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Manchester -- Thompson Garden

Smithsonian Gardens

Object Details

Former owner

Hunter, Harold
Hunter, Samuel
Paddleford, George

Provenance

Chestnut Hill 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 a property outline and aerial photograph overview, a description and worksheet, and copies of magazine and newspaper articles. The garden is noted for its use of heathers, Monterey cypress, driftwood, and "found" materials.
sova.aag.gca_ref24257

GUID

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kb6350d3c82-eb99-47ae-bbb0-90e4c70f2043

General

"The garden is distinguished from most gardens primarily by two features: an extensive planting of heathers and the use of driftwood and other 'found' material in the construction of garden furniture and structures."
"There are three separate heather gardens consisting of more than 250 cultivars. Heathers were introduced into the garden in 1986 as an uninformed experiment. They proved to be so well suited to existing growing conditions, so readily propagated and so easy to maintain that we couldn't stop planting them until we ran out of space. It's just as well that we have only two and one-half acres."
"In addition to the gates, trellises, benches, etc., there is a Victorian style tree house and a dragon. The tree house is built in one of the largest Monterey cypresses in the United States. A weeping spruce grew to form three humps which suggested the body of a dragon; all that was needed was a head and tail which were carved from redwood. Recently a baby dragon, hatching from an egg, was added."
"The garden at one time was the barn lot of one of the earliest settlers in this area; the old house (ca. 1854) still stands on an adjoining lot. The horse barn (we lived in it while building our house) and the Monterey cypress trees planted long ago as a windbreak are distinctive features of the garden. The cypress trees protect the garden from the winds off the Pacific coast one-half mile to the northwest."
"The design of the garden and all the structures (except the barn) are the product of our own imagination (whimsey?) and effort. This may be only too obvious to the discerning eye of a professional garden designer. However, the process and the results are more meaningful and gratifying for having done it without professional help."
Persons associated with the property include: Samuel Hunter (ca. 1850), Harold Hunter (to 1966), and George Paddleford (1966-1972).

Place

Thompson Garden (Manchester, California)
United States of America -- California -- Mendocino County -- Manchester

Topic

Gardens -- California -- Manchester

Former owner

Hunter, Harold
Hunter, Samuel
Paddleford, George

See more items in

The Garden Club of America collection
The Garden Club of America collection / Series 1: United States Gardens / California

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.

Archival Repository

Archives of American Gardens

Identifier

AAG.GCA, File CA375

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 Flower and Garden, June/July 1994. Garden has been featured in Flower and Garden, October/November 1994. Garden has been featured in Home, October 1987. Garden has been featured in Garden Design, September/October 1993. Garden has been featured in House Beautiful, July 1996. Garden has been featured in Home and Garden, March 1991. Garden has been featured in Sunset Magazine, August 1996. Garden has been featured in San Francisco Chronicle, October 9, 1996. Garden has been featured in Louis Oliver Gropp, ed., Design Principles at Work, House Beautiful Gardens: Outdoors. Hearst Books, 1998.

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.

Related Materials

Thompson Garden related holdings consist of 1 folder (31 35 mm. slides)
AAG.GCA_ref24257
Large EAD
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kb6350d3c82-eb99-47ae-bbb0-90e4c70f2043
AAG.GCA
AAG

Record ID

ebl-1643208220039-1643210176491-1

Showing 1 result(s)

The Garden Club of America collection

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