at stair landings had heaved and settled out of level by several inches, and poor drainage behind the overlook foundation played a role in soil movement leading to the collapse of the wall in the 1980s. To remedy the historic issues, a subsurface drainage system was installed to serve the entire lower terrace, including the lily pool, fountain, terrace walls, and overlook.

Most of the garden ornamentation— the balustrades located along the lake overlook, the fountain, the lower terrace stairs, and the capstones on the terrace walls—had been made of cast stone, a precast-concrete product simulating natural stone that became popular in the 35

late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Conservation of the approximately 450 surviving pieces addressed cracking, corrosion of iron reinforcing, mechanical damage and spalling (breaks or losses associated with frost or salt efflorescence), and the removal of lichens, stains, and grime.

Each of the cast-stone pieces was numbered, undamaged pieces were cleaned and prepared for reinstallation in a work area adjacent to the garden, and damaged pieces were moved to a temporary conservation studio in the Breeding Barn for repair. This studio provided the space and opportunity for professional conservators to work and for student interns to be trained in the repair and treatment of cast stone.

All the sur­viving pieces were washed with a conservation-grade non-ionic soap to remove lichens and other biological growth.

As garden features such as the overlook, fountain wall, stairs, and terrace walls were repaired, the cast-stone ornaments were returned to their locations for reinstallation. About 150 pieces of cast stone had been lost in the collapse of the overlook balustrade as well as to deterioration caused by excessive weathering. Replicas of these lost pieces were created to match the originals.

The lily pool and fountain were originally constructed in 1914 to include the concrete pool, brick fountain wall, marble fountain, flanking stairs, and cast-stone decorative elements including balustrades, handrails, and copings (top surfaces). Recovering the fountain and lily pool required reinforcing the fountain wall, installing subsurface drainage, 36

reinstalling stair treads and brickwork, conserving the cast stone and marble, and repairing and lining the pool.

To restore the brick fountain wall properly, a reinforced-concrete retaining wall was installed behind it to resist soil pressure. Reinforcing the wall and providing adequate drainage required dismantling the brickwork. More than ten thousand bricks were salvaged; the remainder were sourced from the original manufacturer.

Poor drainage at the stairs and landings had historically resulted in the displacement of stair treads and balustrade elements, and the handrails were unsafe for public use. According to plan, the stairs and landings were dismantled, and adequate drainage was introduced.

Brick landings were relaid and stair treads were reset on properly drained material, and the restored cast-stone balustrades and handrails were reinstalled.

The concrete lining the lily pool was badly damaged by alkali-silica reaction (a chemical reaction that results in a loss of material strength), so the weakened concrete was removed and “Dutchman� repairs were cast in new concrete and configured with dovetail ends to connect to the historic concrete. The conserved cast-stone balustrade and copings were reinstalled on the repaired walls, stair stringers, and lily pool. Conservation of the marble fountain elements included the repair of cracks, removal of rust stains associated with iron mounting hardware, and design and fabrication of a new stainless-steel mounting system. Following lining of the lily pool, the marble elements were reinstalled.

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Plants in the Gardens

Historical records from the Shelburne Farms Archives show that many of the plants seen in the contemporary photographs in this book, as well as in the Formal Gardens at Shelburne Farms, would have been found on the property during Lila’s era. Only the peonies are thought to be of original stock from Lila’s gardens; Birgit Deeds, however, has reintroduced varieties of many plants that were historically grown in Lila’s gardens. For example, Lila grew bearded iris, but not the variety ‘Immortality’ that thrives today. Lila had Asiatic and Oriental lilies and tree hydrangeas in her gardens, but not the specific varieties that are presently cultivated. Lila’s delicate tea roses have been replaced by winter-hardy rose varieties, such as cultivars by David Austin. Some plants, however, are entirely new introductions, including blackberry lily (Belamcanda chinensis) and butterfly bush (Buddleia davidii).

Regardless of historic precedence, all of the newly introduced plants grown in the Formal Gardens today embrace the spirit of Lila’s vision and are also inspired by Gertrude Jekyll’s garden design philosophies. The following are examples from a master plan that details what plant material will remain in the gardens for years to come.

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June

Bearded Iris Iris germanica ‘Immortality’

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Delphinium Delphinium belladonna ‘Bellamosum’

False Indigo Baptisia australius ‘Blue Indigo’

Peony Paeonia ‘Queen Victoria’

Siberian Iris Iris sibirica ‘Blue Moon’

Sundrops Oenothera youngii ‘Evening Primrose’

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July

Butterfly Bush Buddleia davidii ‘Black Knight’

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Daylily Hemerocallis ‘Stella D’Oro’

Phlox Phlox paniculata ‘David’

Shasta Daisy Leucanthemum x superbum ‘Becky’

Yarrow Achillea filipendulina ‘Coronation Gold’

Yucca Yucca filamentosa ‘Adam’s Needle’

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August

Blackberry Lily Belamcanda chinensis

Blackberry Lily (seeds) Belamcanda chinensis 64

Purple Coneflower Echinacea purpurea

Globe Thistle Echinops bannaticus ‘Blue Glow’

Hydrangea Hydrangea paniculata ‘Tardiva’, tree form

Monkshood Aconitum napellus ‘Spark’s Variety’ 65

September

Aster Aster novae-angliae ‘Purple Dome’

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Sedum Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’

Roses

David Austin Rose English Musk ‘The Lark Ascending’

David Austin Rose Old Rose Hybrid ‘Gertrude Jekyll’

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The Formal Gardens T H E F OR M A L G A R DE N S AT S H E L BU R N E FA R M S

at Shelburne Farms

gl enn suok ko

About Shelburne Farms

Formal Gardens Preservation Project

Published 2020

Shelburne Farms, located in Vermont on the shores of Lake Champlain, is a fourteen-hundredacre working farm and educational nonprofit organization, offering an international network of educators and learners of all ages opportunities to explore the big ideas of sustainability through programs and workshops both on and off campus.

Gardener, design, and stewardship Birgit N. Deeds

Glenn Suokko Design Woodstock, Vermont

Original research and planning Susan Cady Hayward Del Keppelman Sheldon

www.glennsuokko.com

Built between 1886 and 1905 by Eliza “Lila” Vanderbilt and William Seward Webb as their private country estate, Shelburne Farms was donated to the nonprofit organization in 1984 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 2001.

The property includes the Webbs’ Shingle- and Queen Anne–style former residence (now open to the public as an inn), Italianate flower gardens, and three magnificent barns. Still a working farm that is now an important part of building a healthy local food system, Shelburne Farms produces a farmstead Cheddar cheese from its herd of Brown Swiss cows, lamb and beef, as well as vegetables, fruits, and flowers from a seven-acre organic Market Garden. Visitors can enjoy programs, lodging and dining, and miles of walking trails winding among pastures and woodlands, with stunning views of Vermont’s Green Mountains and New York’s Adirondacks.

Constructed in phases between 1887 and 1899, the Webbs’ three-story residence, Shelburne House, was transformed into the Inn at Shelburne Farms in the mid-1980s by the nonprofit organization. Guests can stay from May to October in one of twenty-four bedrooms in the main house or several cottages, enjoy generous common areas, participate in programs, and explore the property. The inn’s pioneering farm-totable restaurant features products from the farm and other local producers. The Formal Gardens were originally created by Lila Webb and have undergone substantial rehabilitation; today they rank among the most beautiful historic country gardens in America.

Located on Abenaki land, Shelburne Farms is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) education organization whose mission is to inspire and cultivate learning for a sustainable future.

Shelburne Farms 1611 Harbor Road Shelburne, Vermont 05482 www.shelburnefarms.org

Preservation landscape architects and planners Heritage Landscapes Architects SAS Architects The Office of Martin S. Tierney

Sources Julie Eldridge Edwards, Curator of Collections, Shelburne Farms Shelburne Farms: A Guide to the Formal Gardens,

by Birgit N. Deeds, n.d.

Architectural conservators Porter & Associates Conservation Associates

Shelburne Farms: House, Garden, Farm, and Barns, by Glenn Suokko, Rizzoli International Publications, 2017.

Engineers Civil Engineering Associates GeoDesign Engineering Ventures School of Engineering, University of Vermont

The History of Shelburne Farms: A Changing Landscape, An Evolving Vision, by Erica H. Donnis, The Vermont Historical Society and Shelburne Farms, 2010.

Materials scientists Anthony & Associates CTL Laboratories New Hampshire Materials Laboratory Documentation specialists Front Standard Photography Corinthian Cast Stone Collaborators The Garden Conservancy Historic Preservation Program, University of Vermont New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, Art & Antiquities Principal contractors, building crafts and trades Island Excavating Ireland Concrete Churchill Landscapes Olde World Masonry Wastrom Stonemasonry C.G. Stone Petra Terra New England Preservation Collaborative Project support Shelburne Farms donors, volunteers, staff, and Board of Directors

The “History” chronology (pages 28–33) features key moments of the gardens’ development.

It is an adaption of the time line on view in the Formal Gardens and of documents courtesy of the Shelburne Farms Archives.

“Preservation” (pages 34–37) is adapted from the 2011 report “Preservation of the Formal Gardens at Shelburne Farms,” by Porter & Associates, Burlington, Vermont.

Credits Principal photography by Glenn Suokko with additional photographs by Angelyn Bass, pp. 34 (top), 35 (top three), 36 (top, bottom), 37 (second from top); Ansel Dickey, Vermont Social Media, pp. 8–11, 33 (bottom); Neil Dixon/The Front Standard Photography, pp. 35 (bottom), 36 (middle two), 37 (bottom two); Andy Duback, p. 7; Shelburne Farms Collections, pp. 26, 28–31, 34 (middle and bottom).

Copyediting by Laura Jorstad.

Printed in the United States of America by Puritan Capital on Mohawk Superfine, a paper certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).

About Shelburne Farms

Formal Gardens Preservation Project

Published 2020

Shelburne Farms, located in Vermont on the shores of Lake Champlain, is a fourteen-hundredacre working farm and educational nonprofit organization, offering an international network of educators and learners of all ages opportunities to explore the big ideas of sustainability through programs and workshops both on and off campus.

Gardener, design, and stewardship Birgit N. Deeds

Glenn Suokko Design Woodstock, Vermont

Original research and planning Susan Cady Hayward Del Keppelman Sheldon

www.glennsuokko.com

Built between 1886 and 1905 by Eliza “Lila” Vanderbilt and William Seward Webb as their private country estate, Shelburne Farms was donated to the nonprofit organization in 1984 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 2001.

The property includes the Webbs’ Shingle- and Queen Anne–style former residence (now open to the public as an inn), Italianate flower gardens, and three magnificent barns. Still a working farm that is now an important part of building a healthy local food system, Shelburne Farms produces a farmstead Cheddar cheese from its herd of Brown Swiss cows, lamb and beef, as well as vegetables, fruits, and flowers from a seven-acre organic Market Garden. Visitors can enjoy programs, lodging and dining, and miles of walking trails winding among pastures and woodlands, with stunning views of Vermont’s Green Mountains and New York’s Adirondacks.

Constructed in phases between 1887 and 1899, the Webbs’ three-story residence, Shelburne House, was transformed into the Inn at Shelburne Farms in the mid-1980s by the nonprofit organization. Guests can stay from May to October in one of twenty-four bedrooms in the main house or several cottages, enjoy generous common areas, participate in programs, and explore the property. The inn’s pioneering farm-totable restaurant features products from the farm and other local producers. The Formal Gardens were originally created by Lila Webb and have undergone substantial rehabilitation; today they rank among the most beautiful historic country gardens in America.

Located on Abenaki land, Shelburne Farms is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) education organization whose mission is to inspire and cultivate learning for a sustainable future.

Shelburne Farms 1611 Harbor Road Shelburne, Vermont 05482 www.shelburnefarms.org

Preservation landscape architects and planners Heritage Landscapes Architects SAS Architects The Office of Martin S. Tierney

Sources Julie Eldridge Edwards, Curator of Collections, Shelburne Farms Shelburne Farms: A Guide to the Formal Gardens,

by Birgit N. Deeds, n.d.

Architectural conservators Porter & Associates Conservation Associates

Shelburne Farms: House, Garden, Farm, and Barns, by Glenn Suokko, Rizzoli International Publications, 2017.

Engineers Civil Engineering Associates GeoDesign Engineering Ventures School of Engineering, University of Vermont

The History of Shelburne Farms: A Changing Landscape, An Evolving Vision, by Erica H. Donnis, The Vermont Historical Society and Shelburne Farms, 2010.

Materials scientists Anthony & Associates CTL Laboratories New Hampshire Materials Laboratory Documentation specialists Front Standard Photography Corinthian Cast Stone Collaborators The Garden Conservancy Historic Preservation Program, University of Vermont New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, Art & Antiquities Principal contractors, building crafts and trades Island Excavating Ireland Concrete Churchill Landscapes Olde World Masonry Wastrom Stonemasonry C.G. Stone Petra Terra New England Preservation Collaborative Project support Shelburne Farms donors, volunteers, staff, and Board of Directors

The “History” chronology (pages 28–33) features key moments of the gardens’ development.

It is an adaption of the time line on view in the Formal Gardens and of documents courtesy of the Shelburne Farms Archives.

“Preservation” (pages 34–37) is adapted from the 2011 report “Preservation of the Formal Gardens at Shelburne Farms,” by Porter & Associates, Burlington, Vermont.

Credits Principal photography by Glenn Suokko with additional photographs by Angelyn Bass, pp. 34 (top), 35 (top three), 36 (top, bottom), 37 (second from top); Ansel Dickey, Vermont Social Media, pp. 8–11, 33 (bottom); Neil Dixon/The Front Standard Photography, pp. 35 (bottom), 36 (middle two), 37 (bottom two); Andy Duback, p. 7; Shelburne Farms Collections, pp. 26, 28–31, 34 (middle and bottom).

Copyediting by Laura Jorstad.

Printed in the United States of America by Puritan Capital on Mohawk Superfine, a paper certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).

The Formal Gardens T H E F OR M A L G A R DE N S AT S H E L BU R N E FA R M S

at Shelburne Farms

gl enn suok ko