Object Details
Garden designer
Schumacher, Elizabeth
Schumacher, H. Ralph
Landscape designer
Eadie, Gordon
Horticulturist
Marzocco, Sharon
Nemec, Dale
Landscape architect
Olejnik, Barbara J. CLA
Arborist
John B. Ward and Company
Provenance
Four Counties Garden Club
Collection Creator
Garden Club of America
Collection Citation
Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, The Garden Club of America collection.
Scope and Contents
The folder includes worksheets, site plans, and additional information.
sova.aag.gca_ref16481
General
A contemporary split-level house backed by a steep slope that washed into the house when it rained compelled the owners to erect walls and start planting a garden to hold the soil in place on their one-acre property. After nearly fifty years of gardening, there are four terraces with specimen trees, collections of flowering shrubs including rhododendrons and hydrangeas, seasonal color from bulbs and annuals, and distinctive ornaments and sculptures. In front of the house there are river birches at the curb, a Japanese maple at the front door, and banks and hedges of shrubs, perennials and evergreen ground cover plants. There is a stepping stone path to the patio in back of the house where there is terraced plateau with stone walls for seasonal plantings. An enormous katsura shades the patio and the two-story glass addition that provides year-round viewing of the hillside garden. On this first level there are redbuds and crepe myrtles, and sculptures and ornaments that were collected during travels.
A formal privet hedge divides the first and second levels and continues along the stone steps that lead from the first to the third terrace. The second level has a woodlands garden with azaleas, rhododendrons, and a small wooden shrine at one end of the lawn while at the other end a purple painted jungle gym formerly used by children and grandchildren now supports honeysuckle. Flagstone steps lead to a hidden stroll garden planted with dwarf evergreens, dwarf clumping bamboo, spruce and pines. A small stone pagoda and two antique statues of Chinese philosophers are in this private garden room. Further up the steps the third level opens to the broadest area of lawn on the property. A small pool has goldfish, a waterfall and water garden; all are shaded by three false camellias. Other trees include purple-leaf plum, Japanese maples and a stately umbrella pine. There is a Japanese style teahouse with a moon window at one end of the lawn and a hammock in the trees at the other end.
The highest terrace, not visible from below, is reached via wooden steps and a path lined with hakone grass, hostas and rhododendrons. A stone wall leads to an arbor made from birdhouses over a blue painted bench that conceals a compost pile. A mossy flagstone path bordered by a perennial garden that includes a specimen rhododendron and azalea leads to a large bronze sculpture of a woman, "Allegra" by Barbara Chen. Down two flights of steps there is a new rock garden with unusual dwarf plants shaded by a false cypress, still a work in progress.
Persons associated with the garden include Elizabeth Schumacher and H. Ralph Schumacher, M.D. (owners, 1967- ); Mary and Tom McDonnell (former owners, 1960-1967); Gordon Eadie (garden designer, 1970-present); John B. Ward and Co. (arborist, 1975- ); Sharon Marzocco (horticulturist, 1997- ); Dale Nemec (horticulturist, 1994-present); Barbara Olejnik (landscape architect, 2000- ); Thomas Jackson (gardener, 1986-1993); Joseph Bilko (stonemason, 2004-2011); Lynn Fillman (garden lighting, 2005- ); John Sedor (gardener, 2013- ).
Place
Longview Hill (King of Prussia, Pennsylvania)
United States of America -- Pennsylvania -- Montgomery -- King of Prussia
Topic
Gardens -- Pennsylvania -- King of Prussia.
Garden designer
Schumacher, Elizabeth
Schumacher, H. Ralph
Landscape designer
Eadie, Gordon
Horticulturist
Marzocco, Sharon
Nemec, Dale
Landscape architect
Olejnik, Barbara J. CLA
Arborist
John B. Ward and Company
Provenance
Four Counties Garden Club
See more items in
The Garden Club of America collection
The Garden Club of America collection / Series 1: United States Gardens / Pennsylvania
Sponsor
A project to describe images in this finding aid received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care Initiative, administered by the National Collections Program.
Custodial History
The Four Counties Garden Club facilitated the submission of this garden's documentation.
Archival Repository
Archives of American Gardens
Identifier
AAG.GCA, File PA816
Type
Archival materials
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.
Bibliography
Garden has been featured in "At Winter's End, the Main Line Blossoms" by Susan Warner, Philadelphia Inquirer, March 13, 1988, pp. 1-4M.
Garden has been featured in "Travels and Terrain Influence a Philadelphia Garden" by Elizabeth S. Schumacher and H. Ralph Schumacher Jr., MD, Gardens & Landscapes, Winter 1992, pp. 14-16.
Garden has been featured in "Steep Slopes" by Mary Lou Wolfe, The Green Scene (Pennsylvania Horticultural Society), July 1993, pp. 14-16.
Garden has been featured in "Green Grow the Memories" by Judy Mathe Foley, The Green Scene, July 1998, p. 24.
Garden has been featured in "From Barren Slope to Garden Tour Showcase" in Greater Philadelphia House and Home, September 2002, pp. 78-81.
Garden has been featured in "A Garden with Good Bones" by Laura Beitman, The Green Scene, August 2006, pp. 5-8.
Garden has been featured in "Step by Step" by Sandy Hingston, Philadelphia Home, Spring/Summer 2009, pp. 38-45.
Garden has been featured in "Adding Individuality to the Garden" by Elizabeth Schumacher, Pennsylvania Gardener, January/February 2014, pp. 32-36.
Garden has been featured in "Rainbow Rising" by Tovah Martin, Traditional Home, April 2015, pp. 47-52.
Garden has been featured in "Uphill Battle" by Tovah Martin, GROW Magazine (Pennsylvania Horticultural Society), Spring 2016, pp. 48-53.
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.
AAG.GCA_ref16481
Large EAD
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kb6dd5f70ce-03e9-41a2-842e-0898336441f3
AAG.GCA
AAG
Record ID
ebl-1643208220039-1643210185751-1