Downingtown -- Culp Garden

Established in 1991, this one and an eighth-acre garden reflects the ambience of the 1790 William Penn yeoman's house located on the site. Autonomous gardens weave together through unique plant combinations that form a yearlong drama of varying color, intensity, and emotion. Plants can be found everywhere on the site, from flowers in the gravel of the drive to bulbs in the footpaths. A hillside features hellebores in a fantasy woodland, while a ruin/trough garden is located on the former site of an above-ground pool. Foliage provides the backbone to the garden's overall design, while containers are changed each season to create striking new combinations. Although there is a traditional four-square fenced garden plot surrounded by perennials, the overall effect is not focused on strict historic restoration. Loose drifts of plant material always have something else in them, and many plants are placed to give a self-seeded appearance. Color and form based on texture are repeated and shapes are placed carefully, being repeated to achieve unity. Plant material is appropriate for limited water resources, while fertilizer and pesticide use is curtailed in order to encourage birds and butterflies. Although there are many rare individual species and varieties in this garden the overall effect is one of harmonious, ebullient, and naturalistic design.

Persons associated with the property include: the Guie family (former owners, 19th century).