Name of Garden:
The Mount Estate and Gardens
History and Description:
Edith Wharton was an authority on European landscape design as well as a passionate gardener. She envisioned her gardens as an elegant series of outdoor rooms and created unique architectural compositions planned in concert with the house and the surrounding natural landscape.
Three acres of formal gardens surround the house. To date, more than $3 million has been invested in the preservation and restoration of The Mount's gardens and grounds, including restoring the hardscape and replanting approximately 5,000 trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants. In June 2005, nearly 3,000 annuals and perennials were planted in Edith Wharton's flower garden, the crown jewel of a four-year restoration of the formal landscape.
The Italianate walled garden and its rustic rockpile fountain have been completely restored. The Mount's landscape is beautiful at all times of the year, reflecting Wharton's belief that the garden should possess "a charm independent of the seasons."
Completing Wharton's design is a rock garden with grass steps, a landscape feature rarely seen in America. The garden has been replanted with flowering shrubs and the many varieties of native ferns that Wharton personally collected around the Berkshires.
Address:
The Mount
2 Plunkett Street - Box 974
Lenox, Massachusetts 01240-0974
General Information: (413) 637-1899
Toll-free: (888) 637-1902
Fax: (413) 637-0619
Ticket Kiosk: (413) 637-6900
Email: info@edithwharton.org
Directions:
The Mount is located in Lenox, Massachusetts, on the corner of Route 7 and Plunkett Street. It is approximately a two- hour drive west of Boston and a three- hour drive north of New York City.
Admission and Hours
Hours: 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Adult Admission: $16 Students with ID: $8 Children under 12: free
Website:
http://www.edithwharton.org/ |
